2025 Wellbeing Survey Results
Strengthening Connection: Insights from the 2025 Parent Wellbeing Survey
Each year, Wantirna College participates in the Resilient Youth Survey to better understand how our students are feeling about themselves, their learning and their relationships. This year, we also invited parents and carers to take part. Your responses gave us valuable insight into what families value most and where we can continue to grow together.
What Families Told Us
Parents described a school community with caring and dedicated staff, diverse learning pathways, strong wellbeing and inclusion programs, and rich opportunities in music, production and sport. Families also encouraged us to continue improving access to wellbeing support, communication between home and school, and our consistency in responding to bullying and behaviour concerns.
These insights closely reflect what we see in the student data. Emotional regulation, help-seeking, belonging and optimism remain key areas of focus, and your feedback is helping shape our wellbeing priorities for 2026.
Connection at Home
Perhaps the most powerful theme to emerge from this year’s parent responses was about family connection. When asked what families most enjoy doing together, parents didn’t describe expensive holidays or major events. They spoke about the simple things: sharing a meal, walking on the beach, playing a board game, or watching a movie together.
Research continues to show that connection is one of the strongest protective factors for young people’s mental health and resilience. Studies from the Australian Institute of Family Studies highlight that regular, warm family interactions are strongly linked with lower rates of anxiety and depression, higher academic engagement and stronger social skills. These moments help young people feel seen, valued and supported — they are the foundation of self-worth and belonging.
As we move into the summer holidays, we encourage families to make space for these small, consistent moments. Ask your teen what they would love to do together as a family. It might be cooking dinner, going for a swim, watching a film or a day trip somewhere local. The activity itself matters less than the message it sends: you are important to me, and I like spending time with you.
Parenting in Today’s World
We also recognise that parenting teenagers can be incredibly hard, especially in the current world. The pressures of work, screens, social media and constant comparison can leave many parents feeling unsure or stretched thin.
As Maggie Dent writes, “There has never been a tougher time to be a parent, yet there has never been a more important time to stay connected.”
Parenting is not about getting it right every time. It is about showing up, staying curious and keeping the relationship bigger than the problem. Every family has its challenges, and perfection has never been the goal.
Looking forward
Next year, Wantirna College will be partnering with ParentTV to share short, evidence-based videos tailored to each year level, giving families easy access to practical advice from trusted experts.
In the meantime, parents may enjoy exploring:
Ten Things I Want You to Know About Your Child’s Mental Health by Dr Billy Garvey
For bite-sized, research-informed insights, we recommend following these experts: Dr Becky Kennedy, Dr Billy Garvey, Dr Vanessa Lapointe and Maggie Dent.
A shared Commitment
Our goal is for every student to feel safe, connected and able to thrive. We know this is built on strong partnerships between families and school. Thank you for your honesty, time and care in helping us understand what matters most. Together, we are creating a community where every young person can grow with confidence, belonging and hope.
Joel Taylor, & Tajinder Wulff
Wellbeing