Student wellbeing tracking

In 2020, I've done more work than ever before on tracking student wellbeing. Over the last couple of years, my work had been evolving into this space, as schools are increasingly interested in monitoring wellbeing in a structured manner; however, COVID-19 accelerated my focus and work in this area. I have learned a lot over the last few months, and I'm coming out of the pandemic with new learnings and reminders that I think are worth sharing, and are potentially useful for schools and leaders moving into this space in the future.

1. Students are profoundly honest and open. In the student survey responses that I've read over the last two months, I've been blown away by their honesty and transparency. Students have been respectful of their peers and teachers, incredibly open about the ups and downs they have faced, and subtle in raising concerns. Sure, not all students will be like this at all times, but the large numbers of students that engage in the process properly, far outweigh the odd fib or over exaggeration.
2. Students value the opportunity to have their voices heard. When asked about learning experiences, challenges they faced, or suggestions for post-pandemic life, students were generous in their feedback and they appreciated that the had a voice in the conversation. A month ago, a major Australian newspaper was critical of schools, saying that nobody was asking students what they thought. Like many schools, we were asking kids, and we were adapting our practices based on some of their feedback. Students could see changes were made based on the information they provided, and they appreciated that they were being listened to. When we couldn't address challenges (like home wifi connectivity or OneNote syncing issues) we still recognised that there was a shared experience and frustration among students and ensured that they knew they weren't alone.
3. Students may not always seek help through traditional approaches, but surveying students on a regular basis is a great way to get more regular information. Surveying students is not a fool-proof way of catching all the information you need or all the challenges kids are facing, but regularly surveying students about wellbeing is an opportunity to collect information that students may not ordinarily volunteer in a conversation with a teacher. For some students, it can seem less intimidating to type a challenge they're facing, or click a 1 out of 5 on a rating score, rather than building up the courage to talk to someone about their challenges. The other benefit is that if a student is flying under the radar and is not demonstrating a change in behaviour etc at school, a survey might be the tool they need to reach out to an adult in a less confronting manner.
4. Surveying may not traditionally be linked to pastoral care, but it is a great support structure. We all got into teaching to make a difference in the lives of young people, not to analyse surveys or reduce students to numbers. But, we are all busy, we all want to know we're doing the best job possible, and we can't possibly know everything that is going on for every student. Surveying complements the processes and relationships that we've already built in schools. Sure, a survey response may confirm something that you were aware of. But it may also alert you to something that you didn't know that you need to follow up.
5. Follow up with a conversation. Collecting the data in a student wellbeing survey is important, but it is the follow up conversation with the student is most important. Review the results as quickly as possible after the survey closes, and follow up with the most urgent first. The survey data might mean that the conversation starts with "I saw you said in the survey that you were feeling really frustrated and down, I wanted to check in with you to see how you are", and then there's no further mention of it. Use the data to start the conversation, and then do what you always do!
6. There isn't a 'one size fits all' approach to surveying that suits every student in the school. Surveying has been a great choice for us over the past two months, particularly while students were at home and it was even harder to know how they were travelling. However, I was reminded last week about the different needs of different year levels. While some similar questions might be useful across a school, students have different challenges in different year levels, so some more specific inquiry about these areas will provide you with more useful feedback.
7. Wellbeing tracking measures need to be as intuitive and easy as possible. Like us, students are busy, and they like things being as easy as possible. Where possible, schedule the survey time into their day, don't make it the last thing they do before they can go to lunch, automate the process as much as possible (link it to a computer login or checkin if you can), and streamline the process as much as possible. Don't limit student buy-in because your process is difficult to engage with, and be wary of over-surveying. Get the balance right between too much and not enough information - the sweet spot will probably be 2 or 3 times per term.
8. Where possible, feedback should be provided to the students shortly after the survey has closed. If students use their time to provide you with feedback about how they're travelling, take the time to provide a summary of how the cohort or school is going. This provides an opportunity for students to see that their voice is being heard, and it allows a point of comparison between how they are, and the rest of the cohort/school. Like any feedback, this needs to be done in a timely manner - ideally a few days after the survey closed - so students see results and can reflect on their own responses while it's still fresh.

I'm so grateful for the experiences I've had in tracking student wellbeing over the last two months, and I'm so looking forward to working more in this area in the future. Student wellbeing is inextricably linked to achievement, which means that we need structured ways to monitor students.