The 5 Be's of Wellbeing

Hannah Davey

My name is Hannah, I am a final year psychology student with a passion for developmental psychology. Along side my degree I have worked with children in a variety of roles. I loved incorporating my love for psychology and my practical experience working with children into this project.

About the Project

For my SDA I designed a poster for KS1 children, introducing them to the concept of wellbeing. The poster was based off the UK Governments Five Ways to Wellbeing campaign to improve adult wellbeing which was part of the Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008). Along with empirical research I combined my experiences of working with children to create a piece that was accessible and practical for the intended age group. Childhood lays the foundation for our future wellbeing in many ways including our mental and physical health. Introducing the concept of wellbeing at a young age and providing simple exercises a child can do themselves to increase their wellbeing is therefore important. Looking at the UK Governments advise for child wellbeing it focuses heavily on improving the academic success of children with learning difficulties. Not only does this advice leave out most children, but there is so much more to wellbeing than cognitive success. Furthermore, the advice places unnecessary pressure on parents and teachers. In my SDA I wanted to decrease the pressure on parents whilst also increasing child autonomy. I included a parent information sheet to educate and provide further information to parents on factors affecting child wellbeing. Additionally, I hoped that this information would give parents a new way to look at child wellbeing that is more holistic and inclusive than the Governments wellbeing advice.