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What is the Somerset Health & Wellbeing Framework (SHWF)?
The Somerset Health & Wellbeing Framework (SHWF) is a model for developing a Whole School Approach (WSA) to health and wellbeing and is our local model for helping to build health and wellbeing into the ethos, culture, routine life, and core business of a school, college or other educational setting.
The SHWF supports schools to continue the good work they are already doing to promote the health and wellbeing of children and young people, families and staff, but with the added support of online resources and an audit tool to self-record and monitor progress.
The SHWF acts as a process that focuses on the whole school community developing, trusting and compassionate relationships, where everyone feels they have a sense of belonging and healthier lifestyles are encouraged and supported.
The SHWF includes a bespoke audit tool for assessing and monitoring whole school approach developments and progress, this user guide provides supportive information and resources for each of the 8 key principles.
In addition to the SHWF, there are a wide range of toolkits within the website that can be used as standalone resources or to support your development of a whole school approach to health and wellbeing as needed.
The SHWF has been designed, developed and is supported through collaboration with partners across Somerset.
Background to the SHWF
Following the end of the national Healthy School's and Healthy School's plus awards, Somerset Public Health progressed the Somerset Wellbeing Framework, drawing on the research and evidence for the 8 key principles and a whole school approach.
The Somerset Children and Young Peoples school survey (SHAWS) is an integral part of and supports the SWF. This survey supports settings to hear, understand and respond to children and young people’s experiences of health and wellbeing within the setting and locally supports the Local Authority and partners to develop work and services accordingly.
Over the years the Somerset Wellbeing Framework (SWF) has evolved and is now termed Somerset Health & Wellbeing Framework (SHWF) to acknowledge the interrelated connection of health and wellbeing, helping to connect the body and mind.
Public Health continues to support the SHWF to develop and grow through evidence-based models, in line with guidance, themes and priorities for Public Health and Education settings.
What is a Whole School Approach and Where is the Evidence?
In Promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing guidance published by Public Health England working with the Department for Education it describes how, the whole school or college approach to health and wellbeing uses 8 key principles, which, if applied consistently and comprehensively, will help contribute towards protecting and promoting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Having the health and wellbeing of learners, families, and all staff as a core value of education helps to normalise conversations about all aspects of health and wellbeing; enabling people to speak out sooner if they are struggling or worried about someone and access the right support at the right time.
Professor Katherine Weare (2015)What works in promoting social and emotional health in schools – Provides an Advice for Schools and Framework Document, setting out a series of framing principles which are directly informed by evidence and designed to support schools to deliver well designed and implemented interventions and approaches.
National Children's Bureau (NCB) A whole school framework for emotional wellbeing and mental health - Stirling and Emery(2016)NCB Whole school framework – This document offers a tool for self-assessment providing prompts for debate and activity bringing everyone together to build on existing good practice and draws on the research by Professor Katherine Weare.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and Department for Education (DfE) (March 2015, last updated 16th November 2023)Promoting children and young people's emotional health & wellbeing: A whole school & college approach – This document sets out key actions that schools and colleges can take to help embed a whole school approach. These actions are informed by evidence and practitioner feedback about what works and gives national examples of practice in schools and colleges.
It describes the whole school approach as defining the entire school community as a single unit and involves coordinated action between 3 interrelated components:
curriculum, teaching and learning
school ethos and environment
family and community partnership.
Accessing and Using the Audit Tool
How to use the Somerset Health and Wellbeing audit tool Working through the audit tool is a journey involving reflecting, recognising and celebrating where you are along the way.
This process will continue to be an evolving area of work for each setting as staff, children, young people, families (and maybe even settings), will inevitably shift, change and grow over time. Regular time to reflect, review, update and celebrate progress and achievements will form part of this process.
We anticipate it may take around 2 to 3 years to fully action and embed the outcomes of the tool within your setting as part of your long-term plan.
This is not a race to get to the end, but a journey to enjoy the views along the way.
1. Logging in To access the audit tool, click the log in button on the top right.
This will then take you to the log in page where you can enter your settings user ID and Password.
These log in details are specific to your setting. It is your settings responsibility to decide who with in your setting and other external support services (such as MHST) are given these log in details.
2. How to edit your framework lead details It is important that your setting designates a named framework lead. We will use this named lead for communication purposes, it is therefore important that it is kept up to date and accurate.
3. Navigating the audit pages The audit tool consists of 8 pages one for each of the 8 key principles that make up a whole school approach. These are clickable links of the left-hand side of the page.
Each key principal page follows the same layout.
Function Buttons These buttons provide additional functions and content including - • User guide – Clicking the user guide will bring up a page containing ideas, activities, resources, Ofsted expectations and children’s rights (UNCRC) related to each principle. • Action plan – The action plan operates through a drop-down function and holds the same prompt questions as previously. • Overview – This function pulls together the individual action plans from each key principle, allowing users to view the whole school approach to health and wellbeing overall plan. • Download section – The download section will download individual page contents including the action plan into a PDF file. • Download RAGs – Download RAGs will download the full RAG ratings from the full audit without the action plans into a PDF file.
We recommend downloading each principle’s section and RAG files at least annually to help monitor and celebrate progress and change.
Statements and RAG rating Each principle contains reviewed and updated statements, next to each is a self recording RAG rating
Red = Not working on this and no evidence towards this statement. Amber = Started working to this statement and have some or developing evidence towards this. Green = Actively embedding this statement in practice and have evidence to demonstrate this.
4. Uploading evidence Alongside each statement in the audit, there are a number of examples of evidence, these are simply ideas to get you started. The process values creativity and each school’s unique perspective; you’re encouraged to include evidence that helps to demonstrate what this statement looks like in practice for your setting.
This is your audit tool and should be purposeful for your setting!
To add your evidence to each statement click upload a file, you can then select the piece of work you wish to upload from your system. We can accept a range of media files including images, videos, audio recordings or test documents.
There is also an option to add a note to provide a narrative to any file you have shared, help capture your working practices or acknowledge developing areas of work.
Please ensure anything you upload, or share is compliant with your settings GDPR, safeguarding and information sharing practices.
Should you wish to delete any of your uploaded information files or notes you will see a bin action to the right of each box. This acts as the delete function and allows you to remove individual pieces of information, notes or media from your audit tool.
To acknowledge we have viewed your uploaded information we will identify this with marking the tick function, showing ‘seen by admin’. Please note this indicates seen by admin and is not a quality assurance mark.
The SHWF offers schools awards using a star system indicating their progress and level of completion through the audit tool and captures evidence of their whole school approach.
To achieve awards settings will -
Use the RAG rating, marking completed statements as Green
Upload examples of practice to evidence Green statements
The RAG rating should be completed as follows -
Red = Not working on this and no evidence towards this statement.
Amber = Started working to this statement and have some or developing evidence towards this.
Green = Actively embedding this statement in practice and have completed and uploaded evidence to demonstrate this.
1 Star = 25% of statements completed as green and uploaded evidence to demonstrate this.2 Stars = 50% of statements completed as green and uploaded evidence to demonstrate this.3 Stars = 75% of statements completed as green and uploaded evidence to demonstrate this.4 Stars = 100% of statements completed as green and uploaded evidence to demonstrate this.
We would anticipate that settings take a Plan-Do-Review approach with uploaded examples of practice being reviewed at least every 2 to 3 years and/or following significant changes to SLT.
Public Health encourages active engagement and we welcome visiting schools to support and understand settings practice.
The 8 Key Principles in Practice
Click on each principle below to find out more, including how each relates to Ofsted expectations, Children's Rights, support for this principle and more:
1. Leadership and Management that supports and champions efforts to promote positive health and wellbeing that is known and felt throughout the school.
2. An Ethos and Environment that promotes respect, values diversity and ensures a safe, happy and healthy place for all.
3. Curriculum and Learning that promotes resilience and supports social and emotional learning, equipping everyone with the tools to cope and thrive.
4. Pupil Participation - Student Voice that recognises children and young people's role as the 'agents of change', helping them to feel part of their setting and wider community.
5. Staff Health, Wellbeing & Developmentthat helps teachers to understand and maintain their own positive experiences of health and wellbeing alongside knowledge, skills and confidence to support learners.
6. Involving Parents, Carers & Familiesso that health and wellbeing is developed in partnership with a shared understanding of what support is available and enables parents, carers and family members to participate as fully as possible in their child’s educational life.
7. Identifying Need and Monitoring Impact, education staff can raise concerns and understand effective routes and mechanisms for support. Settings use a range of tools to assess and plan interventions and these are reviewed and monitored appropriately.
8. Targeted Support and Appropriate Referrals is identified for children or young people who would benefit from an enhanced approach, appropriate support is sought and accessed in an effective and timely manner.
Wellbeing Action Groups (WAG)
NICE guidance for ‘Social, emotional and mental wellbeing in primary and secondary education’ (www.nice.org.uk/guidance)published July 2022.
“Defines the whole-school approach as ‘the entire school community as a single unit…..”
A Wellbeing Action Group can be used to hear the voiceof the whole school community. This group can help to integrate a whole school approach within the setting, sharing ideas and examples of practice.
The WAG may also look to review key policies to ensure health & wellbeing is included.
Settings can be creative and flexible with how they capture and hear the voice of their whole school community, and, ensure there is a process in place for feeding back to SLT. Then, respond to what they have heard and follow with appropriate action planning which is shared with everyone.
The setting may choose to hold a dedicated wellbeing action group which includes membership from the whole school community, including SLT, governors, children and young people, parents and carers.
If the setting uses this model, it’s suggested setting terms of reference (ToR) which are adopted for this group.
There may be differing members to this group dependent upon the topic areas being explored at any one time. Although, these should always include opportunities for everyone to have their say.
Many education settings will already have formal and/or informal groups that parents, carers, children and young people engage with. A setting may wish to utilise an existing forum to consult with.
For families, this may be through surveys, dedicated wellbeing action group membership, family coffee events where another member of staff may join for a short time to consult, attending PTFA/PFA events or PTFA/PFA collecting parental views and feedback, end or start of day pop up.
For learners, there may be student wellbeing champions, tutor time, Student Council or other groups that can provide representation of the learner’s voice to all whole school approach work.
If your school doesn't appear on this list, please contact us at:
Who can register to access the audit tool?
There is no registration required as this is currently a school based provision.
Please ask your schools SLT and SMHL if you would like to access your schools audit.
What if I have not received or lost my school password & log in details?
Please contact us at we will be happy to help.
Can I be affiliated to more than 1 school?
As we use a central school based log in stem there is no affiliation required. Therefore, you can access audit tools for multiple schools so long as they have shared there log in credentials with you.
How many people can join my audit tool?
The schools audit can have any number of people access it to support your whole school approach work.
I lead more than 1 school, do i have to have multiple audit tools?
We recommend that each school or site has a different lead and separate audit. Most provisions have different age groups, families, staff and environments, as such there will be a different range of examples of practice for each setting.
We are always happy to discuss, so please contact us if you would like to talk about this.
Can I change or reset the school ID or Password?
Yes, if you need or want to change or reset your school ID or Password, please contact us.
We hope you enjoy using the Somerset Health & Wellbeing Framework and the Audit Tool to help progress your settings whole school approach to health and wellbeing.
