Development and pilot of the Whole School and College Approach (WSCA) Measurement Toolkit for mental health and wellbeing

Amid growing concerns about children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, UK government policy has increasingly positioned schools and colleges as key sites for prevention and early intervention. This has been operationalised through the Whole School and College Approach (WSCA) and its eight core principles. Despite widespread adoption, limitations in national monitoring and evaluation persist. Using a mixed-methods approach, we developed the WSCA Measurement Toolkit to support systematic monitoring of WSCA implementation and outcomes. The Toolkit comprises two components. The 17-item Implementation Self-Assessment Tool (ISAT) measures how embedded each of the eight WSCA principles are and was initially piloted in 28 schools in Study 1. The Outcomes Self-Assessment Tool (OSAT) assesses 12 outcome dimensions, each rated for observed impact and evidence strength, producing weighted scores to reflect both outcome change and evidence quality. In Study 2, the Toolkit was evaluated in 19 schools to assess feasibility, acceptability, and relationship between implementation and outcomes. In Study 1, ISAT dimensions such as Ethos and environment and Universal mental health work were rated as highly embedded within WSCA practices, whereas areas including Governor engagement and Data collection were less well developed. In Study 2, higher implementation scores were associated with better outcomes, a relationship further strengthened when outcome scores were weighted by evidence quality. Participants reported the Toolkit to be feasible and acceptable to use. These findings suggest the WSCA Measurement Toolkit is a practical, acceptable tool for WSCA evaluation and highlight the importance of implementation quality for achieving positive outcomes.