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Published March 2026.
Every child achieving and thriving, the long-awaited Schools White Paper was published on the 23rd February. It’s a very long document with a vast array of issues covered, Here we set out some early thoughts, with a more detailed response to follow.
From a #BeeWell perspective what really stands out is the alignment between #BeeWell’s thinking, mission and methodology and what the white paper espouses.
Anyone who’s ever seen a #BeeWell presentation knows we frame our work in relation to the UK’s consistently poor PISA ranking on young people’s life satisfaction. We go on to argue that wellbeing and attainment are not in conflict and are indeed mutually reinforcing. Guess what? This white paper does just that:
“In this world of change, children and young people need to feel a sense of belonging…International studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show us that high standards of attainment and belonging can go together: countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Korea and Japan perform strongly in both.”
In the same vein, our mission statement begins with the words, “#BeeWell believes that young people’s wellbeing is as important as their academic attainment.” The white paper says, “High standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin, with our best schools combining challenge and care every day.” These are not identical – the #BeeWell mission is about the wider system, not just school – but in the context of a schools white paper it’s probably about as close as you can get.
The #BeeWell methodology is all about joining up all the actors in a young person’s life – schools, young people themselves, statutory services, the voluntary sector. On this, the white paper says:
“We will support schools to be anchors in their communities, collaborating with each other and across public services, by…setting out clear roles and responsibilities for local government in relation to all local schools and other partners, such as health, to deliver for children across the community”. Snap.
Indeed, the two new place-based missions, “Mission Coastal” and “Mission North-East” set out a plan to trial something remarkably #BeeWell like:
“We will test a new model of bringing together schools with similar needs, and local community leaders to innovate together and tackle entrenched challenges in these areas.”
Listening to all young people is central to #BeeWell, and SEND inclusion is a key focus of the white paper. Our recent special schools report (LINK) found that young people with SEND in special schools reported slightly higher psychological wellbeing, self-esteem, and stronger teacher–pupil relationships compared with their peers in mainstream schools.
These findings highlight the importance of monitoring SEND pupils’ experiences across different settings, such as school belonging, wellbeing, and support, to ensure that inclusion is evidence-based, effective and is reflective of all young people’s voices.
Last but very much not least, #BeeWell has since its inception been arguing for a national wellbeing programme, and for the last 18 months has been actively campaigning for that as a leading member of the Our Wellbeing Our Voice coalition. The white paper announces that:
“We will move from children and communities withdrawing from school to engaging by…establishing a new pupil engagement framework, developed with input from children, parents and schools… By 2029, we expect every school to monitor pupils’ sense of belonging and engagement so that more children – including those who are disadvantaged or have SEND – will feel a sense of belonging in school.”
This is potentially a huge step forward for all of us who see rigorous, regular and consistent wellbeing measurement as a key plank to delivering better wellbeing for our young people. We will be engaging closely with the department to ensure this opportunity is seized.
In summary, we can’t help but be encouraged by the overall rhetoric of the white paper. For #BeeWell it feels like a potential watershed moment. Now it’s all about the delivery.
