Positive Education identifies best practice teaching combined with an explicit focus on wellbeing. The approach emphasises individual strengths to promote learning, builds awareness of a growth mindset and incorporates practice in mindful brain breaks and gratitude. Positive Education emphasises the importance of training the heart as well as the mind in education.

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The science of Positive  Education has several key underlying principles:

• Student wellbeing is closely linked to academic success. When students feel connected, safe and happy, they are more likely to thrive in their learning;

• In today’s world, increasing statistics of psychological distress and mental illness are challenging, and such stresses impact on the young learner;

• Schools play a critical role in helping young people to develop cognitive, social and emotional skills, and are well placed to do this;

• Skills and mindsets that encourage positive relationships, positive emotions, resilience and character strengths can be taught.

We believe that these principles are beneficial for our children to know themselves well, to feel their life has meaning and purpose, to have positive relationships with others and to flourish.

 

At Fatima, we adopt Restorative Practices (respect, restore, repair) as our way of relating to each other. The aim of Restorative Practice is to restore right relationships and bring about healing after some hurt or harm has been done to another or others. It has, at its heart, the key Gospel values of reconciliation, responsibility, reintegration and resolution of conflict. Restorative Practice offers processes that can help all students learn to understand and deal with their own emotions in ways that build stronger relationships.

 

Key restorative questions:

• What happened?

• What were you thinking of at the time?

• What have you thought about since?

• Who has been affected by what you have done?

• In what way?

• What do you think you need to do to make things right?