Considerations and Best Practices
Pulse

Communicate to staff and students that they will be taking part in a wellbeing survey.

• Ensure a collaborative process to ascertain why wellbeing is important for the school community: what it is and what it means for them.

•  Establish together why measurement will make a difference. 

An important and useful way of ensuring the long term success of Pulse is to allow your staff and students to agree its' purpose together. Doing this at the outset helps ensure everyone understands it, buys into it, and speaks positively about it. 

Involving students in defining the purpose empowers them, as it acknowledges their perspectives and experiences. When staff and students work together to shape the purpose of Pulse, it becomes a more effective and meaningful resource, and promotes higher engagement and therefore usefulness.

• Establish roles and responsibilities: be clear with staff about what they are expected to do with the data, and how they will be kept accountable.

• Be clear with students about when would be the optimal check in time and how they can check in and/or access help outside these times.

For Teachers:

• Utilize Introduction to Pulse Video

• Gain buy in for the program with formalized training about school wellbeing and its impact on teaching and learning outcomes.

• Be clear about how the Pulse program complements the school’s efforts to promote wellbeing across the community.

For Students:

• Utilize Introduction to Pulse for Students Video and classroom activities

• Use the discussion prompts at the end of the video to conduct a meaningful discussion about the platform

• Ensure the students understand the concept of wellbeing, and how their data will be utilized.

• Include notice about Pulse in all communication channels.

• Collect opt in / permission where required.

• Share detailed information about Pulse including the introductory video and directions to FAQs.

• Share data points with parents and guardians throughout the year, including the findings as well as action taken as a result.

• Analyze the data, identify trends or areas of concern, and develop strategies to address them.

  • Use our template to identify trends: Data Review

  • Check out recommendations for our Education and Wellness team

• Share data with students and staff

• Conduct feedback rounds: 

  • Consult with stakeholders about the viability of initiatives

  • Regularly update stakeholders on the outcomes and actions taken based on the collected data.

• Utilize the information you see on the dashboard to inform actions and conversations that will take place outside the program, e.g. responding to a help request, or asking a student about their neutral check ins.

• Offer resources and support to students based on Pulse data,

• Incorporate resources and support into existing teaching and learning experiences.

• Review best practices video for gratitude

• Remind students that they can reflect on gratitude for their own lives, as well as share gratitude with both peers and staff members.

• Remind students that gratitude is not only a ‘nice to have’ feature of the program, but also provides benefits to both the giver and the receiver.

• Utilize the gratitude feature to foster connections between the school community, i.e. teachers and students  sharing gratitude with each other rather than just between students.

• Encourage staff and students to provide feedback about Pulse and associated support, e.g help request processes.

• Promote a collaborative process to understand how the program can be used in such a way that it benefits all stakeholders in your context.

• Have regular data review in wellbeing team meetings

• Have regular sharing of information with staff and students

• Staff will review classroom data in team meetings, take action in their own classrooms

• Update parent and carer community about insights from Pulse data, and actions taken

• Have regular catch up meetings with your Pulse Customer Success Manager to ensure that your Pulse journey is running smoothly and you are receiving all the support you need

In wellbeing meetings, consider the data and discuss the actions you have taken as a result. Ask:

• What is going well with this initiative?

• Has the data changed since x initiative began? 

• If not, what could be done to improve it? 

• Where does it sit within our broader school plan?

• Will this initiative become a staple event, and if so how can we plan for it in the future?