Will the Minister confirm the extent to which schools must produce whole-school plans in line with the whole-school framework?
On 21 March 2021 the Welsh Government published the Framework on embedding a whole school approach to emotional and mental wellbeing. The framework is statutory guidance for all maintained schools and local authorities. It is intended to support schools in reviewing their own well-being landscape, to develop plans to address weaknesses and build on their strengths.
As statutory guidance I expect all schools to have regard to its requirements. To support schools in this work I have agreed funding of £12.2m in the current year for wellbeing activity in schools. This includes £470,000 funding to Public Health Wales to fund a network of implementation coordinators, embedded in the Welsh Network of Health School Schemes, to support schools to adopt the framework.
As part of the evaluation of this work I want to know that schools are implementing the framework and that it is having the desired positive impact on wellbeing. I will shortly receive the first full year (2021-22) impact report on the work of the implementation coordinators, which will help me assess how take-up is progressing. In addition, my officials are working closely with the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health, based in Cardiff University, to develop proposals to review our whole school approach activity more generally, including how schools are adopting and using the framework guidance. This work is part of a wider package of evaluation activity being developed and which will commence later in 2022.