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The prioritises young people’s health and wellbeing, with a strategic aim for all children in Wales to be healthy and confident individuals. Following national roll-out, Wales is undergoing systemic changes to training and development of the education profession and an overhaul of assessment and evaluation (Donaldson, 2015; Welsh Government, 2017, 2020; OECD, 2020).

So, why this research, and why now? Health trajectories of children and young people have worsened over recent years. Almost 1 in 5 (19 per cent) young people in Wales have reported very high levels of mental health symptoms (Cardiff University, 2021), and that was before the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest report from the national School Health Research Network (SHRN) (2021/22) shows that these levels rose to 24 per cent of young people (DECIPHer, 2023), with girls (28 per cent) almost twice as likely as boys (16 per cent) to have very high levels of mental health symptoms.

‘All schools involved in my research reported that learners returned to school after Covid-19 disruption with less developed or poorer social skills.’

Since 2018, my work has explored preparation for, and implementation of, the Curriculum for Wales with an explicit focus on health and wellbeing. The research aimed to understand the changing role of schools, motivations of the education system in relation to health and wellbeing, and the mechanisms, feasibility and acceptability of the reforms. I interviewed senior stakeholders from Welsh Government with roles in curriculum design and professional learning, and representatives from bodies such as Estyn (Wales’ school regulatory body), Public Health Wales, schools, and others with a multidisciplinary remit in health and education. A case study approach was adopted with schools across Wales to explore operationalisation of the reforms. For this short summary, I have highlighted four key messages from my research in this area so far:

1. Multilevel partnership working is required for public health and education to achieve the bold aspirations and goals of the Curriculum for Wales.
2. Professional learning is of tremendous importance. School practitioners need support for health and wellbeing changes in schools.
3. All schools involved in the research reported that learners returned to school after Covid-19 disruption with less developed or poorer social skills; there were anecdotal yet clear reports of higher instances of antisocial behaviour and poorer mental health.
4. The pandemic has highlighted the important role of schools in learner health and wellbeing. Whereas in previous years it may have been viewed as something that detracted time away from the ‘core business’ of schools (that is, English, Mathematics, Science), there was an overwhelming sense that schools play a vital role in the health and wellbeing of its learners.

These findings provide a starting point for research, practitioners and educationalists who are working in the context of education reform, and highlight the need for increased prioritisation of health and wellbeing.

This blog post is based on the article , published in .

References

Cardiff University. (2021). New SHRN survey: Fifth of young people in Wales were experiencing poor mental health prior to COVID-19.

DECIPHer. (2023). Nearly a quarter of young people in Wales are reporting very high levels of mental health symptoms following the pandemic.

Donaldson, G. (2015). Successful futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales. Welsh Government.

Long, S., Hawkins, J., Murphy, S., & Moore, G. (2023). School health and wellbeing and national education system reform: A qualitative study. British Education Research Journal, 49(4), 674–692.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]. (2020). Achieving the new curriculum for Wales.

Welsh Government. (2017). Education in Wales: Our national mission. Ìý

Welsh Government. (2020). Curriculum for Wales: Overview.