Enhancing Wellbeing through Technology and Authentic Connection

In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, student wellbeing has become a crucial focus for schools worldwide. At Harrow International School Bangkok (HISB), we are proud to position ourselves ahead of this movement, pioneering an approach that combines student-led technology use with a strong emphasis on community and connection. By measuring and tracking wellbeing digitally while fostering a ‘tribal’ culture grounded in authentic relationships, we are redefining what it means to know our students.

Technology as a Tool for Wellbeing

At HISB, technology is more than just a teaching aid: it’s an essential tool for safeguarding and promoting student mental health. In the Lower School, we use daily wellbeing check-ins via Google Forms, allowing students to communicate their emotional state in real-time.

This data, combined with teacher observations, feeds into a comprehensive pastoral dashboard—also powered by Google Forms. This monitors trends across the student body and alerts pastoral leaders to students requesting a conversation or reporting a low mood. Feeding into these dashboards are additional data streams from 3rd party software such as CPOMS (Child Protection Online Monitoring System) and Engage (a Management Information System used for logging attendance, nurse visits, and late arrivals/ pickups).

The combined use of systems like Engage and CPOMS ensures that any issues related to student wellbeing, whether minor concerns or significant challenges, are cross-referenced and identified early. This proactive approach enables us to provide timely support, ensuring no child falls through the cracks. By regularly analysing student happiness, resilience, and anxiety, HISB is able to adjust its pastoral strategies, provide targeted interventions, manage counselling caseloads and provide bespoke Parent Information Forums.

Photo: Harrow International School Bangkok

Creating a ‘Tribal’ Culture

While technology provides the means to monitor wellbeing, it is our community-driven culture that is truly at the heart of the HISB vision. Inspired by the principles of positive psychology, particularly in the work of Martin Seligman, we have embraced the concept of a ‘tribal’ culture. This approach is about more than just creating a positive atmosphere: it’s about fostering deep, authentic connections between students, staff and families.

“Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” – John C. Maxwell.

This guiding principle from John C. Maxwell underpins our efforts to build strong relationships within the school. From team-building exercises and shared class mottos (and chants) to communal activities like mealtimes and outdoor playtimes, we want all students to feel like they belong and encourage them to embrace the school value of ‘fellowship’.

Break and lunchtime have also been transformed into opportunities for adult-led interactions, moving away from the traditional ‘lunch duty’ model. This shift is supported by CPD training from PE staff, Student Wellbeing Counsellors, and Student Play Leaders. We also have introduced specific ‘Play Zones’ resourced with games that promote teamwork. These initiatives play a significant role in building a sense of belonging for staff and students during break times, further reinforcing our tribal culture.

Photo: Harrow International School Bangkok

Building Resilience through Emotional Literacy

Resilience is another key pillar of our wellbeing strategy. We integrate lessons from The Resilience Project, which emphasises the importance of gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness in building emotional strength. By incorporating these practices into the daily routine, HISB helps students develop the tools they need to cope with adversity and maintain a positive outlook.

By including focused and cyclical Emotional Literacy lessons in our domain-based curriculum, students are taught from our Early Years onwards to identify, label and manage a range of emotions. For international schools with a significant number of EAL (English as an Additional Language) learners, this initial pre-teaching ensures our students can access and interact openly with the Daily Check-Ins and conversations about their wellbeing.

Emotional literacy is truly woven into the fabric of our school life. Teachers and students alike are encouraged to express their feelings openly and constructively, creating an environment where it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them. Teaching specific emotional language is a key part of supporting our students. This not only builds resilience but also ensures a culture of mutual respect and understanding.

“Technology is more than just a teaching aid: it’s an essential tool for safeguarding and promoting student mental health.”

The Impact: Data-Driven Wellbeing

Our commitment to wellbeing is backed by data. Our regular wellbeing surveys, (AWE and Resilient Youth), track key indicators over time to ensure that our efforts are having a positive impact. Recent data shows promising results, with students reporting high levels of happiness, health, and belonging, and lower levels of sadness and anxiety compared to previous years – a positive trend that has prevailed since our initial survey in 2021.

These externally validated surveys also allow us to collect summative data periodically throughout the year and compare our students to those at other schools in the region, providing essential comparative data.

This data-driven approach ensures that our wellbeing initiatives are not just well-intentioned but also effective. By continuously monitoring and refining our strategies, we remain responsive to the evolving needs of our students, ensuring that every child feels supported and valued.

Actionable Steps for Implementing Wellbeing Initiatives in Your School

1. Utilise Technology for Daily Wellbeing Check-ins: Implement digital tools like Google Forms to allow students to check in daily with their emotional state. Use this data to track trends and intervene early when necessary.
2. Create a Pastoral Dashboard: Develop a system that integrates data from multiple sources (attendance, behaviour, health) to give a holistic view of each student’s wellbeing. This enables targeted support and timely interventions.
3. Transform Break and Lunchtime: Shift from traditional duty rotas to adult-led interactions by creating ‘Play Zones’ with activities that promote teamwork, resilience, and empathy. Provide CPD training to staff on how to lead these interactions effectively.
4. Foster a ‘Tribal’ Culture: Build a sense of belonging by encouraging team-building activities, shared class mottos, house systems, low stakes competitions, weekend community events, and regular communal experiences that make students feel part of a larger community.
5. Incorporate Emotional Literacy into Daily Routine: Teach students how to express their feelings constructively. Teach the specific language needed to express emotions. This is particularly important for EAL learners and helps in building individual resilience and a respectful school culture.

Conclusion

HISB’s innovative blend of technology and community-focused culture offers a powerful model for enhancing student wellbeing. By using technology to track and respond to wellbeing data, and by fostering a ‘tribal’ culture rooted in authentic connection, we are not only supporting our students academically but also preparing them for a fulfilling and resilient life. As schools everywhere grapple with the challenge of supporting student mental health, our approach provides a strategic blueprint; when it comes to wellbeing, a sense of belonging, community and ‘tribe’ are central to a successful approach.

Matthew Parker is Director of Student Wellbeing at Harrow International School Bangkok. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.