EDUCAT ION SPOTL IGHT
MENTAL HEALTH A paradigm shift
REBECCA MITCHELL, UPPER SCHOOL AND ADMISSIONS COORDINATOR AT CAMBRIDGE STEINER SCHOOL, LOOKS AT HOW AN INNOVATIVE QUALIFICATION IS HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE THRIVE in education
e know that young people have faced enormous challenges over the past year. Schools have been
doing whatever they can to support pupils through all the uncertainty and anxiety caused by the pandemic. However, we know these pressures come on top of other issues affecting young people, such as climate change and increasing academic demands. Again, schools are responding – adapting curriculums to include forest school projects and other opportunities to support healthy development, connection to the natural world and creativity. Despite this, there is evidence that young people are not thriving. The Good Childhood Report 2020 from The Children’s Society found that, by age 15, young people in the UK are the least satisfied with their lives compared to 23 European countries, and that they rank the lowest for having a sense of purpose in life. These figures are part of an ongoing trend, with levels of wellbeing measurably decreasing. The report concluded that we need to support our young people to build stronger friendships, be less afraid of failure and feel more comfortable in their own skin. As society becomes more globalised and the speed of change and
available in the UK from the Crossfields Institute, along with an associated teacher training programme, the postgraduate diploma in the Philosophy and Practice of Integrative Education. At Cambridge Steiner School we are excited to offer these innovative qualifications from September 2021, when we open our new Upper School for 13 to 16 year olds, allowing us to maintain the focus on health, wellbeing and a balanced education found in our Kindergartens and Lower School. Students will have the opportunity to develop a range of creative thinking skills and core practical, social and ethical competencies, integrated within a challenging and inspiring educational programme. In a time of immense change, we believe this will help give pupils the strength, resilience and skills they need to adapt and thrive.
and heightened stress for young people, and can ultimately dampen their potential for innovative productivity in adulthood. The project reimagined qualifications so they could be more inclusive, relevant and practically useful. It aimed to equip
and empower, by placing creativity, adaptability and flexibility of thinking alongside competent mastery of a range of disciplines – as well as providing schools
communication increases, young people are more
WELLBEING IS MEASURABLY DECREASING
exposed to the biggest issues facing humanity. Recognising this, an Erasmus+ funded project was set up with the aim of addressing the needs of young
and policymakers around the world with a significant, credible alternative to current provision. The project was remarkably successful, and the resulting suite of portfolio-based Integrated Education qualifications have been approved by Ofqual and are now
people in a complex and uncertain world. Acknowledging Creative Thinking Skills (ACTS) was founded in 2015 with the recognition – noted by the Waterloo Global Science Initiative – that standard school- leaving exams create increasing demands
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