Background
Understanding the health and wellbeing of children and young people is important for identifying local needs, recognising inequalities and supporting the development of services and interventions. Information about young people's experiences can also help provide a broader picture of the factors that influence their health, including their home, school and social environments.
The Schools and Students Health Education Unit (SHEU) is an independent research organisation that carries out health and wellbeing surveys with children and young people. The SHEU survey provides a local picture of pupils' experiences and can be adapted to reflect local priorities. Questions cover a range of topics, including emotional health and wellbeing, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, relationships, school experiences and online safety.
The findings help identify where some groups of children and young people may have different experiences and outcomes. We aim to repeat the survey on a biennial basis, allowing changes in experiences and behaviours to be monitored over time.
Survey participation
A range of education settings can be invited to take part, including primary and secondary schools, special schools and alternative provision. The survey is commonly completed by pupils in Years 4 and 6 in primary schools and Years 8 and 10 in secondary schools, although other year groups may also be included depending on local requirements.
In Central Bedfordshire, data was collected during the 2025–2026 academic year from pupils in Years 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12+. A total of 69 schools took part, with 6,788 pupils completing the survey.
What did the survey tell us?
The survey provides insight into how children and young people in Central Bedfordshire view their health, wellbeing and everyday experiences. The findings show a mixture of positive outcomes and areas where further support may be beneficial, with some experiences differing between groups of pupils.
Where comparable information was available, the findings were also compared with the 2023 survey to identify areas where pupils' experiences have improved, remained similar or changed over time.
Headlines
The headline findings from the 2025 survey highlight the main changes compared with the 2023 results.
More Positive:
-
Primary pupils are less likely to say their parents smoke in 2025.
-
Secondary pupils in 2025 are more likely to have high self- esteem than in 2023.
-
Secondary pupils are less likely to report vaping in 2025.
More Negative:
-
Primary pupils are less likely to say they get enough sleep to concentrate at school compared with previous years.
-
Secondary pupils are less likely to say their school has helpful, clear rules about bullying than in previous years.
Further information
Further information on the Central Bedfordshire SHEU survey findings is available through the following resources:
Download the survey infographic
Schools health education unit (SHEU) survey videos
Short videos summarising the key findings from the Central Bedfordshire SHEU survey.
Secondary school findings
Watch video summary of survey results for secondary schools.