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We’ve put together a list of FAQs to help make sure you have all the information you need. Have a look below to see if we can help, and if you still have questions, please contact your local programme team.
#BeeWell is a youth-centred programme led by The University of Manchester, The Gregson Family Foundation and Anna Freud. Together with our partners, we listen to the voices of young people, act together for change and celebrate young people’s wellbeing.
All secondary schools across Greater Manchester and Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton are eligible to participate in #BeeWell. This includes independent schools, special schools, mainstream schools, education centres and alternative provisions. If you work at a school and would like to sign up, please email us at beewell@manchester.ac.uk for Greater Manchester, or hiow.beewell@hants.gov.uk for Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth & Southampton.
The survey measures drivers and domains of wellbeing:
Domains
Drivers
The survey is completed online in school and should take 20 to 30 minutes to complete. We recommend reserving one lesson where students will have access to individual computers or laptops.
All information will be treated strictly confidentially and data will be pseudonymised. Only named members of the research team at the University of Manchester and Anna Freud will have access to identifiable data.
The data dashboard system available to schools and local authorities will use aggregated data that will not allow identification of individual students’ data. School results and reports are never shared with local authorities or other third parties.
After the survey closes, the #BeeWell team clean and prepare the submitted data ready for the results to be shared.
Private reports will be shared with each participating school at the end of January. At this point, support from Anna Freud will also be available to help schools interpret and act on their feedback reports.
Yes. #BeeWell was reviewed and approved by The University of Manchester’s Research Ethics Committee (reference 2021-11133-18179).
Yes – you can read our GDPR notice here. It outlines the data we will hold, the legal basis for processing these data, how data will be stored and shared, and the rights of data subjects.
What will survey feedback reports for schools provide and how are they useful?
Schools with more than 10 responses to the standard version of our survey receive bespoke, aggregated feedback via our dynamic online dashboard which enables:
Schools can access data at a population-level (and various groups of their pupil population – for example, boys and girls, different year groups) through our online data dashboard. The aggregated information on the dashboard will not allow teachers or schools to identify individual pupils’ responses. All outputs in the dashboard represent at least 10 pupils.
The #BeeWell survey is not intended to be used as a screening tool to identify individuals in need of support, and schools will not receive feedback about individual pupils. As a result, individual survey scores will not be used as a basis for determining support for young people. #BeeWell uses aggregated data to flag areas of strength and difficulty across the student population (and subgroups, such as those eligible for free school meals).
A distress (support) protocol is provided to the school staff who are facilitating the completion of the survey. In addition, the survey will signpost pupils towards sources of support (such as parents or guardians, school staff, Childline) if they feel adversely affected. Pupils can also choose to withdraw from completing the survey at any point.
We recognise that we have schools and settings where there may be less than 10 responses completed due to the size of the school and in some provisions, a fluid student population. By supporting #BeeWell, you will be supporting the wellbeing of young people across the region as your survey results will be included in the neighbourhood dashboard (no school will be identifiable within this dashboard).
Unfortunately, with a smaller number of responses we are unable to provide a bespoke dashboard for the school as this would compromise the anonymity of students’ answers.
#BeeWell wants to work with all settings to hear the voices of students. There is a shorter version and a symbol version of the survey available your students can access. You can find the versions of the survey available here.
Both biological (sex) and psychosocial (gender) factors can contribute to differences in people’s health, health behaviours and wellbeing. Many of these differences start in early adolescence and then widen with age, often into adulthood. It is important to understand these differences to improve young people’s wellbeing and reduce inequalities.
The #BeeWell programme is carefully designed to:
Parents/carers can opt their child out in advance, or the young person can decide not to take part on the day (in some or all of the survey) or not to answer questions on gender.
We consistently review the questions to ensure they are in line with government guidance and research on child and adolescent development. We have also tested the questions with local young people from year 7 to year 10 to ensure that they are clear, understandable and respectful of their peers.
There are differences in the health, health behaviours and wellbeing of people who are heterosexual/straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual or another sexual orientation. Many of these differences start in early adolescence and then widen with age, often into adulthood. It is important to understand these differences to improve young people’s wellbeing and reduce inequalities.
Some young people will already know their sexual orientation in early adolescence or before. It is a normal part of development to have romantic feelings or crushes. Other young people are not sure or do not want to say. The survey (read the full HIPS version here, and GM version here) is designed to give every young person who chooses to take part in the survey has an option that accurately describes them, so we can understand any differences in their wellbeing.
Parents/carers can opt their child out in advance, or the young person can decide not to take part on the day (in some or all of the survey) or not to answer questions on sexual orientation.
More information can be found here: #BeeWell joins forces with the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration to power new insights into young people’s wellbeing – #BeeWell
For any pupils still at the school who have participated previously (for example, last year’s Year 10 pupils who will now be in Year 11), we would encourage you send the relevant documentation/notice to their parents/carers. For any pupils who have left the school but for whom the school may have retained parent/carer contact information, again we would encourage you to send the relevant documentation/notice.
In any cases where you no longer have contact details for pupils who have left the school, or their parents/carers, there is no expectation that you contact them.
No. You can opt out of the #BeeWell–UK LLC data linkage at any time. If you decide you do not want your data linked, you can contact the #BeeWell team, and we will make sure your wishes are recorded and acted upon.
Yes. You can ask for your participation in the UK LLC linkage to be withdrawn at any time. Your data can be removed from future research use, although there may be some limitations once data have already been included in an approved research project. We will explain what is possible when you contact us.
“De-identified” does not mean that the data cannot be linked. It means that information such as your name, date of birth, and postcode is removed before researchers can access the data.
The linkage itself is carried out securely by authorised organisations using identifying information that researchers do not see. Once the different sources have been linked, identifying information is removed and researchers only have access to the de-identified linked dataset. This process us designed so that the people carrying out the linkage and the researchers using the data do not have access to the same information.
The process uses a “split-file” approach:
‘File 1’ contains the information needed to identify and match a #BeeWell participant (e.g. their name, date of birth, sex, and residential postcode) together with information about linkage permissions (i.e., what data sources can and cannot be linked, based on what participants were originally told). #BeeWell sends this securely to UK LLC’s trusted linkage partner, Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW).
DHCW securely passes the relevant identifying information and a study ID to NHS England, where the Master Person Service uses the identifying information to find the participant’s NHS record.
Once the match has been made, NHS England creates ‘File 2’. This contains the relevant health information, but not the identifying information used to make the match. Instead, it contains an encrypted study ID that allows the health data to be connected to the corresponding #BeeWell data.
File 2 is then securely transferred to the UK LLC Trusted Research Environment, where researchers can analyse the linked, de-identified data.
So, the identifying information is used to make the match, but it does not form part of the dataset that researchers subsequently access. The File 1 and File 2 separation is an important safeguard: the information used for identification and linkage is kept separate from the health information provided to researchers.
In simple terms: File 1 is used to answer “which NHS record belongs to this #BeeWell participant?” and File 2 contains the resulting health data, linked using a study ID rather than their name, address, or other direct identifiers.
The data will be used for approved research that helps us understand young people’s lives, health and wellbeing. For example, researchers could investigate how wellbeing is related to health, education, employment, the places where young people live, or other experiences over time.
Only research that meets the UK LLC and #BeeWell approval requirements and is considered to be in the public interest will be allowed. Researchers cannot use the data to identify individual young people or make decisions about them.
No data system can be guaranteed to be completely immune from cyber-attacks. However, UK LLC stores and provides access to the data within a highly secure Trusted Research Environment (TRE). Researchers do not download individual-level data to their own computers: they analyse the data within the secure environment, and only approved outputs such as tables and graphs can leave it. Access is strictly controlled, and researchers must be approved before they can use the data.
The #BeeWell data will not be made available for general AI training or given to AI companies for them to use as they wish. Access to the data is restricted to approved research projects that meet the UK LLC and #BeeWell governance requirements.
If a future research project proposed using the data for artificial intelligence or machine-learning research, it would have to go through the relevant approval processes before access could be granted.
No. The survey is only available via our secure, online survey platform (powered by Qualtrics). The scale of #BeeWell makes paper surveys impractical in terms of cost and environmental considerations.
Each participating school needs a nominated #BeeWell lead who will act as our primary point of contact and be responsible for co-ordinating project participation. This will involve scheduling time for students to complete the survey, ensuring access to IT, sharing passwords and ensuring students receive and introduction to #BeeWell.
Schools can choose to get involved with additional #BeeWell activities for staff and pupils.
Pupils access the survey online using a unique password. The list of passwords is provided to teachers in advance. The survey is accessed online on computers or laptops in schools.
Schools will receive resources to help introduce the survey to students. This will include PowerPoint slides and a video.
On average, our survey takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete online. We recommend allocating an hour to allow time for distribution of passwords, introduction and the survey itself.
Yes. The survey is online and so can be accessed on an iPad/tablet, or phone. However, we recommend using a desktop computer or laptop.
Staff are able to explain words/questions to students, there is also a hover over function on some questions to explain them further.
The #BeeWell survey has been co-created with young people across Greater Manchester and Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton through a series of workshops.
During these workshops, young people explained what wellbeing means to them, what factors influence their wellbeing, and what helps them thrive. The outcomes from the workshops were then combined with input from a Questionnaire Advisory Group of young people, academics, mental health professionals, healthcare and youth-engagement representatives, parents, and teachers to inform the development of the survey.
No, parents and carers can opt out of the survey using the forms provided. Each student also has the option to opt out at the start of the survey or they can stop at any point throughout. Students can also skip any questions they do not want to answer.
Only your school and Anna Freud (to support you in the 1:1 session) will receive access to your bespoke dashboard. Results will be aggregated so students cannot be identified).
Schools may find it helpful to share their dashboard with governors or partners they work closely with, such as their MHST to create a joint response to the findings.
It is also recommended to provide a summary of the findings to parents and working with students to respond to the data.
Menstruation, or periods, can have a significant impact on a young person’s wellbeing, confidence and participation in education and daily activities. The HIPS #BeeWell surveys in 2023, 2024 and 2025 also showed consistent gender inequalities in emotional wellbeing – for example, girls showed higher emotional difficulties and stress levels in the 2025/26 Headline Findings. Including questions about menstrual health in the #BeeWell survey from 2026 will allow us to explore this further.
To make delivery of the surveys as straightforward and consistent as possible, questions on menstrual health are included for every young person taking part. There is a reminder to skip the questions if they don’t have a period or don’t want to answer.
From 2026, the #BeeWell survey asks three questions on young people’s knowledge of how to prevent pregnancy and protect against sexually transmitted infections, and their understanding of consent. These questions are only asked to young people in year 9 and above. The survey does not ask about young people’s sexual behaviour or sexual activity.
We ask these questions to understand how knowledge of sexual health information, healthy relationships and STI prevention relate to young people’s wellbeing, confidence and ability to keep themselves safe. The information collected also helps us improve Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE), accessible information for young people and parents/carers, and shape prevention and support services.
The information is never used to identify individual young people, and parents/carers can opt their child out in advance, or the young person can decide not to take part on the day (in some or all of the survey) or not to answer questions on staying safe in relationships.
Smoking, vaping, alcohol and drug use are important public health issues and have a large impact on health and emotional wellbeing. Most young people do not regularly use these substances, but some may have tried them by their early adolescence. #BeeWell includes questions on these topics that are aligned with those used in the NHS Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England survey, which is also completed by secondary school pupils aged 11-15.
Asking these questions helps us understand more about young people’s experiences and behaviours, including what factors may increase or reduce the likelihood of smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol or using drugs. The information collected is used to help inform the delivery of education, prevention approaches and support services for young people. The information is never used to identify individual young people, and parents/carers can opt their child out in advance, or the young person can decide not to take part on the day (in some or all of the survey) or not to answer questions on smoking, vaping, alcohol or drugs.
Your details will be stored securely and will not be shared with any third parties without your explicit consent.
For further information, please refer to our privacy notice.
