Author: SHRN

In this blog, Dr Abbey Rowe, DECIPHer shares key findings from her doctoral research on how secondary schools shape the mental health of learners with ADHD, along with research‑informed recommendations for actions schools can take to reduce mental health inequalities for these learners and better support them.

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With increasing focus on inclusion and well-being in Welsh schools, this is an important moment to reflect on what’s working, and what could work better for learners with ADHD.

For many young people with ADHD, mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression are common and can have consequences that extend well beyond school. Understanding how schools shape the mental health of learners with ADHD is therefore key to identifying how they can be better supported.

Analysis of School Health Research Network (SHRN) survey data from Wales found that mental health outcomes for learners  with ADHD-related symptoms varied little between schools. At first glance, this might suggest that schools make little difference to the mental health of learners with ADHD, but interviews with learners and staff across three schools painted a more complex picture.

Participants identified a wide range of school‑based factors they believed influenced the mental health of learners with ADHD, and what stood out was not the similarity between schools, but the inconsistency within them.

“We could do something in one lesson and be completely fine, and then do it in another lesson and get into tons of trouble… all teachers need to be on the same wavelength.”

Learner

This suggests that the issue may not lie in individual schools themselves, but in how consistently support is experienced within them.

This matters because improving the mental health of learners with ADHD does not necessarily require a complete structural change. Instead, learners may benefit from more consistent messages of understanding, flexibility and support embedded across everyday school practice.

Where Schools Unintentionally Create Challenges

Across interviews, learners and staff described a mismatch between the expectations and demands of school life, and the characteristics of learners with ADHD, cumulatively contributing to poorer mental health over time.

“[…] it just really puts me down […] it makes me feel that I haven’t tried enough when I have tried my best, and it just makes me feel that my best isn’t good enough for these teachers sometimes.”  

Learner

Feeling understood by teachers and peers emerged as particularly important, with ADHD knowledge and empathy seen as supporting engagement and well-being, and misunderstanding being linked to stress, stigma and withdrawal.

Interviews also highlighted how school systems and structures shape inclusion for learners with ADHD, with gaps in staff training, inconsistent flexibility, limited time and resources, and diagnosis‑led processes often restricting effective support.

These challenges are not inevitable , and importantly, many can be addressed through small, everyday changes in practice.

What Schools Can Do Now to Make an Immediate Difference

While structural change depends on funding and national policy, there are things schools can do now,  many of them small, but meaningful.

These following suggestions were developed with school partners and people with lived experience of ADHD:

• Build a Shared Understanding and Culture of Acceptance of ADHD

Use existing expertise within school communities, ALN teams and evidence‑based resources to develop ongoing, shared understanding of ADHD, neurodiversity and individual variations. This doesn’t have to mean large-scale training programmes , it can start with short conversations in staff meetings, peer learning, assemblies, or tutor time.

“It would be helpful… to have something in place for people to understand what it’s like to have ADHD… so we don’t have to keep explaining ourselves.”

Learner

The focus should be on understanding neurodiversity and recognising individual differences, not just labels or diagnoses. Treat understanding ADHD as a continuing process rather than a single CPD session.

• Make Support Needs‑Led, Not Diagnosis‑Led

Where possible, ensure support is available based on a learner’s needs rather than waiting for a formal diagnosis. Normalising adjustments that support regulation, organisation and engagement for all learners can reduce stigma, prevent delays in support, reduce reliance on ALN teams, and ensure no one is left unsupported while assessments are ongoing.

• Prioritise Consistency of Everyday Practice

Consistency across classrooms is key. Agree and communicate a small number of inclusive practices available consistently across classrooms, such as predictable routines, flexible learning options, regular regulation breaks, and clearly explained objectives and instructions.

Where learners already have support plans in place, these should be implemented reliably and reviewed collaboratively with the learner to identify and address any challenges.

• Put Relationships at the Centre

Embed simple relational practices into daily school life, such as checking in with learners explaining decisions, listening to preferences, and involving learners  in conversations about what helps them feel supported and to strengthen trust.

This might be as simple as a brief check-in at the start of a lesson, or recognising when a learner is trying, not just when they succeed.

“When you have a relationship with your teacher… you feel more encouraged to do well.”

Learner

• Take a Compassionate Approach to Behaviour

Move towards calmer, more compassionate responses to behaviour by reducing reliance on punitive approaches and prioritising empathy, understanding of ADHD, and appropriate support. Creating spaces for regulation, using strength‑based approaches, and responding to behavioural incidents with respectful language can help all learners feel safer, more understood and better supported across the school community. Importantly, many of these approaches benefit all learners, not just those with ADHD.

“We need to celebrate ADHD… instead of trying to get these kids to conform…”

Teacher

• Prioritise Time To Share What Works

This might involve discussing difficulties, exchanging solutions, and gently challenging assumptions about learners’ behaviour and abilities. Importantly, any time created needs to come from rebalancing existing priorities, rather than adding to already stretched workloads.

Small Changes, Bigger Messages

It’s important to recognise that lasting school improvement would benefit greatly from wider support, including sufficient funding, clearer guidance, and more accessible diagnostic pathways. Without these, there’s a risk of placing too much pressure on schools.

However, waiting for system‑level reform should not mean standing still. Small, consistent changes can send a powerful message to learners: ‘You are understood, you are accepted, and support is not conditional.’

When that message is reflected across policies, classrooms, and teachers, schools can reduce daily stress for learners with ADHD. By better supporting these learners, schools can create environments that feel more supportive, inclusive and importantly enjoyable for everyone.

Even small changes can be a catalyst for good. Consistency, compassion and understanding remain among the most powerful tools schools already have. The challenge is not knowing what to do — it’s doing it consistently, every day, in ways that work for all learners.

Curious to learn more? Watch Abbey’s webinar or drop her an email at RoweAJ1@cardiff.ac.uk add email address

My doctoral research aims to better understand pupil behavioural issues and to identify practical approaches for schools and policymakers to support pupils more effectively.

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My research is divided into three phases, each contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of learners’ needs and the realities of school contexts.

1️⃣ Phase One

Using data from the School Health and Well-being Survey, I am currently completing the first phase of my research, which examines the risk factors and trends associated with pupil behavioural issues in secondary schools in Wales.

2️⃣ Phase Two

Later this summer, I will invite maintained secondary schools to take part in the second phase of my research, which will include focus groups with school staff and interviews with Year 10 pupils. SHRN data informed the decision to engage with Year 10 pupils, as this year group has consistently shown the highest proportion of pupils reporting high or very high levels of behavioural difficulties between 2019 and 2023 (Public Health Wales and the School Health Research Network, 2025).

The aim of both the focus groups and interviews is to understand the experiences and perspectives of members of the school community in relation to pupil behaviour, and to identify policies and practices that are both practical and acceptable to staff and pupils.

3️⃣ Phase Three

The final phase of my research will involve consulting with key stakeholders to develop guidance resources based on findings from the first two phases of the study. These resources will support schools and policymakers to better understand pupils’ needs and improve practice and policy moving forward.

🔎 From Educator to Researcher

Before starting my doctorate, I spent 20 years working in colleges and universities in the United States, including roles with significant pastoral responsibility. During this time, there were notable changes in learners’ needs, particularly in relation to mental health and well-being.

Although the institutions I worked in were committed to developing responsive initiatives and innovative programmes, it was often difficult to embed evidence-informed practices. Research frequently lagged behind the day-to-day realities of campus life and student needs. Even as an experienced practitioner, I increasingly encountered new and challenging issues and, at times, felt unprepared and overwhelmed.

In conversations with school leaders and teachers, I realised that my experience was not unique. Schools continue to grapple with complex and evolving pupil needs alongside many competing demands. Ultimately, my desire to develop evidence-informed resources to help school leaders and teachers feel more confident and less overwhelmed when supporting mental health and well-being led me to pursue a PhD. I want to contribute to research that is useful to schools and helps create environments in which learners can thrive.

Over the past few years, Cardiff University researchers from the Centre for Trials Research, DECIPHer, and Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health, collaborated on the development of a new digital tool to support secondary schools to better access and use their SHRN health and well-being data.  As part of the study, funded by Wellcome, WNHWPS practitioners and three secondary schools in Wales helped pilot a prototype dashboard containing three rounds of SHRN data – the findings of which have recently been published in BMC Public Health. The study provides a grounded look at how schools currently work with data and the practical challenges they face.  In this blog, we share what the research found and why it matters for schools.

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Why a SHRN School-level Dashboard?

Schools collect and have access to a wide range of health‑related data e.g. survey findings, attendance patterns, safeguarding information, well‑being records, but staff often struggle to bring these datasets together to support day to day planning. Limited time, capacity, and confidence were the biggest barriers.  For SHRN feedback reports in particular, teachers told us they valued the insights but sometimes found it challenging to fit in the time to explore all the charts and year‑group patterns as fully as they would like.

As part of the study, a new SHRN Secondary School Digital Dashboard has been codesigned with learners, school staff and WNHWPS healthy school co-ordinators to ease this pressure. It brings SHRN datasets together in one place, giving staff a simple, visual way to explore patterns, compare year groups and spot emerging needs without diving into spreadsheets. This small-scale pilot study found that the dashboard helped staff sped up the process of staff accessing the health and wellbeing data they were interested in. 

What Schools Told Us

Using a Complex Adaptive Systems lens, the research explored how the dashboard fits into busy, constantly shifting school environments. Staff in the pilot schools said the dashboard was easy to pick up and actually saved them time. Being able to see data “at a glance” made it easier to identify issues early and understand trends across year groups.

Schools also stressed that any national dashboard must support their existing workload — not add to it. Participants highlighted that the tool could help with wider educational reporting, making planning smoother across well‑being, safeguarding, and curriculum areas.

Confidence remained a key theme. While staff valued easier access to data, many were still concerned about interpreting it correctly. They asked for short guidance materials, practical examples and for staff less familiar with SHRN and data use, training to help them feel equipped. This echoes wider feedback across SHRN: schools want data that are genuinely usable and provide clear actionable insights to support school health promotion.

A New SHRN Digital Dashboard Launching December 2026

Building on the pilot’s findings and years of SHRN survey work, a new SHRN Secondary School Digital Dashboard will launch in December 2026. This updated version will bring multiple survey cycles together, offering a far more flexible and interactive way for schools to understand learner health and well‑being.

The study suggests the new dashboard has strong potential to support curriculum planning, and whole‑school well‑being work — but only if it fits smoothly with how schools already operate and the current pressures they face.

What the Dashboard Will Help Schools Do

Once live, the dashboard will enable schools to:

• Track changes in health behaviours and well‑being over time.
• Spot emerging issues across different groups.
• Compare their results with national patterns.
• Support data‑informed conversations with learners.

These are exactly the kinds of features schools asked for: clearer insights, simpler navigation and easier planning. And importantly, no extra software or specialist skills will be required.

Looking Ahead

The pilot shows that schools want to use data meaningfully but need tools that save time and come with straightforward support. The new dashboard is a step towards that. The study also offers rare, practice‑based insight for public health systems working with schools on data‑informed improvement. These findings are now shaping the next phase of development,  to ensure the dashboard can be effectively used by schools and staff to support learners’  health and well‑being.

With the 2026 SHRN primary survey opening soon, primary schools across Wales are preparing for a new cycle of well-being  insight. Understanding how children are feeling, coping, and experiencing school life sits at the heart of SHRN’s work with primary schools. In this blog, Maria Boffey, SHRN’s External Affairs and Knowledge Exchange Manager, explores why more schools are joining the network, what the primary well-being  survey can reveal, and how clear, trusted evidence is helping staff strengthen their whole‑school well-being  work. It’s a timely look at SHRN’s growing role in supporting early insight, confident decision‑making, and a consistent approach to learner well-being.

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Across Wales, primary schools are seeing real value in understanding how children are feeling, coping, and experiencing school life. The early years of education are full of small but important moments,  the friendships forming in the yard, the morning tiredness that affects concentration, the confidence that comes from feeling safe and supported.

The School Health Research Network (SHRN) helps schools make sense of these everyday experiences, using trusted, anonymised well-being  data to guide decisions. And as SHRN’s work with primary schools continues to grow, more schools are finding that the insights offer something they haven’t had before: a clear, whole‑school picture.

A Partnership Built Around Children’s Well-being

SHRN is a national partnership between Welsh Government, Public Health Wales (including the Welsh Network of Healthy Schools Schemes), and Cardiff University. Together, the network supports 99% of secondary schools and nearly half of primary schools in Wales.

The aim is simple: to give schools reliable, school‑level well-being  data that supports planning, improves understanding, and strengthens the work staff are already doing. Reports are visual and easy to understand — charts, short explanations, and clear, school-level summaries.

The survey is fully anonymous and ethically approved, collecting no names or identifiers. Schools receive clear, accessible reports that translate children’s experiences into insight that staff can act on.

What the Primary Survey Covers

The SHRN primary survey focuses on the areas that shape children’s daily lives:

• emotional well-being
• sleep and routines
• friendships and social experiences
• digital behaviours
• sense of belonging in school
• physical activity
• food and nutrition
• Year 6 transition

These themes create a rounded picture , showing what helps children thrive, as well as where a little more support might be helpful.

Why Schools Find It Useful

Primary staff often tell us the same thing: the report “confirms what we’ve been seeing” and “helps us discuss priorities with more confidence”.

Schools use SHRN data to support:

• school development planning
• Pastoral work
• School transition discussions
• WNHWPS healthy school assessments
• School clusters work  (especially valued in helping to understand how confident and prepared children feel ahead of secondary school)
• Estyn inspection preparation

The data doesn’t replace professional judgement , it strengthens it. It gives staff a clearer sense of patterns across the school, not just what they notice day- to- day.

Part of Wales’ Wider Well-being Picture

SHRN is funded by Welsh Government and recognised nationally as a key source of evidence on children’s health and well-being . This expansion into primary schools creates, a picture that spans Year 3 right through to Year 11.

A new Public Health Wales Primary SHRN dashboard  (June 2026) will give  schools, regional and national partners more flexible ways to explore data.

What Schools Are Saying

Schools already using SHRN highlight how valuable the reports are for starting conversations, identifying early trends, and giving staff the reassurance that their decisions are grounded in real evidence.

“The report helped us spot small wellbeing patterns we’d been unsure about — it confirmed what we suspected and helped us prioritise.” – Headteacher

“Being able to use the SHRN data for Healthy Schools and governors saved us a huge amount of time.” – School HWB lead

Many tell us that the link between SHRN data and WNHWPS criteria makes their ongoing work easier to evidence,  especially in areas like emotional well-being , physical activity, and food and nutrition.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Put simply, SHRN gives staff a clearer understanding of how children are doing,  so decisions feel informed, confident, and rooted in what learners are actually experiencing.

Invitations for the 2026 primary survey will be going out soon. Schools taking part will receive an updated well-being  report, and new schools will be supported throughout the process.

SHRN is a long‑term partnership. As more primary schools join, the picture becomes clearer , helping schools, clusters, and national partners understand what children need today, and how we can support them to thrive tomorrow.

SHRN is free, fully supported, and open to all primary schools in Wales. To find out more or register your school’s interest, email shrn@cardiff.ac.ukor visit shrn.org.uk.

This blog, written by Maria Boffey, SHRN Knowledge Exchange and External Affairs Manager, shines a light on Abbey Primary School and the thoughtful way they used their SHRN findings to open up conversations about digital life, influence and wellbeing. Their journey is a reminder that meaningful change often begins with one question and a willingness to explore it together.

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Working with schools across Wales, we often talk about SHRN data as a starting point, a way to spark questions, challenge assumptions, and give schools something solid to build from. Abbey Primary’s recent digital wellbeing work really brought that to life for us. 

Their case study shows how they used their own findings, but from our side, what stood out wasn’t just what they did,  it was how they approached the whole process. Instead of treating their school level data as something to interpret behind closed doors, they put it straight into their learners’ hands. Seeing their own data helped shift the discussion from numbers to real experience. 

What we noticed was that the school let the data prompt curiosity, rather than push them towards a fixed response. Conversations unfolded naturally, with staff and learners exploring the findings together and letting curiosity guide them. It’s a reminder that evidence informed practice doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs space. 

The school wove this work through what was already happening across the curriculum. Digital influence, online behaviour, wellbeing , sat neatly within the Health and Wellbeing AoLE and the Digital Competence Framework. The school didn’t try to reinvent itself; it strengthened what was already there.  

We were also struck by the commitment to pupil voice. When schools give learners the time, trust and tools to interpret data themselves, the quality of insight transforms. Year 6 didn’t respond to what the data said , they pushed it further. They explored how algorithms shape their experiences and reflected on how digital life affects them. That blend of structured data and honest learner reflection is exactly the kind of partnership SHRN was built to support.  

Perhaps the most encouraging part was seeing how the data brought everyone together. Staff, learners and families part of the same conversation. When used well, it becomes a shared language, everyone can gather around to make sense of. 

As we look ahead to the 2026 SHRN survey, this journey reinforces something we’ve noticed again and again: meaningful change doesn’t come from having all the answers upfront. It comes from being willing to explore, question and adapt. When a school approaches its SHRN report as an open invitation rather than something to be judged by, you get the kind of thoughtful, learner centred work we saw here.  

Their experience is a reminder that digital wellbeing isn’t just a topic, it’s a lived, evolving part of children’s lives. And when we trust learners to lead the conversation, they show us perspectives we would never have reached on our own. 

You can read the full Abbey Primary School case study here. 

For more examples of how SHRN data is supporting evidence‑informed practice, visit the case studies and resources pages on our website.

This guest blog, written by Lauren Copeland, a lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University, explores why menstrual health education matters for all young people, not just those who have periods. Lauren is working in partnership with Robyn Jackowich, Honor Young and  Max R. Ashton at Cardiff University and Tabitha Dickson at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Drawing on recent research with boys and young men, Lauren looks at what they currently learn, what they want to know, and how more inclusive teaching can help reduce stigma and build understanding. She also shares plans for a larger study that will support schools to create more open and supportive conversations about menstrual well-being. This blog is of interest to SHRN readers because it brings together new evidence, young people’s perspectives, and practical insights that can help schools strengthen menstrual well-being for all learners.

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What We Know

Around 1.8 billion people around the world have periods every month. Although menstruation is completely natural, it’s still surrounded by stigma, embarrassment, and misunderstanding. The NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan (2025–2035) highlights menstrual health as both a public health and equality issue, and something everyone in society needs to understand and support.

For many children and young people, periods can make school life harder. On average, 15-year-old girls miss around 3 days of school a year because of period symptoms and spend around 14 days struggling to concentrate or take part fully while at school (1). For those from low-income families or minority backgrounds, period poverty (not being able to afford period products) adds even more pressure (2).

While the Welsh Government has invested £9 million to help tackle period poverty and improve education, boys and young men are still often left out of these conversations. Teaching everyone about periods helps break down stigma, build understanding, and create more supportive schools and communities. However, many lessons still focus mainly on those who have periods, which means boys and young men often have fewer opportunities to learn about the topic in a structured way.

We also need to think about how best to teach this topic. Mixed-gender classes can help normalise the conversation,, while in other settings learners may feel a bit uncomfortable. Effective menstrual education is inclusive and sensitive, helping everyone feel respected while in other settings learners may feel a bit uncomfortable. Effective menstrual education is inclusive and sensitive, helping everyone feel respected.

What We Did – Our Previous Work in This Area:

To learn more about this issue, we ran a survey study with 155 young men and people assigned male at birth (aged 16–25) who attended school in the UK.  We wanted to know what menstrual education they received, how confident they felt in their knowledge, and how this related to their attitudes toward menstruation.

How We Did It

Participants completed an online survey We asked about what they learned at school, who taught it, and how confident they felt in their knowledge about periods. We also explored their views on stigma, and attitudes about period-related policies.

What We Found 🔎

• Most participants said they had some menstrual education at school, but many thought it was poor quality or unhelpful.
• Those who knew more about periods were less likely to hold negative or stigmatizing views.
• Learning about real experiences of menstruation, not just the biology, helped build empathy.
• Some said mixed-gender classes were helpful for normalising the topic, but others said jokes or teasing in these mixed groups made learning challenging.
• The most effective lessons were those that combined facts with practical period management, helping everyone understand both the science and the social impact.

Overall, the findings show that boys and young men want to learn about periods, but they need education that feels relevant, honest, and respectful. When young people lack knowledge, stigma becomes more likely to spread and shape school culture.

What We Would Like to Know

We currently lack understanding and evidence of how to address the diverse needs of girls and boys within school settings regarding menstrual health education.  We need to understand what effective menstrual education looks like for boys and young men, and how to involve them in supportive, stigma‑reducing ways.

Our previous research shows that young men want to understand more about periods. They want clear, factual information about what happens during menstruation, how it affects people physically and emotionally, and how they can offer support. When period education is separated by gender, it can make menstruation feel like a topic for only one group of learners, reinforcing the idea that it isn’t something everyone should understand.

We hope our next steps will be a larger, two-phase study that will explore the best ways to include boys and young men in menstrual education. By understanding what works, we can help create more open, supportive conversations about periods in schools and communities so that everyone, regardless of gender, can play a part in ending stigma and promoting menstrual well-being. The two phases are:

Phase 1 (Scheduled to run April – July 2026)

• Focus groups with secondary school learners – both those who have periods and those who don’t.
• Interviews with parents and carers, caregivers, and teachers to understand what helps or makes it harder to teach about periods.

Phase 2 (Scheduled to run September -December 2026)

• A large-scale survey with around 2,000 young people aged 13–16 years in schools across Wales.
• Questions exploring what learners want to learn about periods, what they think boys and young men should learn, when and how learning should happen, and what barriers get in the way.
• Analysis of how views differ by age, background, and family income.

Our goal is to find what parts of the school curriculum and environment can be changed to make menstrual education more inclusive for everyone. By listening to boys and young men, we can design education that help reduce embarrassment, build empathy, and support those who have periods.

Conclusion

Understanding how boys and young men learn about periods is key to creating more open, supportive school environments. Our findings highlight a clear appetite for better, more inclusive education that reduces stigma and helps all learners feel confident talking about menstrual health.

As this work develops, we hope to partner with schools and young people to explore approaches that feel practical and inclusive in real classrooms. If your school would like to receive updates, or find out about future opportunities to take part in this menstrual health research, remember to subscribe to the SHRN e-news or email lcopeland@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

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1. Schoep ME, Adang EMM, Maas JWM, de Bie B, Aarts JWM, Nieboer TE. Productivity loss due to menstruation-related symptoms: A nationwide cross sectional survey among 32 748 women. Vol. 9, BMJ Open. BMJ Publishing Group; 2019.

2. Jaafar H, Ismail SY, Azzeri A. Period Poverty: A Neglected Public Health Issue. Vol. 44, Korean Journal of Family Medicine. Korean Journal of Family Medicine; 2023. p. 183–8.