Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what methodology is Department uses to collect data on children’s qualitative well-being.

The Department commissioned NHS Digital to undertake a follow up survey on a representative sample of children and young people (now ages 5 to 22 years) recruited in 2017 to take part in the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Survey, who agreed to be re-contacted. The analysis of this survey was published on 22 October and is one of the main sources of evidence on children’s qualitative wellbeing and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2020-wave-1-follow-up

Methods for how commissioners and other health professionals can measure, understand and improve the mental wellbeing of children and young people is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-the-mental-wellbeing-of-children-and-young-people

A toolkit to help measure subjective mental wellbeing amongst the student population is available at the following link:

https://www.annafreud.org/schools-and-colleges/resources/mental-health-toolkit-for-schools/