In the New Economics Foundations Foresight Project on the evidence base for improving young people’s wellbeing, the research presents the Five ways to wellbeing as:




The report describes the concept of wellbeing as feeling good and functioning well. In Schools Week recently, Damian Hinds the Secretary of State for Education, similarly set out his five foundations for character education, in which he voices his concern that that too few disadvantaged children have access to activities that build the “character and resilience” they need to succeed in education. But, this goes beyond education and is a requirement for life. Interestingly Hinds’ evidence base is drawn in large part from the application of character education in public schools.
At Career Connect we have also begun to factor in the parallel evidence arising from concerns over the growing incidence of poor mental health and its effects on children and young people at the formative stage of their development, for there is a connection between the stress of learning, examinations, competition, including modern working environments and the failure to succeed
Report of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce[1] the key thematic areas for development are identified as:




Our approach is not one of treatment or clinical intervention, rather it is a preventative model that provides people with an understanding of, and training in, becoming more mentally strong as part of one’s education and development. It places the emphasis on building resilience and promoting good mental health, by supporting young people to adopt and maintain behaviours that offer protection against negative pressures. Taking each of the steps in career planning, decision making and execution in turn, we examine how they can be more effective as individuals in managing these by training in the skills of thinking, behaving, acting, responding and reflecting.
The fact is that these skills are all the more important to learn and practice in a world where technology offers infinite shortcuts as we 'google' answers rather than examine the questions, where we can set the SatNav to take us to places without exploring the route or appreciating the journey! They are not just applicable to career planning, they are relevant across our whole lives and are at risk of being drowned out by modern lifestyles. A recent article in The Guardian newspaper: Six Ways to Raise a Resilient Child, written by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, quotes Emma Saddleton, helpline manager at Young Minds, who describes resilience as “The ability to overcome difficult experiences and be shaped positively by them.” Chatterjee goes on to say that our brains respond to the information around us, so resilience can be taught, modelled and nurtured at any age. “By doing this, [Saddleton] through strong support networks and encouraging communication, we can help young people understand when they feel down and know what they can do to make themselves feel better.”