Recent national and international evidence suggests that the wellbeing of young people in the UK has decreased. This NFER report from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) explored life satisfaction and the wellbeing of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The most recent Good Childhood Report stated that happiness continues to decrease in 10 to 15-year-olds in the UK. The aspects that decreased significantly over a 10-year period were happiness with life as a whole, happiness with friends and happiness with school.
The NFER analysis finds strong personal relationships are crucial to pupils’ wellbeing. Feeling a sense of belonging at school was most strongly linked to higher life satisfaction, closely followed by strong relationships with parents and teachers.
These findings emphasise the importance of the wider aspects of school life – of ensuring pupils have a voice, supporting positive relationships between pupils, teachers and family, and the importance of positive feedback from teachers.
Based on PISA 2015 and 2018, this NFER report focuses results from pupils’ wellbeing data in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as three OECD comparator countries, France, Finland and Korea.