Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing in Wales evaluation

Funded by the Welsh Government, Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing in Wales provides mental health and wellbeing support in every maintained school in Wales. The programme includes a curriculum-based mental health approach for primary and secondary schools.

Cymraeg

Key information

Lead investigator: Professor Jess Deighton
Funder: Welsh Government
Duration: April 2026 - March 2029

Group of students are walking down the school corridor together wearing uniform.

Background to the programme

Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing was trialled as part of the Education for Wellbeing randomised control trials in England and was found to improve intended help-seeking for mental health difficulties. We are adapting the programme for use in Welsh schools and supporting delivery in Years 5 and 7 across Wales over three years.

The Anna Freud Schools Training and National Programmes team lead on the delivery and implementation, and the Evidence Based Practice Unit lead on the evaluation.

Find out more about the training and delivery of this programme.

About the programme

The programme involves a phased roll out of SSW across Wales, including:

adapting for Welsh language and context using a Welsh Language Development Plan with support from Comisiynydd y Gymraeg
training for 3-4 staff members from all maintained primary and secondary schools
support for school leads to integrate the programme into a whole school approach
implementation and sustainability support, including a legacy of Welsh trainers
feasibility and acceptability testing through surveys and qualitative case studies.

The phased approach supports small scale rollout and robust embedded learning in the early stages, before refinement and expansion, and moving to ensuring sustainability by the end of the funding.

Find out more about the Evidence Based Practice Unit.