Secondary School Children's Health and Well-being Dashboard: School Health Research Network (SHRN) Survey Data

Publication date: 20th November 2024

Correction notice: On 7th November 2024 we identified an error in the calculation of percentages in two health boards for 2023 data across all topics. This happened because of two schools being incorrectly assigned the wrong health board, 1.4% of records were affected in Betsi Cadwaladr and 2.9% in Hywel Dda.  Affected health board data has been amended and now correct as of 20th November 2024.

>>> Link to the Dashboard <<<

   Complete Data Download (2017-2023)

  Response Rates Download (2017-2023)

  Dashboard User Guide

Key Messages

Physical activity and exercise

In 2023, the percentage of children meeting physical activity guidelines has risen back to levels last seen in 2017 with 23% reported in boys and 14% in girls. Although welcome, this means a large majority of children are still not meeting recommended levels.
Physical activity tends to decline with age/school year.
In 2023, the percentage of children living in high affluence households taking part in vigorous exercise outside of school time at least 4 times a week was 45%, whilst in low affluence households it was 32%.
Overall, there was a large gap between the percentage of boys versus girls taking part in exercise outside of school at 49% and 31% respectively.

Bullying

Recent trends show a rise in bullying among younger people
- In 2021“Bullying others” was 15%, compared to 19% in 2023.
- Reports of “Been bullied” was 32% in 2021 and increased to 38% in 2023.
- Cyberbullying was reported at 18% in 2021, compared to 21% in 2023.
This coincides with a growing sense of social isolation, as fewer young people feel they can rely on their friends, with only 61% in 2023 reporting they could, compared with 67% in 2017.

Mental wellbeing

There is an upward trend between 2019 and 2023 in higher scores within the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) which measures psychological problems and strengths, with notable differences between gender. A higher overall score indicates poorer mental health.
In 2023, 42% of females scored high or very high compared to 27% of males. Females in years 9 and 10 exhibit the highest scores across all year groups.

Fruit and Veg

The inequality gap between students reporting to eat at least one portion of fruit or veg per day by family affluence scale is widening over time. In 2023, 53% of students from high affluence families report eating at least one portion of fruit or veg per day compared with 36% from low affluence families.
There is an overall trend in younger year groups reporting a higher percentage of fruit or veg intake compared to older year groups. In 2023, 50% of year 7’s report eating one portion compared with 44% of year 11’s.

School life

There is an upward trend, particularly for girls feeling a lot of pressure from schoolwork in Wales. In 2017, 28% reported experiencing this pressure, rising to 36% in 2023.
Students who feel unhappy, worried or unable to cope report a decline in support at school throughout the years. In 2017, 73% of students reporting they had school support, falling to 59% in 2023.

Public Health Wales has released an interactive dashboard presenting updated survey results on the health and well-being of secondary school-aged children in Wales.

This is a collaborative piece of work between The School Health Research Network and Public Health Wales. This update will provide further insights into the health and well-being of secondary school children across Wales, helping users to understand the current situation and make informed decisions that positively impact young people. The dashboard contains 38 different topics for the four years of the survey (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023) with views available for gender, age, year group, family affluence and different geographic levels.

The dashboard comes with a full data download that includes the number of students who responded to the question and the total number of students who were asked. It also includes a download for exclusion and response rates. The charts created within the dashboard are all available to download along with a data table to accompany it, replacing the National Report from 2023 onwards previously published by DECIPHer. The dashboard is under development and will receive additional indicators and breakdowns in the future. Please see the proposed publication timetable section below for further information.

The dashboard enables the ongoing assessment of young people’s health in Wales, both nationally and regionally, and opportunities to understand trends in adolescent health and well-being. For further information on the survey please see the SHRN website and the Dashboard User Guide on how to use the dashboard.

Feedback

We are always looking to improve on the products we produce to ensure that they are user-friendly. If you have any comments or feedback, then please get in touch by email.

Webinar & Dashboard Demo - 17/10/24

Proposed publication timetable

Publication date: 17th October 2024

2023 data added to existing variables:

Weekday breakfast
Fruit / veg
Sugary drinks
Energy drinks
Water
Physical activity 60 mins /day for 7 days binary
Active travel to school
Exercise outside of school
Non active outside of school
WEMWBS
WEMWBS Scores
Bedtime school night - after 11.30pm
Latest time look at screen before sleep - after 11.30pm
Life satisfaction
How often smoke tobacco - at least weekly
How often smoke tobacco - irregular
Drank alcohol
Offered cannabis
Recent cannabis
Last time tried - laughing gas, Mephedrone, legal highs
Had sex
Condom use
Birth control pill
Teachers care
School ideas treated seriously
School work pressure
School support mental health
Friends support
Bullied someone
Been bullied
Been cyberbullied
"Sexting"
Including further breakdowns on "Neither Word Describes Me" gender and "Year group".
2019, 2021, 2023 Strengths and Difficulty Questions: emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems and prosocial behaviours. (No data exists for 2017)

**Publication date: March/April (tbc) 2025**

2023 indicator update for following "new" indicators:

Tried e-cigarettes
Frequency of ailments Feeling low
Frequency of ailments Irritability or bad temper
Frequency of ailments Feeling nervous
Frequency of ailments Difficulties in getting to sleep
Frequency of ailments combine 2 or more of above
Loneliness summer holidays
Eating habits - Sweets
Age first smoke cigarette (Year 11: under 13)
Current e-cigarette use weekly
Current e-cigarette use daily
Age first used e-cigarette (Year 11: under 13)
Age first drank alcohol (Year 11: under 13)
Age first got drunk (Year 11: under 13)
Percentage of children who have 2 or more health behaviours
Age first used cannabis (Year 11: under 13)
Gambled in last 7 days
LARC (subject to number of responses)
Emergency contraception (subject to number of responses)
Other contraception (subject to number of responses)
Age first had sex (Year 11: under 13)
School involvement - own ideas taken seriously
School involvement - planning
School involvement - chances to decide
School involvement - belonging
Teacher accept me
Teachers trust
Teacher talk to
Cyberbullied someone
Problematic social media use (score above 6)

**Publication date: Summer (tbc) 2025**

2023 indicator update for following "new" indicators:

Age first smoke cigarette range of ages
Age first used e-cigarette range of ages
Age first drank alcohol range of ages
Age first got drunk range of ages
Age first used cannabis range of ages
Age first had sex range of ages
Feel about school (like it a lot)
Friends - help me*
Friends - share joys and sorrows*
Friends - talk about my problems*
Social media use (Social media disorder scale)
Family support - emotional help
Family support - tries to help
Family support - talk about problems
Family support - willing help make decisions
All responses SDQ (total score)
All responses SDQ (emotional problems scale score)
All responses SDQ (conduct problems scale score)
All responses SDQ (hyperactivity scale score)
All responses SDQ (peer problems scale score)
All responses SDQ (prosocial behaviour scale score)
Cigarette sources
e-cig sources
Feel about school (all responses)
School truancy
School exclusion
Online contact

Including breakdown on ethnicity for 2023 data only

**Publication date: Summer 2025 (tbc)**

Update of new indicators with historic data.

Accessibility

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Version 3, published 17/10/2024
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Version 3, published 17/10/2024

Whilst we endeavour to meet ‘WCAG 2.2 AA’ we currently have the following non-compliance issues:

1.3 Adaptable

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1.4.1 Use of Color

1.4.5 Images of Text

1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus

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Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in October 2024. It will be reviewed in October 2025.
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