Why Student Wellbeing Matters at International Schools in Singapore

Inside XCL World Academy’s holistic approach to pastoral care, belonging, and long-term student success.

For many expat families searching for the right international school in Singapore, academic results are often one of the first things they look at. IB scores, university offers, and rankings naturally play an important role in the decision-making process.

But at XCL World Academy, there is an equally important belief: students thrive academically when they first feel safe, supported, and connected.

As an international school community made up of over 50 nationalities, XWA understands that wellbeing is not simply about counselling support or occasional check-ins. It is about creating an environment where every student feels they belong, where relationships matter, and where students know they have trusted adults and peers around them.

According to Claire Rimmer, Dean of Student Life at XWA, wellbeing is essential because it allows students to sustainably succeed over time.

“Wellbeing matters because it allows people of any age to sustainably do what they truly want to do.”

This philosophy is deeply embedded into XWA’s pastoral care and safeguarding approach. Beyond academics, the school focuses on helping students develop resilience, confidence, emotional awareness, and positive relationships; all of which are especially important in an international school environment where students are often adapting to new cultures, languages, routines, and social settings.

Sreedharan Vijayamohan, Dean of Student Life and Safeguarding Lead for Early and Primary Years at XWA, believes that a sense of belonging is foundational to learning itself.

“If a child doesn’t feel safe, comfortable, or feel that they belong, then meaningful learning cannot truly happen.”

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Supporting Expat Families Beyond the Classroom

For students joining a new international school in Singapore, transitions can sometimes be overwhelming. Some students may be moving countries for the first time. Others may be learning in English for the first time, adjusting to a completely different education system, or living with guardians while parents remain overseas.

Recognising this, XWA has built multiple layers of support into daily school life. These include buddy systems for new students, counsellors, safeguarding leads, homeroom support, peer mentoring, and dedicated pastoral care teams across different age groups.

The school also places strong emphasis on student voice, ensuring students feel heard even if they are not naturally confident speaking up.

This is where XWA’s partnership with Komodo Wellbeing comes in. Komodo is a school-wide wellbeing platform that helps students regularly check in on areas such as emotional wellbeing, stress, sleep, and sense of belonging, while giving pastoral teams deeper insights to proactively support students who may need additional care or guidance.

Rather than replacing human relationships, the wellbeing platform supports the school’s broader wellbeing and safeguarding framework by helping staff identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for early intervention.

According to Chris Bacon, Co-founder and CEO of Komodo Wellbeing, the purpose of the platform is simple:

“We’re trying to provide a voice for all of the school community. Sometimes it’s really hard for students to open up and talk about the challenges they face with wellbeing.”

At XWA, students regularly complete age-appropriate wellbeing check-ins which help staff better understand areas such as stress, sleep, social wellbeing, digital wellbeing, confidence, and belonging.

Importantly, the school does not view wellbeing data in isolation. Instead, it becomes part of a much larger pastoral conversation.

“We saw Komodo not as something replacing what we already had, but as something that adds value to what we do,” explains Claire. “We still rely on human interaction and relationships. The data helps us become more preventative rather than reactive.”

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A More Proactive Approach to Student Wellbeing

One of the biggest advantages of a proactive wellbeing approach is that schools are able to identify concerns before they become larger challenges.

For example, XWA has used wellbeing insights to better understand trends around student sleep, academic stress, and digital wellbeing; areas that many international school students globally are increasingly navigating.

As technology, AI, and digital devices become increasingly embedded into students’ daily lives, XWA also recognises the growing importance of digital wellbeing. Through insights gathered across the school community, the pastoral team has identified common challenges around screen time, sleep, gaming, online interactions, and digital dependency, all of which can directly impact a student’s emotional wellbeing and academic performance.

This is especially important in an international school environment where some students may also be living with guardians while parents remain overseas, making strong support systems at school even more essential. By proactively monitoring wellbeing trends and maintaining close human connections with students, XWA is able to better support students in developing healthier routines, stronger self-awareness, and a more balanced relationship with technology in an increasingly digital world.

The platform has also helped students who may otherwise never have asked for support directly.

“There was a student who requested a check-in through the system,” recalls Sreedharan. “The student usually never spoke up in class. When the teacher followed up, the student simply asked for help with homework support. It helped us realise there were needs we hadn’t identified before.”

For expat parents, this kind of visibility can be especially reassuring. In international school communities, challenges are not always immediately obvious. Students may internalise stress, struggle socially, or hesitate to ask for help while adapting to a new environment.

At XWA, the goal is to ensure no student feels invisible.

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Wellbeing as Part of Long-Term Success

At XWA, wellbeing is not viewed as separate from academic achievement. Instead, the school sees emotional wellbeing, resilience, confidence, and belonging as critical foundations for long-term success both inside and outside the classroom.

Chris Bacon explains it best:

“Wellbeing is an unlock. It gives students the confidence, character, and resilience to progress and thrive.”

For families looking at international schools in Singapore, this holistic approach matters more than ever. Academic success remains important, but increasingly, parents are also looking for schools where children feel genuinely supported as individuals.

At XCL World Academy, pastoral care, safeguarding, wellbeing systems, and human relationships work together to create an environment where students are not only prepared academically, but also empowered to grow socially, emotionally, and confidently as part of a global community.

If you would like to experience XWA’s approach to student wellbeing, learning, and community firsthand, we invite you to visit the campus and speak with our team. Book a tour today and discover why families from over 50 nationalities choose XWA as their home in Singapore.

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