This project's main objective was to explore the most up-to-date and innovative methods of including Health and Wellbeing within the curriculum, but also giving staff the skills to deal with their own Mental Health and Wellbeing also. It was identified at the planning stage of the project that staff would require training in different aspects of Wellbeing to support the academic, physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual development of pupils, and so the Senior Leadership Team in the school researched Structured Training Courses across Europe which they believed would upskill and motivate staff to teach and implement the Wellbeing elements within the curriculum. Having previously worked on Erasmus projects with many schools across Europe Scoil Eoin Pól identified partners where Wellbeing subjects were a key priority and therefore could draw on their expertise to share their knowledge through staff spending time in their school to observe planning and implementing these subjects. The main goal for implementing this project was for staff to attend Structured Training Courses and Job Observations so they could gain renewed confidence in teaching elements of Wellbeing into all subjects. Newly acquired skills and knowledge of these subjects in turn would be passed to pupils, and especially our SEN pupils, to encourage them to actively engage in learning and to promote active collaboration which will empower them to gain autonomy over their learning.
Scoil Eoin Pól has worked on European Projects for 15 years. During this time staff have participated in projects which have provided them with the opportunities to travel across Europe to attend Structured Training Courses and to visit partner schools to observe Teaching and Learning. Attendance has provided staff with the opportunity to meet professionals from both the Education Sector and from other professional backgrounds as well as gaining an insight into the cultural and traditional life of the country. CPD is a key element in the School Development Plan and having successfully completed a KA229 school partnership focused on Art the Senior Leadership Team identified the importance of adding Wellbeing subjects as a key area of development. To achieve the highest results, they saw the need for staff to be upskilled as the first step in the journey of development. The School Leadership Team believe that attending Structured Training Courses and Job Observations across Europe has always had a positive impact on Teaching and Learning in Scoil Eoin Pól. In our European Development Plan we wanted to build on our communication skills, both in person and via ICT between pupils and staff and also outside partners. We wanted the conversation about Health and Wellbeing to be at the core of this process. Having witnessed an element of Art and Music Therapy in our Partner School, we wanted to explore such techniques and skills further. Therefore, we were confident that participation in this project would raise awareness of and increase knowledge to develop resilient pupils for the future.