A Unique Child: A-Z of inclusive practice - W is for Well-being

The concept of well-being for children is integral to the aims and objectives of inclusive practice. An inclusive setting should be concerned about the well-being of all its members. While there is no agreed definition of well-being, there is a consensus that it draws in many different factors, including material conditions; housing and community; how children feel and do in education; their health; exposure to risks; and the quality of relationships and the ways in which they develop.

Every Child Matters and all recent legislation and guidance reflect the current concern in our society about the well-being of children. In 2007 a UNICEF report compared overall child well-being across material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviours and risks, and young people's own subjective sense of their own well-being. It ranked the UK in the bottom third of countries for five of the six dimensions reviewed. While the UK ranked higher in educational well-being, we lagged behind in terms of relative poverty and deprivation, quality of children's relationships with their parents and peers, child health and safety, behaviour and risk-taking and subjective well-being.