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Using health and well-being data to support improvements in mental health in schools
Welcome to the SHINE September 2024 Newsletter
- SHINE Mental Health Survey pilot and relaunch update
- Changes to SHINE staff
- New WHO HBSC international report - adolescent social media use
- Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study resources
- Pilot a new secondary school resource with Generation Scotland and SHINE
- Invitation to participate in SHINE affiliated research projects
- A new Android health app - test it now in your school
- Other events and research opportunities for school communities:
- Introducing the Good Measure study (understanding how sexual wellbeing impacts on young people's mental health)
- Festival of Social Science 2024 - opportunity for a school to participate
- SOCITS webinar series starting 1st Oct 2024: registration
- Managing schoolteachers affected by Long Covid: join our study
- Publication: the impact of Long COVID on young people's school experiences
- Guidance, training and access to resources on peer relations and bullying
- Wolfson Centre for YP mental health: testing CBT for family wellbeing study
Relaunch of the SHINE mental health survey
SHINE Mental Health Survey pilot and relaunch
The SHINE mental health survey has now moved to a new platform, Qualtrics. All the documentation and support resources for the survey pack have now been updated accordingly for the pilot of the new system.
We are very grateful to the six schools who have volunteered to take part in the pilot of the new system at the start of October. All being well, we aim to relaunch the survey for the wider network in late November.
Going forward, survey access and the survey pack will only be accessible to individual member schools who have completed the pre-survey registration form online or via Local Authority data collections which have been agreed in advance with the SHINE team.
A document detailing any new procedures entitled " What's new for the SHINE mental Health Survey in 2024?" can be found in the SHINE members' resources area. A new survey pack will be issued to registered, participating schools, so please delete any former versions from your systems. Any former log-in links will not work and former information sheets are no longer valid.
Changes to SHINE staff
ABSAIL Addressing Barriers to School non-Attendance to Improve Long-term outcomes
We're delighted to welcome Bethan Malley to the SHINE team. Bethan will primarily be working on the Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (Addressing Barriers to School Attendance to Improve Long-term outcomes: ABSAIL) project. Bethan holds an MSc in Applied Psychology with Children and Young People from the University of Edinburgh and brings valuable clinical experience from her work in CAMHS, where she supported young people with mental health difficulties.
Mary Wilson will be leaving the SHINE team at the end of September. The Team will be very sad to see Mary leave after all her fantastic work, energy and enthusiasm in supporting the SHINE mental health survey, the DATAMIND project, the evaluation of the SHINE Interactive Data Dashboard, the International HBSC study and the start of the ABSAIL(EBSNA) project. A very talented lady!
We congratulate Mary on her recent success in gaining a Masters in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and wish her all the very best as she leaves to develop her career in clinical practice.
New WHO Health Behaviour in School-aged Children report - adolescent social media use
Volume 6 in the WHO/HBSC report series, A Focus on Adolescent Social Media Use and Gaming in Europe, Central Asia and Canada, was released last week. The report, co-authored by members of the SHINE team Jo Inchley, Judith Brown and Mary Wilson provides insights into the digital behaviours of adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 across 44 countries and regions.
Findings reveal a sharp rise in problematic social media use among young people in Scotland, particularly among 13-year-old girls, rising from 11% in 2018 to 22% in 2022. This rise calls for immediate attention from health professionals, educators, and policymakers. Read more about the report's key findings in Scotland in this UofG news article.
HBSC classroom resources on anxiety, bullying and substance use
These briefings from the HBSC Scotland 2022 study summarise key findings on a range of indicators, including trends over time. They are intended to be used as a classroom based resource with a number of questions included to stimulate discussion within the class setting.
Pilot a new teaching resource for secondary schools.
Generation Scotland and SHINE have been collaborating to develop a new teaching resource for secondary schools to increase knowledge of health data research. Scotland’s public health relies on volunteers taking part in research projects to better understand health and well-being in Scotland.
We would like to support young people’s understanding of health research in order to give them more confidence to engage with science. The resource has been designed to be flexible and adaptive to the needs of the class and can be delivered in a range of classes including PSE, Sciences, Maths and Social Sciences. The ethical debates around health research may be of interest to English classes too. The resource consists of 3 x 40 minute lessons aimed at S1-S3:
- What is health data research?
- What is data linkage?
- What is data ethics and why does it matter?
The free resource will be available on the www.gen.scot website in the Winter term, but if you would like to pre-register your interest or pilot the resources before the October holidays, please email sarah.robertson@ed.ac.uk.
Invitation to participate in SHINE affiliated research projects
Trial a new intervention, evaluate a programme or test a new method of collecting data. Work with researchers in your school to find solutions to YP HWB challenges.
Opportunity for 8 to 18 yr olds to work together for healthier diets, exercise, sleep and wellbeing
A new Android health app, which has been created thanks to the involvement and ideas from young people in SHINE schools as part of the Crowdsourcing for Adolescent Health project, is almost ready to be launched. We are now looking for young people aged 8-18 years to test the app and give us feedback over the next few months.
Within the app users can:
- collect data on their diet, activity, sleep and wellbeing
- log details of what they think influences these four aspects of their health
- analyse their own data to spot patterns and identify what has the greatest influence on their health as citizen scientists.
- work together to discuss the greatest influences on their health, and if appropriate start petitions for change (crowdsourcing).
Find out more about workshops in your school below:
The app can also be used by teachers to set specific class projects around these behaviours and the building blocks of health. This project will give students insights into the political (citizenship) as well as scientific processes. Through bringing together health and environmental data the app can be used within science, geography, physical education as well as PSHE classes.
Look out for the upcoming event featuring the new health app at the Festival of Social Sciences on Wednesday 6th November 2024 from 09.30 to 16.00. School groups are invited to attend in person at Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh. School or youth groups who would like to attend should contact andrew.j.williams@ed.ac.uk to register.
The team from the University of Edinburgh can also come out to schools to run workshops related to the app, as well as working with you remotely. Please contact Andrew (andrew.j.williams@ed.ac.uk) if you are interested to know more.
Other events and research opportunities for school communities
The Good Measure research project (funded by UKRI) aims to advance understanding of the links between adolescent sexuality, gender identity development and mental health and wellbeing.
Young people aged 14-19 are invited to take part in a short online survey which is testing a new measure of sexual wellbeing for use in future surveys on young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Current surveys on adolescent mental health often skip over questions on sex and sexuality, even though these topics matter to young people. Help researchers to ask survey questions that are relevant and meaningful to young people. Take part in our anonymous 10-minute survey and enter a prize draw with the chance to win £50! https://uofg.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cAdbL5FeijEKDQ2 NO experience needed.
What is the Good Measure project about? Sexuality development in adolescence is normal and healthy but can also involve difficult and harmful experiences, thoughts and feelings including shame and stigma. Despite sex and sexuality being a key element of many young people’s lives, there is very little research addressing links between young people's sexual lives and their mental health.
Survey questions on sexual wellbeing Using data from workshops and interviews with young people, and building on our previous work in the Natsal study, we have developed and tested a new series of survey questions on young people's thoughts and feelings about sex. The next stage is testing these survey questions with a diverse range of young people aged 14-19 from across the UK to make sure they are relevant and meaningful.
You can find more information about Good Measure on the website or for further questions or to see a full copy of the survey questions, please get in touch with us at goodmeasure@glasgow.ac.uk.
ESRC Festival of Social Science 2024: University of Glasgow School Event
Calling all modern studies departments studying migration!
The University of Glasgow is offering an opportunity for a secondary school in or near Glasgow to take part in a one-hour event in the week beginning October 21st for this year’s ESRC Festival of Social Science.
The event is about media coverage of migration and refugees. It will cover: how we understand the media; how we research media coverage (pupils will take part in an activity to do this themselves); discussing results; and thinking about solutions.
The SOCITS project (a Socially Situated Systems approach to adolescent mental health) aims to find out which places, interactions and social situations in school are associated with stress, loneliness, and poor mental health. This information can inform whole school approaches to mental health.
Using novel survey measures, SOCITS will ask questions such as: Which situations in school cause the most loneliness? Do certain groups of students find specific situations more or less stressful? Do peer groups amplify or reduce exam stress?
The new webinar series provides an opportunity to meet the researchers behind the innovative approach, find out more about how these new resources could work in your school. Update your Professional Learning profile while making new connections in the research world. You can find more information at www.gla.ac.uk/socits/#webinar where you will find the link to register here.
Join our study on the impact of long sickness absences on people employed in teaching & other public service occupations in Scotland.
Researchers from the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow, Robert Gordon and the Scottish Ambulance Service are carrying out a study about the impacts of staff sickness and long-term sickness absences due to Long Covid and other health conditions on the working lives and conditions of people employed in teaching, nursing, ambulance, and police services in Scotland.
We’d like to hear from you if:
- EITHER you are a public sector school teacher whose working life (e.g. conditions, demands, wellbeing) has been affected by long-term sickness absences in your team or at your workplace (due to Long Covid or other health conditions)
- OR you are responsible for managing school teachers whose work has been affected by long-term sickness absences due to Long Covid or other conditions
- OR you are responsible for planning service delivery in public sector education services in Scotland
What happens if you take part?
Taking part will involve doing a one-to-one confidential interview with a researcher lasting up to 45-60 mins. The interview will be at a time to suit you and will usually be online or on the phone.
All the interview questions are optional, so you can choose not to answer any of the questions and you are free to stop at any time.
You will be offered a £20 voucher as a thank you for taking part.
Publication: the impact of Long Covid on young people’s school experiences
NIHR have published an evidence summary of the paper in a more user-friendly format for sharing with school staff. Please find links to both publications below:
By volunteering to participate in this short (max. 20-30 minute) survey, we will provide you with access to resources and the option to join a network for guidance and training on peer relations and bullying.
Guidance, training and access to resources on peer relations and bullying
The Universities of Glasgow, Northampton, Greenwich and Nottingham Trent are working together as part of an international study on teachers’ perceptions/ responses to identity-based exclusion between peers.
We would like to invite teachers, former teachers, teaching assistants and trainee teachers in Scotland and Wales to take part in our study to contribute to and improve the ways in which teachers are supported to deal with the challenges of peer relations among their pupils.
Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health at Cardiff University
Help promote exciting new study that provides mental health support for families
We are a research team from the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health at Cardiff University. We are looking for help with promoting and advertising an important new study to young people aged 13-19 years and their parents.
The Skills for Adolescent Wellbeing (SWELL) Study will test whether a group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program, that teaches skills for wellbeing, can protect young people against low mood and depression. It also offers extra support for the parents’/carers’ own mental health.
The study is seeking the support of schools and colleges to get the word out to parents/carers/students who might be eligible and could benefit from this support. This could be via sending letters or texts out to parents/carers or sharing information about the study on a parent information portal.
Families will receive £160 in vouchers for taking part. You can visit bit.ly/wcSWELL for more information about the study. Please contact swell@cardiff.ac.uk if you think your school could help.
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
Twitter: @ScotlandSHINE
