Submitted by la334 on Mon, 08/12/2025 - 11:20
What helps children truly thrive in school today?
Not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and in their sense of belonging?
A new joint report from the Academy of Medical Sciences and the British Academy brings together leading experts from education, health, psychology, and public policy to address this question. Their findings shine a light on the complex web of factors shaping children’s lives — from attendance and inclusion to mental health, inequality, peer relationships, and the home learning environment.
Among the experts contributing to the roundtable was Professor Tamsin Ford CBE FMedSci, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. Ford’s decades of research on mental health, school systems, and children’s development significantly shaped the conversation and added crucial evidence on the challenges schools face and the supports that work.
Why Thriving Matters — and Why It’s Declining
The report outlines a clear and sobering picture: across multiple indicators — school belonging, safety, teacher support, peer relationships, and general wellbeing — young people’s experiences have declined over the past decade. Data from the HBSC study shows notable drops in feeling safe at school, liking school, and feeling accepted by teachers and peers.
Ford’s own research has long highlighted the importance of these measures. Poor peer relationships and school experiences strongly predict persistent mental health disorders in children — patterns reflected in the report’s findings.
Her expertise reinforces one of the central messages of the roundtable: children’s emotional and social wellbeing is inseparable from their educational success.
Mental Health: A Critical Part of the School Experience
Schools are increasingly on the frontline of children’s mental health, yet they cannot shoulder the responsibility alone. The report stresses that:
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Rates of probable mental health disorders in 8–16-year-olds have risen since 2017.
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Young people with mental health difficulties are far less likely to feel safe, enjoy school, or believe they can be themselves there.
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Bullying and school pressure remain major drivers of poor wellbeing.
These findings echo Ford’s broader body of work. Her research has consistently shown:
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The strong interplay between school experiences and mental health.
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The long-term impact of early difficulties on academic and social outcomes.
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That evidence-based school programmes — such as those addressing bullying, behaviour, or emotional regulation — can improve outcomes not just for individual pupils, but for whole school communities.
The report explicitly emphasises anti-bullying interventions such as KiVa and empathetic relationship-building programmes like Roots of Empathy, reflecting Ford’s stance that schools must foster environments where children feel secure, supported, and seen.
Inclusion, SEND Support, and the Risk of Falling Through the Cracks
One of the most powerful themes in the report is the misalignment between how inclusion is currently approached and what children actually need.
Schools often rely on individual diagnoses before offering tailored support — but this delays help and can stigmatise pupils. The roundtable emphasised that inclusive practices should be built in for all.
This is an area where Ford’s insights were especially valuable. Her work highlights:
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The impact of unmet SEND needs on attendance, mental health, and attainment.
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How inequalities in SEND provision — often based on parents’ capacity to advocate — can compound disadvantage.
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The importance of early identification and school-wide approaches.
The report calls for a move toward proactive, universal inclusion strategies so that students with additional needs are supported before they reach crisis point.
Inequalities: The Context Schools Cannot Ignore
Participants at the roundtable stressed that educational outcomes cannot be separated from the wider social environment. Poverty, housing instability, regional deprivation, and parental stress all shape a child’s capacity to thrive.
These structural issues intersect deeply with children’s mental health — an area well documented in Ford’s research and echoed in the report: children experiencing both poverty and poor parental mental health have far lower odds of positive social or academic outcomes.
For schools, this reinforces a familiar reality: inequality walks into the classroom with the child.
Attendance, Transitions, and a System Under Pressure
The report highlights how attendance — or persistent absence — is both a symptom and cause of children struggling.
Challenges around transitions (early years → primary, and primary → secondary) can be flashpoints, especially for pupils with anxiety, neurodivergence, or SEND.
Ford’s expertise on school avoidance and emotionally-based absence supports the report’s emphasis on:
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Early intervention
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Strengthening relationships
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Building children’s agency and sense of belonging
These are not “nice to haves” — they are protective factors for mental health.
Teacher–Pupil Relationships: A Protective Factor We Must Protect
One of the clearest themes across the evidence: relationships matter.
Positive teacher–pupil relationships predict higher GCSE outcomes and better social development. Yet teacher capacity is under strain, with reduced break times, rising administrative burdens, and shortages in specialist support such as school nursing.
Ford’s contributions underscored that relational safety isn’t optional — it is foundational to mental health and learning.
The Takeaway for Schools and Educators
The report makes one thing clear: schools cannot do this alone, but they are uniquely placed to make a profound difference.
Key implications for the education sector include:
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Strengthen whole-school inclusion
Build support into the fabric of the school rather than waiting for diagnoses. -
Prioritise wellbeing alongside attainment
Pressure-driven environments can erode mental health and belonging. -
Invest in relationships
Teachers need time, support, and professional development to build the trust that fuels learning. -
Work with families and wider services
Children thrive when systems around them are connected, not fragmented. -
Adopt evidence-based programmes
From bullying prevention to self-regulation, research-backed interventions — including those Ford has championed — can transform school culture.