BrightSPARC
Wellbeing Approach

The BrightSPARC Wellbeing Approach is delivered through BrightSPARC Maker Wellbeing Training, a whole-school initiative that helps pupils move beyond simply knowing about wellbeing, to actively developing the skills that improve it.

Many pupils can explain what supports wellbeing, but few are regularly given the time, space, and opportunity to practice the skills that enable them to feel connected, reflect on their experiences, and make positive choices. SPARC addresses this by creating environments where wellbeing is experienced, developed, and strengthened over time.

SPARC stands for strengthening people through autonomy, reflection and connection, and these three key drivers for improved wellbeing are at the heart of SPARC.

Connection means getting along with others, understanding how people feel, and feeling like you belong. It helps you feel safe, cared for, and part of something bigger.

Reflection means thinking about what happened, how you feel, and what you learned. It helps you understand yourself and make good choices next time.

Autonomy means making your own choices, trying things out, and believing you can do things. It helps you feel confident, brave, and proud of what you can do.

Connection, Reflection, and Autonomy strengthen one another.

When you feel connected, it’s easier to reflect and to try things for yourself.

When you reflect, you understand what you need to feel connected and you learn how and where to be autonomous - which choices are right for you, what steps feel possible, and where you want to grow.

When you practice autonomy, you grow the courage to connect and the insight to reflect.

We need all three for wellbeing.

Together they form a balanced foundation that helps us flourish - feeling held, thoughtful, and capable as we move through the world.

These drivers are not taught in isolation. They are enabled to grow through spaces built around play, curiosity, and creativity, where pupils can actively engage, explore, express themselves, and interact with others.

PLAY - Play is when you get to choose what you do, try things out, use your imagination, and have fun while learning new things.

CURIOSITY - Curiosity is wanting to find out more - asking questions, noticing things, and exploring because something feels interesting.

CREATIVITY - Creativity is making new ideas, stories, or things that come from your imagination and feel special or important to you.

What are SPARC Makers?

SPARC Makers are pupils or staff who have completed BrightSPARC Wellbeing training and are equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to promote wellbeing within their school community.

Through the SPARC approach, pupils are encouraged to take an active role in building a positive and supportive environment within their setting and become 'SPARC Makers'.

Their role is to enable wellbeing through creating safe and welcoming environments where pupils can explore, participate and grow - supporting them to develop connection, reflection and autonomy through real experiences in play, curiosity and creativity.

By exploring ideas through play, curiosity, and creativity, they develop important life skills such as communication, empathy, leadership, and problem-solving while supporting the wellbeing of their peers.

Play thrives on open-ended exploration, imagination, and self-direction, with freedom to follow curiosity. When people engage in playful exploration, follow their curiosity, or express creativity, they naturally practice and strengthen the skills that underpin wellbeing.

The Play Commission report makes clear that children need more protected time, space, and permission to play - because play is essential for wellbeing, development, and resilience. Schools are specifically named as key places where this can - and should - happen.

"Play is not a luxury. It is essential to learning, wellbeing, development and belonging"
- The Play Commission Report

Training SPARC Makers helps schools put the Play Commission Report’s recommendations into daily practice

Creates protected and safe emotional play & wellbeing spaces

Safe emotional and social play environments Builds autonomy, reflection, and connection
Children support peers through listening and choice-based conversations
Encourages independence and voice whilst strengthening belonging and emotional safety
Develops pupil leadership in wellbeing and supports mental health through play-based approaches
Structured but child-directed sessions - children are trusted contributors, not passive recipients

The Process

SPARC gives pupils opportunities to develop wellbeing through real experiences rather than through instruction alone.

Pupils move through a simple process:

They take part in activities, notice what is happening in themselves and others, and begin to understand and apply what they have learned over time.

SPARC works particularly well when introduced as a wellbeing space during social times, such as lunchtimes, or as a targeted provision for specific pupils who need additional support.

Over time, the values and approaches developed within these spaces can be embedded more widely across school life, shaping culture, relationships, and everyday interactions.

BrightSPARC Maker Wellbeing Training

BrightSPARC Maker Wellbeing Training helps schools build a positive culture of wellbeing, connection, and peer support. At a time when many pupils benefit from stronger opportunities to talk, reflect, and support one another, the SPARC framework gives schools a practical way to develop these skills across the whole school community.

The programme has two connected parts to can choose from:

BrightSPARC Maker Pupil Training works directly with students, helping them become BrightSPARC Makers – pupil leaders who develop wellbeing skills and support their peers.

BrightSPARC Maker Facilitator Training supports staff to understand the approach and gives them the confidence and resources to deliver the programme in their school.

Together, these two strands help schools create a sustainable, pupil-led approach to wellbeing.

All training includes the resources, guidance, and practical tools needed to set up and run effective SPARC spaces, along with ongoing development and support to ensure the approach continues to grow and embed within your school.

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BrightSPARC Maker
Pupil Training Programme

BrightSPARC Maker
Facilitator Training

An on-site training programme designed to equip pupils with the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to become SPARC Makers within their school community. SPARC Makers are pupil leaders who promote a positive, supportive environment by applying a whole-school wellbeing approach to both their own lives and their interactions with peers.

The training is delivered in school by an experienced facilitator and includes a course booklet, practical handouts, and structured workbooks for each pupil to support learning and reflection.

Participants explore the SPARC framework, which focuses on developing key wellbeing and peer-support skills

BrightSPARC Maker Pupil Training Programme will enable you to:

A full day on site, training up to 30 Bright SPARC Makers
A course booklet for each pupil/student
Creation of BrightSPARC Profiles
Development of individual Wellbeing Toolkits
Scenario based learning aimed at enhancing:
- Knowledge and confidence around promoting wellbeing
- Listening skills
- Understanding emotions & the relationship between thoughts, feelings & behaviours
- Reflective and supportive conversations
- Creation of a BrightSPARC Action Plan

Following the training, pupils will be equipped to act as BrightSPARC Makers within their school, using practical wellbeing strategies, listening skills, and reflective conversations to support both their own wellbeing and that of their peers.

They will develop personal wellbeing toolkits, understand the connections between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and create a BrightSPARC action plan to help promote a positive and supportive wellbeing culture across the school community.

A structured professional development programme designed to enable school staff to confidently implement and sustain the SPARC Maker approach within their setting. The training supports teachers and pastoral staff to embed a whole-school wellbeing framework and to train pupils to become SPARC Makers who support their own wellbeing and that of their peers.

The training is delivered live online by an experienced facilitator, with opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and reflection with colleagues from other schools. Participants receive facilitator guidance, training resources, pupil workbooks, and implementation materials to support delivery in their own setting.

BrightSPARC Maker Facilitator Training will enable you to:

Identify the most effective approach to promoting wellbeing within your school.
Establish and define the role of BrightSPARC Makers in your setting.
Take part in learning huddles to share ideas and develop implementation plans.
Gain confidence to deliver BrightSPARC Maker pupil training.
Learn how to use SPARC training resources and pupil workbooks effectively.
Explore strategies to promote wellbeing across the wider school community.
Consider if systems are in place to ensure SPARC Makers are sustainable and impactful.
Reflect on wellbeing and how it is understood within your school context.
Develop strategies to support staff wellbeing and professional resilience.

Following the training, participants will be equipped to plan and deliver SPARC Maker pupil training, establish a sustainable pupil wellbeing leadership model, and integrate the SPARC approach into their school’s broader wellbeing and safeguarding framework.

BrightSPARC is ready to work in your setting

The SPARC approach is designed to be flexible and adaptable, working across a range of school contexts, age groups, and needs.

If you would like to know more about how BrightSPARC training could work in your setting, please Get in touch.

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BrightSPARC Wellbeing Approach