Why Student Wellbeing Matters In Schools Today

By Annabel Dunstan

SUMMARY

As parents, what is our main hope for our children? We want them to be successful, absolutely we do. But perhaps even more strongly than that, we want them to be happy. As we send them off to school, we want to be confident not only that they’ll achieve good outcomes, but that they will be proud of their accomplishments, fulfilled in their relationships, and content with who they are. How can we find a school that will deliver this for our children? And why, in 2025, is it more important then ever that we ask this question? In this article, we examine wellbeing as the core of both success and happiness. With expert insight from Dr Simon Walker (Co-founder of STEER Education), we explore the concrete reasons why wellbeing matters in education today, and we explain what to look for in a school’s wellbeing provision as you pursue a place where your child will be content.

What is the Difference Between Wellbeing and Mental Health?

Before we dive in, we have something to clarify: wellbeing and mental health are not the same thing. The concepts are connected – so it makes sense that we often hear them together – but it’s important that we distinguish between them. Mental health is the psychological and emotional health of an individual. When we talk about mental health provision, we are usually referring to particular interventions for particular conditions: support for anxiety or counselling for eating disorders, for example. Wellbeing, on the other hand, is much broader: it is the umbrella term under which mental health falls. Wellbeing encompasses all kinds of health, from mental, physical and emotional to social and financial. It doesn’t just refer to the psychology of an individual, but includes how they fit into their network, how they relate to the people around them. It is a measure of overall life satisfaction. Of course, the two go hand in hand: people with good wellbeing are likely to have good mental health as part of that, and in reverse, ensuring good mental health is an important step towards positive wellbeing. But we must remember that mental health isn’t the whole picture: it is possible to have good mental health but not have good overall wellbeing. Although mental health is important in schools (and will naturally feed into any discussion on wellbeing), our focus in this article is on the big picture of wellbeing.

What Should Parents Look for in a Wellbeing-Focused School?

So what are we looking for when we talk about wellbeing provision in schools? The particular interventions that reduce mental ill health are part of it, for sure. It’s important that schools are equipped for crisis: they might have special quiet spaces for struggling children to take a time out, or trained staff members to mentor and counsel students with particular mental health conditions. These are important features to look out for, especially if your child has a known mental health difficulty, but even if they don’t: schools are well placed to spot the early signs of mental problems, because they see your child every day and can step in when trouble arises. However, there should be more to a school’s wellbeing provision than playing whack-a-mole with crises as they appear. We need to be looking for schools that don’t just reduce mental ill health, but actively promote good health too. Schools play a big part in moulding your child’s attitudes and habits; find one that builds positive wellbeing practices into its timetable. Top schools don’t wait for their children to reach the tipping point; they monitor, manage and uphold the good wellbeing of everyone, as part of their culture. This means that all their students can feel happy, and function to the best of their ability, as a default setting.

How Does Wellbeing Support Friendship and Social Health?

So how does it actually work? Let’s think about the happiness part first. We all want our children to have genuine friends. Nothing is worse than the thought of your son or daughter being lonely at school – especially if they are boarding, and living fully away from home for the first time. Real relationships matter, and in our digital age it’s getting harder and harder to forge those bonds. Whether it’s the toxicity of social media or the isolation of screen time, the online world is stealing our children’s social skills and damaging their ability to find friends. The good news, though, is that positive wellbeing counteracts these problems. Dr Simon Walker (Co-founder of STEER Education) asserts that

"social-emotional skills protect our children from the corrosive anxieties of social media, giving them good judgement."

These skills also work beyond the digital sphere, to

"help [our children] build the protective factors of strong peer relationships".

Wellbeing is important in schools because it feeds social health, equipping our children to found strong, real networks that will withstand the pressures of Instagram comparison and last them into adult life. Find a school that makes space for such friendships to be made. Top schools promote respect and value diversity. They listen to the student voice, inviting your children to speak openly about their feelings and make positive change.

Does Wellbeing Improve Academic Success?

You might be thinking: this talk about happiness and friendship is all well and good, but surely academics should be a school’s number one priority? This would be a very reasonable thought. We agreed at the start that success is something we all want for our children, and schools are ultimately training grounds for passing exams and moving on to the next stage of life. But here’s the thing: happiness and success are not as separate as we might imagine. In fact, emotional health drives academic success. Dr Simon Walker explains that

"In the 20th century, we thought of social-emotional skills as a nice add-on to academic prowess – the finishing touches to a strong school career. Then, in the 2000s, research taught us that social-emotional skills underpinned academic success; they provided the foundation for a child's ability to learn, through team work, self-reflection, resilience, focus and motivation."

An education that is rooted in wellbeing teaches the soft skills of flexible thinking, goal-setting, and decision-making. This helps your children flourish into individuals who are focused, ambitious, and able to rely on themselves. These skills and traits tangibly enable them to learn well, meaning that they can be successful – and when dedicated effort leads to success, this grows self-esteem. Success and happiness power each other in an ever-ascending spiral. If this is the trajectory you want for your child, you should be looking for a school that values wellbeing. Not a grade factory, but a place that cares. It should be remembered, too, that care applies to all members of a school community, not just its students. How does your chosen school treat its staff? How does it interact with parents and carers? A genuine pastoral ethos for all enables happiness – and therefore success – for all.

How Do Schools Prepare Children for Life Beyond the Classroom?

Of course, academic success is not the end of the story. School is but one rung on the ladder of life, and we need to be confident that our children are equipped to keep on climbing. Wherever they’re going next, whether it’s a medicine degree in London or a gap year backpacking in New Zealand, we need schools that can send our sons and daughters out as rounded young adults, ready to face their next challenges. Good wellbeing is essential for success beyond the classroom. There is a strong positive correlation between good wellbeing and long-term successful outcomes, meaning that people who have better wellbeing generally end up better off in the long run. Dr Simon Walker emphasises that

"social-emotional skills establish [children’s] ability to cope with setbacks, failures, rejections and exclusions."

Adult life can be full of closed doors, wrong turns and other such challenges (don’t we know it…), so it’s really important that our children are well-prepared. Firstly, find out whether your chosen school provides specific life skills teaching. Will your child be taught how to perform well in an interview, how to manage a budget, how to build a healthy consensual relationship? Targeted social, emotional and financial teaching directly charges your child’s wellbeing battery, providing tools for life that an A* can’t. Secondly, the top schools for wellbeing go one step further than teaching skills: as well as giving your child what they need, they help them to achieve what they want. A top school will understand your child’s dream. They will chart their progress, help them set goals, and support them to achieve their long-term aspirations. They will care about each individual’s journey, meaning that every child who passes through their doors can leave the school not only equipped but motivated to move on. Sometimes this kind of nurture is best sensed by visiting a school, interacting with some of their staff if you can. Your child’s feelings on an open day are important indicators. If they leave a school visit feeling excited, happy and cared about, that’s an encouraging sign.

Why Is Wellbeing More Important Than Ever in 2025?

So wellbeing matters for happiness in friendships, attainment in exams, and broader success in life. Fair enough – but does wellbeing have to be at the centre of an education? Couldn’t we find our way to these goals in any school, as long as there’s a bit of wellbeing thrown in alongside everything else that’s important to us? We always used to manage fine, didn’t we, before mental health and wellbeing was such a big talking point. Well – if ever there was a time to make wellbeing your priority for your child’s education, it’s in 2025. Dr Simon Walker sums it up:

"Now, in the age of social media and AI, we are recognising that social-emotional skills are the indispensable gold that our children need to acquire during education. Critically, social-emotional skills are uniquely human skills- capabilities which will endure in an age of AI automation. As our children face a future full of uncertainty, the one certain investment we can make is in an education which develops them as full, rounded and resourceful humans."

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Wellbeing is about both feeling good and doing well. It is the key to social happiness, academic attainment, and broader life success.
• Wellbeing provision in schools isn’t only about quashing crisis, or even just preventing it. It’s about actively promoting good health and positively equipping children with the right skills and attitudes for life.
• Find a school where wellbeing isn’t an afterthought or an add-on, but where it underpins everything. That’s how your child will attain both happiness and success.

ACTION: Find a School That Prioritises Wellbeing

Ready to find a school where your child will be happy and successful? Contact us for further advice on choosing the best place for your child.