Background
Why are social and emotional skills central to school improvement?
Social and emotional skills are essential for all those who learn and work in schools. This includes all pupils and staff, not just those pupils with identified social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Effective learning, high academic standards, an inclusive culture, positive behaviour, good attendance and good professional practice by school staff are challenging to develop unless both pupils and staff have social and emotional skills, and the ability to manage their own behaviour.
Social and emotional skills contribute to staff effectiveness and well-being. If school staff are to be able to help pupils develop social and emotional skills then they need these skills too. Such skills inform professional competence as well as learning since teaching is fundamentally a social activity, demanding high levels of emotional sensitivity, good self-management, empathy and the ability to make relationships. Programmes to promote social and emotional skills have been shown to have a beneficial impact on staff well-being, and can help to tackle the high and rising levels of staff stress and improve staff retention.
2.2.1 Reading