CYP Now - No more seats at empty tables: children’s voice, choice, inclusion and wellbeing

Jamie Galpin, education officer at Nasen, summarises findings from an Australian study that analyses how participation at school can help support the wellbeing of children with additional learning needs

Creating and embedding opportunities for meaningful student participation in school life fostered a greater sense of wellbeing, researchers find. Picture: AdobeStock/MonkeyBusiness

Positive links between student participation, recognition and wellbeing at school

DL Anderson, AP Graham, C Simmons, NP Thomas, International Journal of Educational Research (2022)

A recent study carried out with more than 1,000 children and young people in Australia found that creating and embedding opportunities for meaningful student participation in school life fostered a greater sense of wellbeing (Anderson et al., 2022).

Both student voice and student wellbeing have been areas of focus for policy globally and in the UK. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice, alongside the Children’s and Families Act 2014, emphasises the importance of child-centred practice both in the commissioning and delivery of services that affect them, to ensure that student voice is sought and acted upon. Alongside this, the 2017 green paper, Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision, made clear a national priority to improve the mental wellbeing of children, with schools at the forefront of this aim.

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