According to a UNICEF (2025) report, childhoods are being transformed. This report evaluated child-wellbeing over a five-year period. Ireland ranks in I st place in Skills yet is ranked in 24th place in Mental Health. It found that children in wealthy countries are becoming less happy with their lives. For a long time, the focus on academics and achievement have been dominant in schools. This prioritisation on performance and the impact of neoliberal practices in school systems and policies is hindering our ability to address children's mental health concerns. Schools provide education yet they provide much more than just academics. They are environments where children learn how to build relationships, how to develop social skills as well as experience a sense of belonging. The purpose of this self-study action research was to enhance the relationships within my classroom. I introduced interventions within the classroom over a three-month period in a primary school in the south of the country. The interventions in this research project consisted of Morning Meeting as well as a range of empowerment activities and tasks. Educational action research was the selected methodology, and qualitative data was collected from reflective journals, observations, questionnaires and feedback from critical friends and my validation group. My findings show that the interventions I introduced enhance both peer relationships as well as teacher-student relationships. As part of these findings, a slow pedagogy and connective instruction were developed. The interventions encourage pupil 's awareness of their own mental health and highlight the value of laughter and empathetic listening within the classroom.