Case study – school 2

Here, a school representative explains how they have used the measurement framework to demonstrate the impact of mental health and wellbeing provisions for students.

Wellbeing Measurement Framework (WMF)

The WMF is a wellbeing measurement tool used extensively as part of our HeadStart Project for The National Lottery Community Fund, the learnings from which are feeding into #BeeWell.

Quantifying mental health and wellbeing   

The wellbeing measurement framework (WMF) allows us to benchmark our school against other schools, both locally and nationally. This reassures us, as a school, that our pastoral provision is effective and that the scores we are getting are normal or good. The lack of an external reference point was a drawback of our previous methods for measuring wellbeing, such as student voice surveys and parent perception surveys.

It is challenging to quantify, to measure and to get good quality data about emotions, mental health and wellbeing. The WMF has been very effective at measuring and monitoring pupil well-being on a quantitative level.

Providing independent evidence to Ofsted 

The new Ofsted schedule has a very keen focus on young people’s well-being and personal development. We are able to use the WMF as a way to demonstrate impact or proactivity around pupil wellbeing and mental health. Furthermore, as a Roman Catholic school we have diocesan inspections. The WMF is used to show that our pupils are generally thriving spiritually and morally and indeed, overall are happy.

A good thing about the data is that it is objectively verified, not just us claiming that ‘our students are doing well’. The WMF allows us to provide independent evidence.

Encouraging students to discuss their feelings

We use the WMF as a monitoring tool. At the moment our pupil wellbeing data is very positive but if I begin to see problems emerging around certain mental health and wellbeing themes, I would look to put in place some interventions around these problem areas. Hence the WMF can be used as a tool for identifying areas of need and planning provision accordingly.

We have used the data from the WMF surveys to spur discussions, dialogue and class assemblies around mental health and wellbeing. We have felt encouraged to talk to the pupils more about their mental health and wellbeing and to discuss the findings of the surveys. This gives them a good understanding of why we are measuring their mental health and wellbeing and why it is important for them to assess how they are feeling.