Why we chose Kindness

One of our goals for this academic year, is to practise more kindness. Anchoring rationale in research that consistently finds that performing kindness has a significant positive effect on well-being, our simple rule of thumb is to ‘try to be just a little bit kinder than necessary.’

Encouraging kind behaviour in schools is concerned with far more than simply being nice’.  Kindness is a skill. Few find difficulty in being kind to those with whom we connect, yet this is not enough to achieve a peaceful and happy school – ways must be found to be especially kind towards those who challenge most.

What we are hoping to instil in our children, is the realisation that kindness starts with oneself. Developing our children’s mindsets with a focus on self-management and self-care strategies which equip them with ways to monitor their own feelings, we hope, will culminate in being kind to others.

The notion of being kind should not be for one given moment, but a constant theme. Creating a culture of kindness in schools can provide a basis for a caring classroom and benefit the whole school community. It reduces bullying and disruptive behaviour and helps to increase social and emotional wellbeing.

A spark of kindness resides in everyone, and even the smallest of actions can fan that spark into a flame.