Health and Well-Being in Scotland: The Responsibility of All

• In Event: Reimagining Well-Being in the Age of Accountability: Lessons From the Atlantic Rim Collaboratory

Abstract

Scotland has high aspirations as a nation that treasures the whole wellbeing of children and young people. With the advent of the Curriculum for Excellence in 2010, there was a shift from a health-promoting schools model, still prevalent across Europe, to health and wellbeing (HWB) as the “responsibility of all,” embedding commitments to social justice, equality, and wellbeing across all learning.
Some health behaviours of young people in Scotland show improvement. Smoking, drinking, cannabis use, and teenage pregnancy figures have been decreasing since 2002. However, Scotland faces increasing challenges to public health arising from the deep-rooted causes of social and economic inequality which result in children born into Scotland’s most deprived communities being likely to live for 20 fewer years in good health. To address this, Scotland has focused on early intervention and prevention as part of a systemic approach to HWB enacted in the best interests of the child.
HWB has continued to be at the forefront of education policy and practice in Scotland. A clear vision for Scottish education reflecting commitment to excellence through raising attainment and achieving equity has accelerated targeted activity in literacy, numeracy, and HWB. Staff have been guided to “prioritise health and wellbeing, along with literacy and numeracy to ensure that learners make the best possible progress in their learning.”
Collaboration with member systems of the Atlantic Rim Collaborary (ARC) has supported Scotland in moving forward with this ambitious HWB agenda. Peer coaching conversations at the Dublin mini-summit raised the issue: How and what do you “measure” in HWB in a way that shows improvement? Other systems offered important points of contrast and innovative solutions to this dilemma. It was also evident across all systems present that mental health is a persistent challenge. Scotland’s Mental Health Strategy provides a ten-year plan that should evolve as progress is made on one front and new challenges emerge on another. We aim to transform the way people think about mental health in the next ten years.
Through dialogue with ARC members, Scotland is now considering very carefully how to create a new data set that complements existing national data without heightening accountability and anxiety around high stakes testing. Presently, Scotland views HWB as an alternative to dominant trends in standardisation for educational improvement that appertains to literacy and numeracy. Whatever the future format as part of Scotland’s National Improvement Framework, any measure will need to consider the established definition of wellbeing enshrined in the Children and Young People’s Act, which includes eight wellbeing indicators: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included.
Overall, health in Scotland is improving, and people are living longer, healthier lives. However, gaps between those with the best and worst health and education outcomes persist. Reducing the poverty-related health and education gap between people in Scotland’s most deprived and affluent communities remains one of Scotland’s greatest challenges.

Author

• Suzanne Hargreaves, Education Scotland