In recent years there has been growing concern that the emphasis schools place on academic attainment has impacted negatively on children's mental well-being in the UK. In a bid to address society's growing concern for the mental well-being of children, the government has introduced policies into schools aimed at enhancing social and emotional…

This article will argue that diverse national, regional and local contexts leave different rooms for manoeuvre for school principals. The social technologies applied by the authorities (like accountability systems) can be "tight" or "loose" and so leave little or much room for principals' interpretations of what a good school…