Wellbeing still top concern in international schools

Nearly 60 per cent of international schools have seen an increase in pupil wellbeing and mental health issues over the past two years – with many blaming mobile phones and social media, a new survey suggests.

A total of 48 per cent of schools answering the annual Council of British International Schools (COBIS) survey also reported that there had been an increase in social and behavioural issues over that time.

More than 75 per cent of the 180 schools surveyed said they felt pupil mental health and wellbeing was “somewhat or significantly worse” than ten years ago, although  61 per cent felt that it was about the same or better than two years ago.

Social media alarm

Nearly half of schools (47 per cent) felt that social media had the most significant adverse effect on wellbeing and mental health of students, with smart phones as the second highest response (32 per cent).

The survey finds that schools were adapting their curriculum to meet students’ needs, with 63 per cent saying that had increased their focus on wellbeing (up from 53 per cent last year).

International schools are now changing their mobile phone policies in greater numbers – 43 per cent had changed it in the last two years, compared to 30 per cent last year.

Nearly half of secondary schools reported that students could have their mobile phones in school, but they must be kept in their bag, locker or locked in a pouch, while 36 per cent had banned mobile phones outright in school (up from 26 per cent last year).

The findings on wellbeing, social media and phones come alongside others underlining the role that artificial intelligence (AI) is now playing in schools.

A total of 60 per cent said that it had decreased teacher workload, 49 per cent said it had made admin more efficient and 47 per cent said it had helped students with diverse learning needs.

However, 57 per cent felt AI led to an increase in incidences of suspected plagiarism or academic dishonesty.

Recruitment woes

Other stand-out findings from the COBIS survey suggest that recruitment in international schools is still tough – with a slightly higher proportion of schools (89 per cent) finding it somewhat or very challenging to recruit the required quality of teaching staff.

But new routes for teachers to enter international education looked to be having an impact: 45 per cent of schools are now using trainee teachers to support with teacher supply, up from 20 per cent in 2024.

A total of 35 per cent said they were using teaching assistants to cover lessons (up from 20 per cent in 2024).

Admissions

In terms of demand for places, 42 per cent of schools report a notable or significant change to the nationalities that make up their student bodies in the past two years (up from 39 per cent last year). These changes vary from region to region, but increases in Chinese nationals was the most common response.

More than half of responding schools felt the demand for British international school education in their region had increased compared with two years ago and 18 per cent of responding schools have had admissions enquiries from families leaving the UK due to changes to VAT on school fees.

Speaking about the results, COBIS CEO, Colin Bell said: “There is a lot of positivity and optimism in the results from COBIS Member Schools in the 2025 survey – increased demand for high-quality British international school education; engagement with technology and adapting curriculum to meet the needs of students; the perception that students are well prepared for their next step in education and their future after education.

“But more challenging trends are also highlighted around wellbeing and mental health, teacher supply, and the impact of geo-political conflict. COBIS shares in the optimism and positivity of our diverse network of schools, and we are committed to supporting and empowering all British international schools to address the challenges.”