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Using health and well-being data to support improvements in mental health in schools
Welcome to the SHINE August 2026 Newsletter
- SHINE team congratulations!
- SHINE and ABSAIL presentations at the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) 2026 Conference in Utrecht.
- SHINE events in 2026 - 27
- SHINE webinar series: Optimizing future thinking to achieve positive goals: a new resource for school communities. Register now for 30th September
- It Takes a Village launch - register now for the Hospital to Community International Conference in Glasgow on 10th November 2026
- SHINE: What's new for 2026-27 and how you can get involved
- Review of the SHINE Mental Health survey - call for teacher/LA contributions
- Changes to the SHINE mental health survey for 2026
- New SHINE LinkedIN Company page - please follow us
- Please update us with any changes to contact addresses
- Changes to SHINE staff hours and contacts
- New research opportunities for 2026/27
- Safer tech - survey to better understand the impact of tech on mental health and wellbeing (for young people aged 16+ years)
- HBSC 2026 - data collection now finished. Thank you to participants.
- HWB events for schools
- Scottish Guidance Association Conference: Sat 19th Sept 2026 : registration closes on 26th August 2026
SHINE team congratulations!
Congratulations to SHINE Director and Lead for HBSC Scotland, Jo Inchley, on becoming Professor of Adolescent Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow School of Health and Wellbeing.
This well-deserved recognition celebrates Jo’s impressive contribution to child and adolescent health research locally, regionally, nationally and internationally over the years.
For 9 years, Jo was the elected International Coordinator of the Health Behaviour of School-aged Children (HBSC) WHO Collaborative Cross-national study, the largest study of adolescent health and wellbeing in Europe conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
Over the last 2 years, Jo led the ABSAIL (Addressing Barriers to School Non-Attendance to Improve Long-term outcomes) project funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government to explore the management and impact of emotionally-based school non-attendance within the Scottish context.
The SHINE, ABSAIL and HBSC Scotland teams all look forward to celebrating this milestone achievement with Jo.
SHINE & ABSAIL present at the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) 2026 Conference, Utrecht
Professor Jo Inchley, Dr Stephanie Chambers, Dr Sam Ofili and Zara Treharne, who worked on both the SHINE and ABSAIL projects, travelled to the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) 2026 Conference in Utrecht last week.
The SHINE and ABSAIL teams were delighted to showcase our research at this prestigious event. Zara presented the findings from the ABSAIL project "Exploring barriers to school attendance among secondary school pupils in Scotland". Sam presented analysis from 3 years of the SHINE mental health data (2021/22 to 2023/24) exploring "Gender Diversity and mental health inequalities in secondary school-aged adolescents".
EARA is a multidisciplinary European research organization established to understand adolescence as a life phase through scientific investigation and applied research. The conference brought together leading researchers, practitioners and early-career scholars interested in adolescence, and offered a dynamic platform to share innovative work, forge new collaborations and deepen our understanding of this pivotal life-stage.
The theme of the 20th EARA Conference was Dynamics of Youth to reflect the strong collaboration of EARA2026 with Utrecht University's strategic research theme Dynamics of youth, in which researchers from different disciplines integrate their expertise to answer crucial societal questions for future generations.
Research events for 2026-27
SHINE Webinar series: Supporting Positive Wellbeing and Goal Pursuit in Schools Using Future Thinking Skills: Resource package for secondary schools
Wed 30th September 2026 16.00 -17.00
The 13th SHINE webinar will introduce a new free resource for school communities, which has been co-developed by health researchers from the University of Glasgow Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit in tandem with staff and young people from schools in East Ayrshire Council.
This is a wellbeing resource that teachers can use to facilitate psychoeducation around helpful ways of thinking to manage emotions, support engagement with positive goal pursuit, and maintain positive wellbeing. It is meant to support pupils in practicing helpful thinking about future events, supporting pupils in setting intentions, planning, and approaching situations that can help them achieve positive goals.
In the webinar, we will showcase the new resource, explaining the research rationale underpinning it, the guidelines for use and how the activities, power points and worksheets can be used either with a class at universal level or in a small group or individual setting for a more personalised approach.
There will be an initial presentation of the resource, followed by an opportunity for Q&A, feedback and discussion with attendees. We hope that you will join us!
Centre for Developmental Adversity and Resilience (CeDAR) International Conference
Tues 10th November in Glasgow
Registration is now open!
Join us in Glasgow on Tuesday 10th November 2026 for the launch conference of It Takes a Village, our innovative new research programme aiming to involve the community in scaling up child and adolescent mental health services.
Come and hear from some of the leading voices in child mental health and community mental health interventions including:
- Professor Vikram Patel. Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School
- Professor Prathiba Chitsabesan (FRCPsych). National Clinical Director for Children and Young People’s Mental Health (NHS England).
- Professor Rory O’Connor, Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing Research Group at the University of Glasgow
Register here to secure our early bird rate of just £85 (£65 for students).
SHINE: What's new for 2026-27 & how you can get involved
Review and development of the SHINE mental health survey: network consultation
Every summer, the SHINE team conduct a full review of the Mental Health Survey questionnaire, including consideration of potential new health topics that could be included in future iterations of the survey. This year, we will be adding 3 new questions in 2026/27.
We would like the views and priorities of SHINE schools and LA contacts to be represented in our future SHINE developments. Please complete this short survey to contribute to this HWB data review. Thank you!
Changes to SHINE mental health survey for 2026/27
In 2026-27, there are a few changes to the mental health survey. We are introducing 3 new questions to the survey, one on ethnicity and 2 related to discrimination.
There is also a change to the data collection window for individual schools participating (Local Authority-wide data collections will not be affected). This is now only in the Autumn term from the beginning of September to the end of November for individual school members.
Having left Twitter last year and experimented with a LinkedIn group, SHINE has now decided to move forward with a SHINE company page at https://lnkd.in/eKfmUa4J @SHINE (Schools Health & Wellbeing Improvement Research Network)
The company page will be our main social media page going forwards and the group page will not be updated. We hope you will continue to follow us on the company page, where you will find out about the latest SHINE health research events, resources and opportunities available.
Updates to School & Local Authority Contacts
Please update the SHINE Network Manager with any changes to the school or Local Authority contact name and email address linked to your school's SHINE membership, using this quick form https://uofg.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0HP8xrVlYm4Zv70
Changes to SHINE staff hours and contact details
Due to various changes to staff hours and remits in the team from July onwards, we will be making more use of the shared email inbox going forwards. The email address to reach the team is: shw-shine@glasgow.ac.uk
New Research opportunities for 2026-27
HBSC study
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study: 2026 Survey Round
Data collection for the 2026 HBSC Scotland study has now finished. Many thanks to the all the school staff and pupils for being part of the 2026 HBSC study. All participating schools have been sent their HBSC health and wellbeing data report to support health and wellbeing planning and activities within their school.
Findings and trends over time by gender, age and socioeconomic status from the 2026 HBSC survey in Scotland will be available in a National report in 2027. This report and the International report will be available on our website (www.gla.ac.uk/hbscscotland). The data gathered from young people in Scotland and 50 other countries participating in the HBSC study are used by national governments and international agencies such as the World Health Organisation to support policy and programme development.
Upcoming Events for Schools
Scottish Guidance Association Annual Conference 2026 : registration by 26th Aug
Saturday 19th September 2026
All the best,
The SHINE Team
Dawn Haughton
Schools Health and Wellbeing Improvement Research Network (SHINE) Manager
E-mail: Dawn.Haughton@glasgow.ac.uk
Web: www.gla.ac.uk/shine
LinkedIN: Schools Heath and Wellbeing Improvement Research Network (SHINE)
