From Regulation to Readiness: How Framingham Earl Is Building a Culture of Wellbeing
- Neil @ Future Action
- 26 minutes ago
- 5 min read
At 8:15 each morning, as the doors open at Framingham Earl High School, groups of Year 9 students begin their day with yoga, skipping, and circuit training. Laughter and movement fill the corridors — a sign that wellbeing isn’t an add-on here, it’s part of the school’s rhythm.
Framingham Earl High School is a vibrant, inclusive school in Norfolk with a growing commitment to student wellbeing. It is part of the Sapientia Trust.
Brilliant Ben Player, Director of PE and School Sport, has been a driving force in embedding the RISE Up programme across the school.
'As a school that starts the day early, we identified a need to energise and regulate our students first thing in the morning.
We also recognised a significant number of students with SEMH needs who would benefit from movement-based co-regulation strategies and a more trauma-informed approach in PE and across the wider curriculum.
We knew that movement had the potential to not only regulate students emotionally but also improve engagement, confidence, and self-worth.
Our vision was to embed the RISE Up principles across multiple layers of school life—from form time to PE lessons to wellbeing interventions—ensuring our most vulnerable students felt supported, safe, and empowered.'
Intent
'Our initial goal was threefold:
To embed movement for mental wellbeing into daily school life, starting with Active Form Time, so that students were ready to learn and regulate from the beginning of the day.
To develop self-care toolkits and healthy habits for a Year 8 group with SEMH needs.
To improve engagement and enjoyment in PE for disengaged students across Years 8–11 by designing personalised, meaningful movement opportunities.'
Implementation
Active Form Time – Year 8 Trial (8:15–8:40 AM daily):
'We designed a structured but flexible menu of activities:
Walk and Talk ("You'll Never Walk Alone")
Yoga, Just Dance, Skipping, Circuit Training
Body Scan Mindfulness
Kinball and Boxercise
Classroom-based RISE Up self-care sessions
We observed that many students gravitated towards calming, repetitive movement ('Repeaters') first thing in the morning, helping them settle and regulate before lessons began.
We are now scaling this programme to all Year 9 form groups from September 2025.'
Year 8 Target Group (6 students):
Small group RISE Up Sport Sanctuary intervention with a focus on:
Confidence-building and self-esteem
Understanding the RISE link between movement and emotional regulation
Creating personalised self-care toolkits using the Mental Fitness Pyramid
Promoting healthy habits (sleep, nutrition, hydration, mindfulness, digital balance)
Year 7–11 Wider Implementation:
PE lessons restructured to align with RISE Up principles, offering greater student choice, self-kindness, and connection.
Fram’s fantastic Festival of Sport brought together a variety of inclusive team sports and RISE Up-themed activities for children to enjoy and develop a greater sense of belonging.
Staff CPD:
Over 10 staff accessed Future Action’s CPD through the Norfolk RISE Up programme:
RISE Up Early Intervention Mental Wellbeing Course
Trauma Informed PE Course
In-person training delivered by Neil Moggan in April 2025 focused on relational safety and embedding co-regulation into practice.
Impact
Quantitative Outcomes:
School Wellbeing Scorecard improved by 36% from a high starting point of 60% to 96%
SWEMWBS (Teacher perception of student wellbeing for Year 8 form groups):
Average Score increased from 3.13 to 4.00 showing a 28% improvement overall
Most domains improved by 1 Likert point
Student Outcomes:
Increased confidence and emotional literacy
Improved engagement in PE
Stronger relationships between students and staff
Greater student voice and agency
Student Voice:
“It’s really nice to start the day with movement – it helps me feel calmer and more settled. I definitely want the form time programme to continue next year.”
Isaac, Year 8 student
Wider School Community:
Culture shift towards movement as a tool for wellbeing and regulation
Teachers reporting more emotionally connected interactions with students
Parents engaging more with the wellbeing message and replicating it at home
Norfolk RISE Up Celebration Event
Students from Framingham Earl were invited to attend the Norfolk RISE Up Celebration Day due to the schools outstanding implementation of the RISE Up programme.
Their selection reflects the school's proactive and inclusive approach to supporting young people through movement and trauma-informed practice.
Student Vignettes – Supporting Our Most Vulnerable Students:
'One Year 8 student struggled with regulation and behaviour, especially in the mornings.
Through his involvement in Active Form Time and Sports Sanctuary interventions, we’ve seen a reduction in his behaviour points, greater willingness to stay on site in the mornings, and improved emotional control on the days that he gets to move in the mornings.
His parents are fully engaged and have introduced more physical activity at home, including kayaking, swimming, and cricket.'
Another Student in Year 9 has joined us from a conflict zone. 'She attended curriculum RISE activities in PE and the Norfolk RISE Up celebration event, where she connected with peers and participated in movement-based team-building.
This helped enhance her sense of belonging and emotional safety. She said “I really enjoyed the Norfolk RISE Up day. It was nice to be with my friend and develop our friendship together.'
Moving Forward
Framingham Earl’s next chapter is about deepening consistency and widening impact.
Scale Active Form Time across all Year 9 groups, ensuring every student starts the day regulated, connected, and ready to learn.
Develop consistent wellbeing routines across form teams, embedding the principles of safety, belonging, and regulation into daily school life.
Celebrate impact more widely through case studies, assemblies, newsletters, and social media—amplifying student and staff voices to inspire others.
Continue embedding RISE Up principles throughout PE and the wider curriculum so that wellbeing becomes part of every lesson, not an add-on.
Expand targeted interventions to reach more students who would benefit from additional relational and movement-based support.
Final Reflections
Reflecting on the journey so far, Ben Player shared:
“At Framingham Earl, we’ve always championed the idea that physical activity and movement can have a significant positive impact on students’ wellbeing.
The RISE Up programme has helped us make these links more explicit and ensure that students truly understand how movement can benefit them.
In today’s digital age, it can be difficult for students to switch off, but through movement, we can help them regulate their emotions and give them the tools to manage their wellbeing effectively.”
Fantastic Headteacher Becky Arnold added:
“At Framingham Earl, we know wellbeing can’t be an add-on—it has to be embedded in the rhythm of our school day.
Through RISE Up, we’re helping students regulate, connect, and grow in confidence. We’ve seen powerful early impact, and we’re committed to continuing this work so that even more young people feel safe, seen, and ready to thrive.”
Thank You From Future Action
A huge thank you to Ben Player, Becky Arnold and all the team at Framingham Earl High School for their passionate and creative implementation of the RISE Up programme.
You can hear more from Ben about Fram's RISE Up programme at the Future of PE East Anglia Conference on Friday 12th December. We would love you to come join us.
You can book your place here.
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Have a brilliant week — and thank you for all you do for your young people.
Neil Moggan and the Future Action team
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