The Wellbeing in Northern Ireland Schools (WiNIS) Survey – Exploring predictors and indicators of children’s health and wellbeing.

Background: The wellbeing of children in Northern Ireland (NI) is declining. Despite this, there remains a dearth of research exploring the factors predicting well-being among primary school aged children living in NI.

Aims and Objectives: This study reports the findings from WiNIS, a large-scale study which explores the predictors and indicators of wellbeing of children aged 8-9 years living in NI.

Research Design: Using key principles underlying coproduction WiNIS was developed in consultation with primary school children aged 8-9 years (N=60) and includes a comprehensive battery of measures which they perceived as being important to their wellbeing including health-related quality of life; mental and physical health, family affluence, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, social media and relationships. WiNIS was administered in a census style approach. Participants (n=979; males = 475, females=504) were from 60 schools across NI, representative of school type, levels of socioeconomic background, and rural/urban classifications.

Results: Latent class analysis identified the most significant wellbeing predictors for children at this age were play, school type, deprivation of area, and consumption of fruit and vegetables. Implications of the findings will be discussed.