A Year of Listening, Learning and Supporting: Reflecting on 2025 With Our School Community

As 2025 draws to a close, we’ve been reflecting on what this year has meant for the thousands of pupils, staff and parents whose voices have been heard through BounceTogether.

It’s been a year of change, challenge and remarkable resilience in schools — and we’re proud to have played a small part in helping communities understand wellbeing more clearly and act on it with confidence.

Across the year, one message has stood out again and again: when schools truly listen, they create lasting change.

This year, the scale of that listening has been bigger than ever.

The Numbers That Tell a Story

While wellbeing is deeply human and personal, the data behind it shows just how far schools have come in giving their communities a voice.

Here’s a snapshot of what schools achieved through BounceTogether this year:

16 million+ responses shared

Behind every response is a moment of honesty — a pupil expressing how they feel, a member of staff sharing workload pressures, a parent offering feedback.

Together, they build a clearer, more accurate picture of school life.

126,609 alerts raised

These alerts helped staff identify pupils who might have been struggling quietly — children who weren’t on any safeguarding list, who hadn’t raised their hand, or who seemed fine on the surface.

Early identification changed the trajectory for many.

13,710 surveys run

Schools used structured voice to explore everything from wellbeing and belonging to test anxiety, resilience, staff satisfaction and parent engagement.

Each survey brought clarity to decisions that matter.

631,071 pupils supported

Perhaps the most important number of all.

More than 600,000 young people were supported through insights gathered this year — giving teachers the evidence they needed to act early, act confidently and act with care.

These numbers reflect a simple truth: schools are listening more deeply and more consistently than ever before.

What Schools Measured Most in 2025

This year, a few surveys stood out as the most widely used — a useful sign of what mattered most to schools.

1️⃣ Stirling Children’s Wellbeing Scale — 66,057 uses

2️⃣ Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) — 23,664 uses

3️⃣ KINDL Kid — 20,460 uses

4️⃣ KINDL Kiddo — 13,617 uses

These surveys helped schools understand core emotional states, daily functioning, optimism, resilience and belonging — the building blocks of both wellbeing and learning.

Combined, they offered a powerful starting point for conversations, pastoral planning and targeted support.

Big Developments That Strengthened School Wellbeing This Year

Reports 2.0 — clearer insight, less time analysing

This year saw the launch of Reports 2.0, giving schools instant heatmaps, group comparisons, trends and pupil-level detail at the click of a button.

The feedback has been remarkable — especially from teachers using it to support 1:1 work, interventions and pastoral reviews.

Healthy Minds Community (in partnership with BounceForward)

We launched a dedicated community for staff wellbeing, offering free expert-led support, resources, training and guidance.

Because pupil wellbeing starts with healthy, supported adults, this has become one of the most valued additions to the BounceTogether ecosystem.

Welcoming new schools & trusts

We’ve been proud to welcome many new schools and trusts this year — from small rural primaries to large MATs and international schools.

Each one brings new perspectives, challenges and insights that help us keep improving the platform.

The Themes We Saw Across Schools in 2025

Working closely with hundreds of settings gives us a unique view of the wellbeing landscape. A few themes emerged consistently:

Belonging remains at the heart of pupil wellbeing

Pupils who feel connected — to peers, teachers or their school identity — show higher confidence, motivation and emotional stability.

Staff wellbeing is a growing priority

Workload, change and stretched resources continue to put pressure on staff. Schools investing in structured staff voice are seeing clearer, more honest insight into what support is needed.

Early identification is transforming support

Many pupils who triggered alerts showed no external signs of difficulty. This confirmed what many already suspected:

internalised struggles are easy to miss without structured voice.

Data is becoming part of the wellbeing culture — not a standalone task

Schools are moving beyond “once-a-year surveys” toward consistent check-ins that support pupils throughout the year.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we move toward a new year, schools are already planning how to start January with clarity — from simple wellbeing check-ins to more focused surveys on test anxiety, resilience or belonging.

If your school hasn’t yet used its free wellbeing survey entitlement, now is the perfect time to consider how structured voice could support your community in 2026.

It takes just minutes to set up, and we’re here to help you choose a survey that aligns with your priorities.

Thank You

To every teacher, leader, pastoral worker, TA, support colleague, governor, and trust lead who has worked tirelessly this year: thank you.

Your commitment to listening, understanding and supporting your community is what makes BounceTogether possible.

Here’s to a peaceful end to the year — and to even greater insight, connection and support in 2026.