Wellbeing & Pastoral Care
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Wellbeing
At The British School of Barcelona we want to affirm to every student that their whole wellbeing matters, that’s Mind, Body and Spirit, aspects whixch are intrinsically connected to their academic progress.
We know that we can’t separate Academic Health from the Physical and Emotional, that when students are emotionally well it positively impacts their engagement in class and the wider world around them. “Who am I”, “Who and I to you?” and “Who am I to the Wider World?” are key questions we want every student to be able to answer and that starts with every student knowing and having confidence in who they are and who they can become.
Our wellbeing coordinators in both Primary (Wellbeing Leads) and Secondary and Pre-University (Wellbeing Mentor) are responsible for establishing the necessary support mechanisms and resources to help students develop skills such as resilience, creativity and determination that will allow it to face in the future the demands of the complex and constantly changing world in which we live.
Wellbeing is embodied through our pastoral system and at the heart of the student-tutor relationship.
Wellbeing is also the foundation of a Cognita Education and it is integral to our overall purpose of ‘Providing an inspiring world of education: building self-belief and empowering individuals to succeed’.
BSB Be Well

Global Be Well Day

Cognita Home Games
Pastoral Care
The British School Barcelona pastoral care system relies on the informed supportive structure in which all teachers play an active part in the welfare of our students. The principal duties of BSB School tutors are to see each student in their tutor group, both formally and informally, to develop a relationship of trust and confidence, and be closely and continuously aware of individual tutee’s problems providing practical and moral support.
The British School of Barcelona Tutorial system has many purposes; we try to foster our students’ personal and social growth, so that they develop a sense of individual responsibility and an awareness of health-related issues. We also supervise their academic progress and encourage them to develop sound habits of work and study.
BSB School encourage students in small groups to express themselves confidently and articulately by developing students’ critical thinking, expression of opinion, self-confidence, leadership qualities, initiative and public-speaking skills. We aim to broaden students’ cultural and intellectual interests through our vibrant PSHE programme (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education).
Weekly tutorial sessions take place in all years groups,from Nursery to Year 13.
Peer Education Project
Peer Education Project
This academic year we have launched the Peer Education Project in partnership with Mental Health Foundation. This programme is inspired by the idea that young people with mental health problems often feel that the best support and advice comes from their peers at school.
The Peer Education Project (PEP) provides young people with the knowledge and understanding they need to safeguard their mental health, and over five weeks students explore topics such as:
- mental health awareness
- stigma and discrimination
- staying well
- seeking help
- supporting friends
This year we have launched the programme in Secondary, consisting of five lessons on mental health and wellbeing, given to all Year 7 and 8 students by peers from higher courses.
Philosophy for Children
Philosophy for Children
P4C, or Philosophy for Children, is an approach to learning and teaching which enhances children’s thinking and communication skills, boosts their self-esteem, and improves their academic attainment.
In P4C, a stimulus, such as a story, video clip or image, is shared with a group of children. The children are encouraged to come up with the kind of big, engaging philosophical questions about the stimulus which are at the heart of P4C. Through a vote, the children then choose the question they would most like to discuss. The teacher gives the children time to think and reason individually about the question before facilitating the exchange of ideas and opinions as a group, or community of enquiry. Over time, the teacher supports the children to think more deeply and philosophically by encouraging the 4Cs of P4C – critical, creative, collaborative and caring thinking.
P4C promotes a forum for open dialogue in which participants are not content to exchange ideas and opinions as if they were bits of information. Instead they ask questions, sift arguments and explore alternatives. Above all, they try to understand each other. It is possible to find a philosophical dimension, and so an opportunity for philosophical thinking, in any subject in the curriculum.
Research indicates that the benefits of P4C for students are:
- Developments in cognitive ability
- Developments in critical reasoning skills and dialogue in the classroom
- Emotional and social developments
All students in Primary and Secondary receive regular P4C sessions.