We’re Shortlisted! Independent Schools Of The Year 2023

Published by The Lyceum on Wednesday 5th of July 2023

We are thrilled to announce we have been shortlisted for Independent School of the Year for Student Wellbeing 2023!

At The Lyceum, student wellbeing is not just a programme or a standalone part of the curriculum; it is the very essence of our mission. We firmly believe that a comprehensive approach to wellbeing is essential to prepare the children in our care for life today, tomorrow and the future.

The world our pupils are growing up in is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. It is interconnected in such a way that they are bombarded by information in ways that could be overwhelming.

So how do we protect and safeguard our pupils’ wellbeing?
We equip our children with the skills necessary to thrive, teaching emotional intelligence, resilience, empathy and interpersonal skills, preparing our pupils for academic, personal and professional success.

Mindfulness forms an important part of life at The Lyceum; our mornings and afternoons begin with a guided meditation session. As our children get older, they can take ownership of their own mindfulness practice and lead their own meditation.

Building on this strong foundation, we wanted to take our practice further and truly embed it. That is why over the past year we have introduced a new, integrated PSHE and RSE curriculum (Jigsaw) that has had a profound on pupil wellbeing.

Our PSHE and RSE Curriculum
The curriculum artfully integrates not only with all areas of school life, but successfully builds each term and importantly year on year. Ultimately a child who follows the scheme from Reception through to Year 6 would receive a truly special wellbeing education. This beautifully compliments our creative arts, sports and academic provision.

We make sure our staff are also properly equipped to support our pupils and each other. To this end, all our teaching staff are mental health first aiders and regularly receive training to upskill their practice.

Our Wellbeing Council
We see wellbeing at The Lyceum as an ecosystem and key to our approach is that interaction is not just staff-led, it is between peers and from pupils to staff.

That is why we founded a wellbeing council, made up of representatives from each year group who also serve as wellbeing ambassadors for their class. They look out for others, champion good wellbeing practice and run initiatives, such as implementing a buddy bench and ran the school’s first ever happiness day.

We are ISI ‘excellent’ for pupils’ personal development
Through our comprehensive approach we truly believe we are preparing our pupils for life ahead and after the positive results of the last 18 months, we are so excited to see what the future holds.

The positive feedback from students and staff demonstrates the success of our efforts and we were delighted to receive an ‘excellent’ rating in our November 2022 ISI rating for pupils’ personal development, highlighting our pupils collaboration, well-developed social skills, respect for diversity and strong sense of fairness.