Wellbeing and healthy school environments

With recent incidents of violent bullying sending shockwaves throughout South Africa, health and safety at our schools is once again in the spotlight. A healthy school environment is about much more than clean classrooms and playgrounds. It’s also a place where learners and teachers feel assured that they are both physically and psychologically safe. It’s about a school culture with a zero tolerance for bullying behaviours, where everyone feels emotionally supported and empowered to make healthy choices every day.

In South Africa, where schools face stark inequalities and both learners and educators struggle with stress, anxiety and burnout, prioritising wellbeing is no longer optional – it’s essential. South African teachers, especially those working in under resourced schools, experience high, sustained levels of stress and burnout, yet there’s very little structured support for them.

Erika Engelbrecht-Aldworth, a specialist in teacher support, lecturer at SACAP (the South African College of Applied Psychology) and Founder of the Well-being Initiative, says, “Teacher burnout is at crisis levels, and this affects both new and experienced teachers alike. Teacher wellbeing is not a ‘nice-to-have’, it’s critical to building their resilience and helping them to develop self-care practices. When wellbeing is embedded in the school environment, it not only provides effective support for teachers, but has a positive impact on learners too.”

Recently Erika was a presenter at the SACAP Purpose Beyond the Classroom webinar where she provided practical strategies for teachers and school leaders on topics such as identity, managing your time and energy, and the role of joy in boosting your resilience. She says, “So many teachers are navigating stress and burnout all on their own. However, if the school centres wellbeing in its culture, then we make it easier for teachers to have healthier boundaries, find support when they need it and embrace a growth mindset in their professional development.”

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Why Life Orientation is one of the most valuable classes
While teachers need self-care practices, so do learners. In South Africa, the Life Orientation curriculum includes some wellbeing related topics such as the importance of physical activity, healthy eating and what it means to have a healthy lifestyle. Life Orientation is also the one school subject where topics such as bullying can be addressed as part of the curriculum. It’s a compulsory subject that must be passed as part of the Matric qualification. Life Orientation aims to prepare and equip learners to live a meaningful and successful life, thriving as an individual while making contributions to society.

Taught well, Life Orientation embraces a holistic approach encompassing mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Students are inspired to self-reflect and understand themselves better. Classes encourage better decision-making, self-management, problem-solving and community participation.

“There’s a definite advantage to viewing Life Orientation through a psychology lens. It’s the appropriate subject to highlight the importance of creating and maintaining a zero-bullying school environment that is psychologically safe for all learners and teachers,” says Dr Vikki Botes, SACAP’s Head of Faculty for Applied Psychology. “The teachers we train through our Postgraduate Certificate in Education in Senior Phase and FET Training (PGCE), gain the knowledge and skills to build strength of character in the youth, while serving as a vital resource of wellbeing expertise for their school.”

SACAP’s CHE-accredited PGCE is offered at both its Cape Town and Johannesburg campuses. The one-year programme combines academic theory with eight weeks of supervised school-based Work Integrated Learning (WIL). Specialisations in Guidance Counselling and Learning Support equip graduates to promote learner wellbeing and make appropriate psychosocial referrals.

Vikki concludes, “Prioritising wellbeing and living a meaningful life are important to our younger generations. This makes SACAP’s PGCE an ideal programme for aspiring teachers who want to work with purpose while bringing transformative ideas and psychological skills to the modern South African school environment. By equipping teachers to nurture both their own wellbeing and that of their learners, SACAP is helping to shape schools that are not only centres of learning, but communities of care.”

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