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Japan, Tokyo
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The British School in Tokyo (BST) integrates Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into its approach to student wellbeing, treating wellbeing as both an ongoing, individual support need and a discrete area of focus. A multidisciplinary Student Support Services team delivers SEL-related support, including Social and Emotional Learning, English as an Additional Language (EAL), Counselling and Medical care, to help students thrive academically and socially. The Learning Support team provides in-class and additional targeted support across all year groups, while the Social and Emotional Support team offers individual and group interventions to develop practical social skills and executive functioning. Staff work in collaboration with families to reinforce SEL strategies and ensure consistent support across home and school. Safeguarding is embedded in the wellbeing framework, with trained staff and established procedures to promote student safety and resilience.
BST provides an inclusive learning environment with a dedicated Learning Support team that delivers specialised in-class and additional support across year groups. The school also offers ASDAN Courses as an alternative curriculum for students with special needs, and BST is currently the only school in Japan to offer ASDAN. The presence of Learning Support and ASDAN indicates provision for a range of needs within a mainstream setting, rather than a specialist SEN institution. BST does not describe itself as a specialist SEN institution on its public materials.
BST welcomes students who require English as an Additional Language (EAL) support, with EAL specialists who work with students, their teachers, and their families to develop English proficiency so students can access the full curriculum confidently. EAL provision is implemented through BST's multidisciplinary Student Support Services, indicating coordinated support across classroom and school life.
Mental wellbeing is supported through the Counselling team, social and emotional interventions, and medical care as part of BST's Student Support Services. Counselling involves one-to-one, class, and transition sessions, while the Social and Emotional Support team provides interventions to build emotional health and wellbeing alongside academic progress. BST emphasizes a safe, secure, and supportive learning environment as central to student happiness and resilience. BST Nurses and the Health & Safety structure underpin day-to-day wellbeing and safety, including health promotion and psychological care where needed.
BST is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all students, with a designated safeguarding framework and trained staff to respond to concerns. The school maintains a Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) team that coordinates safeguarding responses and provides staff with guidance on safety and child protection, with regular training aligned to international best practices and local regulations. The BST Safeguarding Policy informs trustees, staff, students, families, external providers and volunteers about responsibilities for safeguarding, and procedures are linked to Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. For Showa Campus, the Designated Safeguarding Lead is Kelly Diaz, and contact details are provided for reporting concerns.
The British School in Tokyo’s Showa Campus is located at Showa Women’s University in Taishido and opened in 2007. It serves Year 7 to Year 13 students. BST teaches a curriculum founded on the National Curriculum for England and in Key Stage 4 students follow an IGCSE programme taught by subject specialists. For senior students, BST states the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) is now embedded as the pathway for Years 12–13, alongside the school’s IGCSE foundations. Students can also access broader programmes such as BST Outdoors, with trips that include outdoor activities in Okutama, Tokyo prefecture. BST also states it runs 130 extracurricular clubs across the school.
