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On the 16th September, the House of Lords delivered a powerful message: we cannot improve what we don’t measure.
“If we get this right, it will be the most important thing we have done in this Bill, but, at the moment, there is no measurement,” Lord Gus O’Donnell said during the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill debate.
Lord O’Donnell in the House of Lords
We were really pleased to see members of the House of Lords demonstrate strong cross-party support for children and young people’s wellbeing measurement yesterday
Notably, fourteen peers referenced our proposal during the debate, including esteemed thinkers on education policy, economics, and wellbeing such as Baroness Claire Tyler, Lord Colin Moynihan, and Baroness Whitaker.
Lord Gus O’Donnell stressed the importance of evidence-based policymaking, with Lord Colin Moynihan echoing the call for robust data to inform decisions and deliver real impact.
Crucially, this data wouldn’t just support students; it would support teachers and school staff too.
Lord Colin Moynihan went on to say: “Wellbeing measurement can highlight systemic issues such as high stress levels and workload concerns that also affect staff and allow us to address them. It can lead to healthier, happier school communities, benefiting both students and educators.”
Other peers who showed their support on the floor of the house include Baroness Amanda Sater, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, Baroness Grey-Thompson, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, and Lord Storey
At the end of the debate, Minister Jacqui Smith emphasized the government’s commitment “to supporting all children and young people to achieve and thrive,” adding that “to help us do this, we need to understand how our children and young people are feeling.”.
The Our Wellbeing, Our Voice campaign is founded on five key principles:
✅️ national coverage
✅️ local ownership
✅️ youth-centred
✅️ regular
✅️ confidentiality
While Minister Jacqui Smith has committed to adopting a standard set of measurements, we believe the bill must go further—ensuring wellbeing is accurately captured and, crucially, that the data collected leads to meaningful action
Alongside our partners The Children’s Society, Fair Education Alliance, PBE and a coalition of over 60 organisations, we will continue to call for the inclusion of a national wellbeing measurement programme in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Find out more about the coalition and campaign here:ourwellbeingourvoice
