A Well School puts the health and happiness of staff and pupils at its heart, as a means of improving outcomes for every child.

By placing the physical and mental wellbeing of staff and pupils at the centre of decision-making, Well Schools helps create environments where young people can thrive and staff feel supported to perform at their best. This approach recognises that wellbeing is not separate from academic success – it underpins it, driving improvements in attendance, behaviour and attainment.

Schools can begin their journey with the free-to-access Well Check self-review tool, before accessing further support through resources, training, The Club and Well Schools Accreditation – creating a clear pathway for embedding wellbeing and driving continuous improvement.

The impact of a whole-school approach to wellbeing can be seen across physical activity, happiness, attendance and overall school experience.

• Moving pupils from the least active to the most active can trigger transformative results, including a 26% improvement in school experience and a 32% boost in happiness.
• By prioritising physical health as the primary lever, schools can effectively use sport as a strategic tool to reduce absenteeism and maximise academic contact time. Modelling show that for an average primary school of 280 pupils, this represents 44 extra days of learning per year, while a secondary school of 1,000 pupils could gain 490 additional days of learning.
• 54% of pupils in Well Schools indicated that their physical activity levels had increased over the past year.
• 41% of pupils in Well Schools reported feeling happier than they had 12 months ago.