A report was released recently that I reckon every school leader should read. It’s called the NAB Education Insights 2026 Report: Life at School – and yes, I’m aware it’s published by a bank. But I’ve long thought that if you want to know whether climate change is real, you follow the research of insurance companies, not politicians. Insurance companies have skin in the game. It turns out banks funding education research have something similar going on, and NAB’s student wellbeing series has been consistently rigorous and useful for years.
So, what did students tell them this year? The “What’s worrying you?” answers weren’t surprising – nearly two thirds named schoolwork, tests and grades, with cost-of-living creeping in and social media still weighing heavily on how young people feel about themselves. It’s also worth a thought that students are absorbing their families’ financial stress these days, not just their own academic pressure.
Here’s the part that got me good. When students were asked what they actually needed from their schools, they didn’t ask for a theme day, a wellbeing app, a mindfulness module or another lunchtime check-in group. They asked for calmer and more caring teachers. Support that feels personal rather than one-size-fits-all.
I’ve spent a long time in and around schools, and I’ve seen the difference between a school that responds to student wellbeing by adding layers in the form of ‘initiatives’ and one that invests in the people already in the room. These are not the same thing, and some brutal honesty is overdue about which one we’re actually doing.
What kids know instinctively is that a regulated adult makes an unregulated young person feel safer. An authority figure who is present, calm and notices them. Dean Pearson from NAB put it well: students are “Not defined by crisis, but by their capacity to respond when supported by adults, trusted relationships and environments that help them feel safe, capable and understood.” Dean is, for mine, speaking directly to school culture.
Now, I’m not suggesting we tell exhausted teachers to simply “calm the fuck down” and call it done. Teachers and leaders are under enormous pressure and the challenging realities of their working conditions make genuine relational presence hard to sustain. But this report does ask us to look honestly at our wellbeing strategies and ask: are we investing in our people, or in our programs? Those two things might feel the same, but they’re not. A program can run without anyone being truly present – it can be delivered, ticked off and reported on. It doesn’t require a teacher to notice a student who’s been a bit off all week, or to stay five minutes after the bell because something just didn’t seem right.
So, here’s my suggestion. Don’t add anything. Look at what you’ve already got and ask honestly, “Are the people in my school okay enough to be what their students are asking for?” The students have told us clearly what they need. The question is whether we’re prepared to actually build it.
Keep fighting that good fight,
P.S. I’m sure it’s obvious that I spend a lot of time speaking to educators around the world about culture, behaviour and leadership. If you’re planning a conference, leadership forum or education event and reckon this message would resonate with your people, I’d love to be part of it.
Get in touch with my team here.
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