Developing social and emotional skills is fundamental for an individual’s academic, personal and professional success. These skills include emotional intelligence, empathy, problem solving, decision-making, effective communication and collaboration, to name but a few. The Best Schools in Spain strive to promote the emotional and social well-being of students in a variety of ways:
Specific programmes: Programmes that are specifically designed to develop social and emotional skills are very important. These may include activities such as emotional intelligence workshops, conflict resolution sessions or discussion groups on topics that are relevant to students.
All-round education: Social and emotional well-being must be addressed in all aspects of education. Lessons and activities related to these skills are therefore integrated into the school curriculum rather than being treated as an optional extra.
Personalised support: BSS schools are aware that each student is unique and may be facing different emotional and social challenges. Consequently, counsellors, psychologists, tutors and multidisciplinary teams offer personalised support by working together to address each student’s specific needs.
Positive school climate: In order to promote students’ emotional and social well-being, schools must create a positive and supportive environment that fosters social and emotional development. This may include practices such as fostering positive student-teacher relationships, promoting inclusion and diversity and implementing zero-tolerance policies for bullying and harassment.
Parental involvement: BSS establishments recognise the importance of collaboration between schools and families, and therefore encourage parents to get involved in the educational process and support students’ social and emotional development. This may include information sessions for parents, family workshops and opportunities to get involved in school activities.
BSS stresses the importance of developing social and emotional skills and actively promotes students’ emotional and social well-being thanks to the work of qualified professionals who implement specific programmes, offer an all-round education and provide personalised support, all within the framework of a caring school climate.
