Welcome…

Happy New Year and welcome to the January edition of Educate.

As 2022 gets underway many people will have set new year’s resolutions and often our personal goals focus on physical health and wellbeing. The significant part of any new challenge is seeing it through and keeping to it. As students, teachers and non-teaching staff spend a lot of their time in schools, the beginning of a new year is a reminder of why it is so important for schools to support both physical and mental health. What does a mentally healthy school look like? In what ways can schools create a positive culture of wellbeing? It’s no surprise that leaders are looking at ways to make their schools safe and welcoming. In this issue we speak to a few schools leading the way in implementing mental health and wellbeing initiatives.

One in eight schools don’t have a library and this rises to one in four in deprived areas. For many, schools are the only place that the love of reading can take root ahead of a lifetime of wonder and joy. The future of libraries in schools and the debate around it has been further expanded by the digital age we live in and the challenges, as well as different opportunities, this brings. Is it still important for every school to have a library? To discuss this question, we speak to different headteachers and gather their insight and views about the value of dedicated reading spaces in schools and access for children to books.

Ask any student, parent or teacher about homework and you’re sure to get conflicting opinions. Put simply, is it worth the hassle? To investigate this topic, we ask headteachers for their opinion on whether homework is a friend or foe and what are the main challenges for schools.

Have you ever wondered how a business or organisation builds or maintains its reputation? Well, it is through public relations, PR for short, and in our regular feature providing careers information, advice, and guidance, we explore the best ways to develop a career in PR. Top tips from the experts on p64.