Building a Data-Driven Wellbeing Culture in Schools

Since 2021, the primary school at St. George’s International School, Luxembourg, has made the measurement of student wellbeing a routine part of school life. Through a consistent process of gathering inputs from students, parents, and teachers, the school has gained a well-rounded insight into every child’s experience. Wellbeing is no longer an abstract concept; it is tracked, analyzed, and acted upon along with the academic progress. The practice began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the adoption of a blended learning model raised new concerns about students’ emotional wellbeing and mental health. Recognizing the importance of understanding and addressing these challenges, the school’s leadership launched a structured wellbeing assessment. What started as a pandemic response has since evolved into a valued, ongoing practice. Today, students, teachers, and parents participate in the wellbeing survey twice each year.

Designing a Process that Works for Schools

The questionnaires used in the wellbeing survey are inspired by the latest research in educational wellbeing, and focus on eight key elements, covering social, emotional, physical and digital wellbeing. Questions are intentionally short, clear, and accessible. Students are informed about who can view their results and are free to skip questions they do not feel comfortable answering. Other questions explore lifestyle factors such as sleep patterns, breakfast routines, and screen time habits.

Example questions include:

• Are you happy to come to school?”
• Do you have friends to play with at breaktime?”
• Do you feel safe at school?”

Teacher surveys are designed to be completed in under 30 minutes for an entire class, minimizing additional workload, and parent surveys take just a few minutes on a smartphone, which promotes high participation rates.

From Data to Action

Once collected, the data is analyzed, and the results provide individual wellbeing profiles alongside insights at the class, year group, and whole-school level. This analysis helps identify strengths to celebrate as well as areas requiring further attention.

The reports are being used by class teachers, year group leaders, and pastoral team to create intervention plans tailored to the findings. Some of the interventions are whole-school initiatives, such as assemblies on specific topics, while others target smaller groups or individual students. For those showing signs of difficulty, interventions may include one-to-one conversations, small social groups, or, in rare cases, referrals to external agencies.

Although the dataset is still growing, the results show that students who receive interventions often improve their wellbeing scores in later assessments. While this is not yet definitive empirical proof, the results suggest that the school’s approach is effective. From a budget perspective, the school has found that most interventions require minimal or no additional funding, as they are often implemented through the reallocation of existing resources. In other words, this data-driven approach allows the school to provide better support without incurring unnecessary costs.

Embedding Wellbeing Measurement into School Culture

The school currently conducts a wellbeing survey twice a year: once early in the academic year and again towards the end. Select findings are shared with parents and discussed with students, fostering transparency and engagement. The second survey also includes a trend analysis to monitor progress and assess the impact of earlier interventions. This consistent rhythm serves three purposes:

The surveys complement rather than replace existing pastoral care practices. They act as an additional “sensor,” combining teacher intuition with objective, actionable data. This approach helps identify students who might otherwise remain “under the radar,” creating a fuller picture of each child’s wellbeing.

Overall, the school’s experience demonstrates that wellbeing tracking can be simple, collaborative, and effective. As schools are expected to adopt policies and practices that promote student wellbeing alongside academic achievement, a structured and proactive approach to measuring wellbeing is not only optional, it is essential.