Helping communities support Emotional Wellbeing so every young person can thrive.

Why we created Motional

For many years, schools and the wider community have been expected to support increasingly complex emotional wellbeing and mental health needs, often without the time, tools or evidence needed to understand where support is most needed.

Too often, decisions are driven by isolated concerns, anecdotal evidence or whichever pupil is struggling most loudly at the time.

We all believed there should be a better way.

A way to understand Emotional Wellbeing across individuals, groups and organisations. A way to identify patterns before problems escalate. A way to give every member of staff the confidence to respond consistently.

Initially, we came to those conclusions independently -then fate intervened!

That belief became Motional.

Everything we build is guided by a small number of principles:

Emotional Wellbeing can be understood

When we understand what drives behaviour, we can respond with greater confidence and compassion.

Early understanding changes outcomes

The earlier needs are recognised, the greater the opportunity to provide meaningful support.

Relationships matter

The quality of everyday relationships often has the greatest influence on wellbeing.

Evidence should strengthen professional judgement

Research has the greatest impact when it helps professionals make more informed decisions. Evidence should support reflection, guide practice and strengthen – never replace – professional judgement.

Everyone has a role

Supporting Emotional Wellbeing is not the responsibility of one person. It belongs to the whole organisation and,  ultimately, the whole community.

Insight should lead to action

Collecting information is only valuable when it helps improve experiences and outcomes.

Every child deserves to be understood.

Understanding should always come before judgement. We believe better questions lead to better support and better outcomes.

Everything we create is informed by Motional Foundations of Emotional Wellbeing – our evolving collection of evidence, ideas and perspectives that shape our understanding of Emotional Wellbeing.

Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, child development, education and relational practice, it brings together complementary thinking from multiple disciplines to support more informed, compassionate and effective practice.

It informs the way we design Motional, develop guidance and activities, and continue learning alongside the schools and organisations we work with.

We build practical tools that help schools and organisations:

• Understand Emotional Wellbeing across individuals, groups and organisations.
• Identify patterns and emerging needs.
• Support consistent decision-making.
• Plan meaningful action.
• Review change over time.

Every insight is designed to strengthen understanding, not replace professional judgement.

Understanding Emotional Wellbeing is never finished.

Neither are we.

Research evolves.

Schools evolve.

Children’s experiences evolve.

Our understanding should evolve too.

That’s why we continue to develop Motional alongside the schools and organisations who use it every day, combining emerging evidence with practical experience to ensure everything we create remains relevant, thoughtful and useful.

We’ll continue asking questions.

We’ll continue listening.

And we’ll continue building tools that help communities better understand and support Emotional Wellbeing.

Motional is now being used by over a thousand organisations, by tens of thousands of practitioners, supporting a hundred thousand children and young people across the UK.

We are rewarded daily by the knowledge that our online tool and support services make such a positive difference to the lives of children and young people.