We are delighted to announce that the RAW programme has been thoroughly assessed and validated by Department for Education Quality Assurance Team. It means that:

  • Schools can use RAW in the knowledge that it meets all government requirements for developing wellbeing and mental health practice within learning communities

  • We can offer a bespoke SMHL Training Programme to any Option 2 or Option 3 school, which can be subsidised by the £1200 grant made available to support SMHL training (if not claimed already)

Raising Attainment with Wellbeing (RAW) for Senior Mental Health Leaders (SMHLs)

Our Senior Mental Health Leader (SMHL) professional development programme will help you create a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing that will impact positively on all members of your school community.

Department for Education (DfE) grants are now available for the 2023/2024 financial year. Please book your place for an October 2023, January 2024 or April 2024 start.

About the programme

The Raising Attainment with Wellbeing (RAW) for SMHLs (Senior Mental Health Leaders) Training Programme will help participants put mental health and wellbeing at the heart of learning, teaching and leadership within their learning communities, at a time of considerable social and emotional pressures that extend beyond the school gates.

Not only will participants develop the knowledge and skills specific to the position of SMHL, through understanding their leadership role in creating an inclusive learning environment that supports and nurtures the highest possible levels of emotional wellbeing for children and staff, RAW is a complete and extensive professional development opportunity open to every member of staff, including Governors. 

The programme is Department for Education (DfE) quality assured. 

Over the duration of a calendar year, through online workshops and coaching sessions plus individual personalised support opportunities, participants will:

  • Devise an effective strategic plan, aligned to the eight WSA (Whole School Approach) principles, informed by a comprehensive audit of current practice and provision
  • Put in place process and policy that will monitor mental health needs (of children and staff) and identify appropriate interventions, as well as whole-school professional development needs
  • Through collaborative action research using the RAW resources, begin the journey of whole school improvement, involving individuals and teams through aligned and personalised training plans

You’ll also be able to share best practice with peers from other schools.  

Expert Trainers

The training will be led by a pool of talented coaches, with a vast and varied experience of education improvement and mental health/wellbeing developments. 

Raising Attainment with Wellbeing is pioneering a new approach to coaching: Coaching for Wellbeing, supporting a critical systemic move from “a way of doing” to “a way of being”.

How is the programme delivered?

Senior Mental Health Lead trainees (SMHLs) will join a cohort of 10-20 practitioners, who will network and collaborate over the course of a year to learn together and share practice and implement change management plans.

There will be monthly 2-hour online interactive workshops and coaching for wellbeing sessions led by an experienced RAW wellbeing coach, with periodic inputs from subject matter experts.

Practitioners will also benefit from monthly “drop-in” sessions open to all cohorts of trainees.

Each trainee will keep a PLJ (Professional Learning Journal) containing reflective activity, audit frameworks and links back to the extensive bank of materials within RAW, which accumulate to form a senior mental health lead record of professional development.

These journals will form the basis of regular individual online tutorial sessions (minimum of three hours over the duration of the course) culminating in the submission of a change management plan based on the professional learning and development undertaken during the course.

The RAW Managed Learning Environment has a built-in community of practice element to facilitate sharing and collaboration across all active education setting.

  • Learning Outcomes

    The learning outcomes are aligned with the eight principles outlined by Public Health England (PHE) and the Department for Education (DfE) in their Promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing: A whole-school or college approach publication.

  • Who is it for?

    Our programme is for Senior Mental Health Leads, or colleagues aspiring to such a position, at primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. We already serve independent provision, and an international network of schools. This programme has the reach to meet a wide range of wellbeing and mental health imperatives. It is important that participants have the positional authority to implement strategic whole-school change or have the support of your senior leadership team to fulfil the programmes’ requirements successfully.

  • Funding Eligibility

    The fee for our SMHL programme is £2,450+VAT. The fee includes all workshops, training and individual support sessions for the designated SMHL, plus full access to the extensive RAW professional development portal for every member of staff, including Governors (whatever the size of your school community) for the duration of the course.

The SMHL Training Programme is likely to begin in October 2023. More details about the SMHL Pathway to follow

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