PATHS to success: Evaluating the efficacy of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum in promoting social and emotional wellbeing among children in primary school

INTERVENTION: PATHS is a universal, curriculum‐based SEL intervention for primary school children. It comprises of 131 lessons across five volumes and one readiness unit that focus upon developing children?s self‐control, emotional awareness and interpersonal problem‐solving. It is designed to be delivered by class teachers for approximately one hour per week throughout the school year. The developmental sequencing of the lessons means that it can be introduced at any age from 4‐11. The lessons cover topics including identifying and labeling feelings, expressing feelings, assessing the intensity of feelings, managing feelings, understanding the difference between feelings and behaviours, delaying gratification, controlling impulses, reducing stress, self‐talk, reading and interpreting social cues, understanding others' perspectives, using steps for problem‐solving and decision‐making, self‐awareness, nonverbal communication skills, and verbal communication skills. Although PATHS primarily focuses on the school/classroom setting, information and activities for use with parents are also included in the curriculum package, as are 'extension' activities and tasks to encourage skill generalisation. The total duration of the intervention will be 2 years. The total duration of follow‐up will also be 2 years. The comparator in the trial is schools? usual practice. CONDITION: Social and emotional wellbeing ; Mental and Behavioural Disorders ; Conduct disorder, unspecified PRIMARY OUTCOME: 1. Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) rating scale: The SSIS provides measurement of social skills (including communication, empathy, and self‐control), problem behaviours (including internalising and externalising difficulties) and academic competence (including reading and maths achievement, and motivation to learn). ; 2. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): The SDQ provides measurement of children?s emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer problems and pro‐social behaviour. It is the most widely used outcome measure of its type in the UK. SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Health‐related quality of life; 2. Kidscreen‐27 (KS27): The KS27 provides measurement of health‐related quality of life (including physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, parent relations and autonomy, social support and peers, and school environment). ; 3. CHUD‐9. This will allow intervention benefits to be accurately mapped onto increases in quality‐adjusted‐life‐years (QALYs); 3. Attendance, attainment and exclusions; All schools in England record data on attendance, attainment and exclusions for each of their pupils and it is held at both local (e.g. LA) and national (e.g. Department for Education ? National Pupil Database (NPD)) levels. INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Children aged 7‐11 attending said primary schools 2. All children who are on a given school?s full‐time roll in each of the Year 3, 4 and 5 classes at the start of the main trial will be considered as potential participants 3. Parental consent will need to be provided for each potential pupil to participate