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.
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.
