It has been well documented that British private schools have implemented a tremendous provision of online and distance learning since the end of last term. In addition to academics, it is important to consider the close-knit community of boarding schools, and recognise the pastoral support that some students may now be missing. Queen Margaret’s School has created their own initiative to tackle this issue, titled ‘Five Ways to Positive Wellbeing’.

The initiative focuses on getting the school’s students to embrace the present and focus on the positives surrounding them. The categories are broken down into Take Notice, Give, Be Active, Learn and Connect, which are all used as hashtags throughout the challenge. These can be further broken down into the following guidance:

-Savour the moment

-Embrace community life and engage with local causes

-Take part in regular physical activity, indoors or outside

-Learn something new, set goals and be productive

-Connect with Friends and Family, taking time to talk and listen

All students are encouraged to share their contributions to the above categories on twitter with the hashtags, #QMtakenotice, #QMgive, #QMbeactive, #QMlearn and #QMconnect in order to highlight their achievements towards positive wellbeing.

Sue Baillie, Head of Queen Margaret’s said: “Wherever they are in the world, the wellbeing of QM girls is at the heart of everything we do. It’s been wonderful to see how the girls have engaged with this new campaign. We have simply provided the creative hooks to get the girls interested and they have done the rest!

We have received so many videos and photos showing how the girls are embracing ‘five ways to positive wellbeing’ from taking notice of the natural environment around them, staying active, taking time to talk, participating in community life and learning new things. We look forward to continuing this new chapter with them and finding out more over the coming weeks about how everyone is living their ‘new normal’.”

Read the rest of the blog here: https://www.boarding.org.uk/media/news/article/14678/Queen-Margaret-s-Introduces-new-Five-Ways-to-Positive-Wellbeing-Initiative