{"id":769,"date":"2026-08-05T18:15:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thrivingschools.eu\/?p=769"},"modified":"2026-08-13T00:59:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:59:33","slug":"why-school-wellbeing-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thrivingschools.eu\/ro\/why-school-wellbeing-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Why School Wellbeing Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students learn best when they feel safe, supported, connected and able to participate fully in school life. These conditions are closely linked with how students learn, behave, build relationships and cope with everyday challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what school wellbeing<\/strong> is about. It goes beyond feeling happy or organising occasional wellbeing activities. It includes students\u2019 emotional and social wellbeing, their relationships with teachers and peers, their sense of belonging, their confidence to participate, and the overall climate of the school. It also includes the wellbeing of the adults who teach and support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools play an important role in shaping these experiences. While wellbeing remains important throughout a student\u2019s education, building positive relationships, emotional skills and supportive routines from an early age can help establish foundations that students can carry with them as they progress through school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are facing growing pressure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recent international evidence shows that many children and young people are experiencing increasing pressure alongside declining perceptions of support. The World Health Organization\u2019s Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study gathered data from almost 280,000 students aged 11, 13 and 15 across 44 countries and regions. Between 2018 and 2022, students reported lower levels of support from teachers and classmates, while school pressure increased. Across the surveyed age groups, 11% reported being bullied at school and 15% reported being cyberbullied. These findings underline the importance of creating school environments where students feel that they belong, know where to seek help and have supportive relationships with both adults and peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellbeing and learning are connected<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Supporting wellbeing does not mean lowering expectations for learning. Research increasingly shows that students\u2019 social and emotional development is connected with their engagement and academic progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examined 40 studies involving 33,737 students from Grades 1 to 12. Students participating in universal school-based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programmes achieved better academic outcomes than students who did not participate. Another 2025 meta-analysis involving 24,510 elementary and middle-school students also found small but positive effects of SEL programmes on overall academic achievement, including outcomes in language, mathematics and science. Earlier large-scale research reached similar conclusions. A widely cited meta-analysis of 213 school-based SEL programmes involving more than 270,000 students found improvements in social and emotional skills, behaviour and academic achievement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings do not mean that a single wellbeing activity will automatically improve academic results. They suggest that when students develop skills such as recognising emotions, managing frustration, cooperating with others, solving problems and asking for help, they are also strengthening skills that support participation in learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationships and belonging make a difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research on school belonging consistently links a stronger sense of belonging with better wellbeing, mental health and educational outcomes. Students are more likely to feel that they belong when they have supportive relationships with teachers, positive peer relationships, fair treatment and meaningful opportunities to participate in school life. A large 2023 study involving fourth- and eighth-grade students found strong associations between positive teacher-student relationships, students\u2019 subjective wellbeing and academic achievement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For teachers, these findings connect directly with everyday practice. Knowing students well, creating predictable classroom routines, responding fairly to mistakes, encouraging cooperation, listening to student views and making sure all learners have opportunities to participate can shape how students experience school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teacher wellbeing belongs in the same conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Teachers\u2019 working conditions, relationships, workload, confidence and sense of professional purpose influence their own experience of school and the relationships they build with students. A systematic review of 44 studies involving more than 76,000 teachers found consistent relationships between teacher wellbeing and outcomes including teacher retention, teacher-student relationships and student outcomes. The researchers also caution that much of the available evidence is correlational, so these relationships should not be interpreted as simple cause and effect. Supporting student wellbeing should not become another responsibility placed entirely on individual teachers. Schools also need to consider how staff are supported, how colleagues work together, how responsibilities are shared and how leadership contributes to a positive working environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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School climate shapes everyday wellbeing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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School climate includes the quality of relationships, expectations, safety, participation, inclusion, leadership and the ways students and staff experience everyday school life. A positive climate can help students feel more secure, connected and willing to participate, while teachers are more likely to feel supported in their work. This means that wellbeing cannot depend only on individual lessons or activities. It needs to be reflected in how the school operates, communicates, responds to difficulties and builds relationships.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WHO and UNESCO recommend a whole-school approach<\/strong> in which health and wellbeing are addressed through the curriculum, school policies, relationships, the physical and social environment, staff practices and partnerships with families and the wider community. Their global standards emphasise that education systems should support the health and wellbeing of students, staff and communities. In practice, schools can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n