Well being in primary school

The Centre for the research of the Wider Benefits of Learning has conducted a study which examined four dimensions of well-being: mental health; pro-social behaviour; anti-social behaviour and achievement.

Key findings:
- Most children experience positive well-being in primary school. Between the ages of 8 and 10, there is an overall increase in levels of well-being. However, 20 per cent suffer from either declining or low levels of well-being from 8 to 10 years. This subset is most likely to be male, from low socioeconomic-status (SES) backgrounds and low achieving.
- It is children’s individual experiences such as bullying, victimisation and friendships, and their beliefs about themselves and their environment, which mainly affect their well-being, rather than school-level factors such as type of school. There is an element of continuity in these measures; and a high level of interrelatedness within and between the dimensions measured.
- School factors explain 3 per cent or less of the variation in pupils’ mental health and behaviour, 7 per cent of the variation in Key Stage 2 (age 11) maths scores and 10 per cent of the variation in KS2 English scores. These differences between schools are explained by factors such as school disadvantage and school ethos.
- It is children’s individual experiences within schools which are most important. Children experience a very different environment, even within the same school, based on their own individual interactions with peers and teachers.
- Socio-demographic factors, with the exception of gender, have no effect on children’s pro-social and antisocial behaviours, although they do affect school achievement.
- Boys have better mental health than girls, with higher levels of belief in their own abilities and more feelings of control. However, boys are less likely to engage in pro-social, and more likely to engage in antisocial, behaviours.
- Much of the variation in children’s well-being remains unexplained. It is likely that the unmeasured cumulative experiences of children within their home and school are important constituents of their overall well-being.