WHILE the SHRN Student Health and Well-being Survey in Secondary Schools 2025 identified areas of concern, including rising gambling among some groups of young people, it also highlighted positive trends in the school environment.

The findings show that more young people than ever report feeling that their teachers care about them as a person, suggesting that strong school relationships remain an important source of support for young people across Wales.

Responses to the statement "teachers care about me as a person" are at their highest level since 2017.

Among boys, 65.9 per cent agreed with the statement, while 56.0 per cent of girls reported the same.

However, improvements have not been seen equally across all groups. In 2025, fewer than half (49.8 per cent) of girls from mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds agreed that their teachers care about them as a person.

The survey also points to improvements in young people’s experiences of school, with levels of reported schoolwork pressure falling from the peak seen in 2023.

In 2025, 44.9 per cent of year 11 girls reported feeling a lot of pressure from schoolwork, compared with 14.2 per cent of year 7 girls. Improvements have been seen since 2023, when levels of self-reported school pressure peaked. Percentages for Years 10 and 11 are now at their lowest levels across the past five survey rounds, since 2017.

These survey results, and many more can be found in the latest release of the Secondary school children’s health and well-being dashboard, with 2025 SHRN survey data now available to view. Almost 80 topics are included for you to explore, with breakdowns available by gender, region, ethnicity, family affluence, age and school year group. The dashboard and further information can be found at phw.nhs.wales/reports/secondary-school-childrens-health-and-well-being-dashboard .