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Photo by Teresa Robertson

Positive Education at King's 2022

Holger Korth —

Kia ora koutou and welcome back.

There are some pretty big things happening right now and we’re all going through them together as a community.

At King’s, a lot of thought has gone into answering the question: ‘How do we care for each other physically, emotionally, intellectually, and academically?’

We’re also working on how we can support our boys to find their inner strengths.

At King’s, students develop a sense of safety and inclusion through the power of belonging which at a recent assembly was likened to a ‘brotherhood’. In our environment of care, it is up to all of us to create this sense of belonging.

King’s is also a Positive Education school. The term Positive Education (Pos Ed) comes from the implementation in schools of ‘Positive Psychology’ - which was coined by the psychologist Martin Seligman. It is a holistic strength - based approach to the promotion of wellbeing. 

Positive Education centres on the idea that wellbeing can be taught as effectively as any other subject and leads to the development of a growth mindset. It fosters resilience and helps students to deal more effectively with the challenges of life.

Positive Education at King’s can play an integral part in helping our students to navigate events such as COVID.

Over the last two years we have seen a nationwide increase in anxiety, psychological distress and depression among young people. At King’s, we are well positioned to address this concerning trend by developing the skills of wellbeing in students, staff, and the wider parent/caregiver community. This includes an emphasis on building positive emotions and awareness of positive character traits, that lead to improved learning outcomes.

Our Positive Education programme acknowledges the need to take a proactive approach to the challenging times our boys are experiencing.

Holger Korth

Counsellor