Quality report: Promotion of Health and Wellbeing in General Upper Secondary Schools - TEA

Data description

Statistical presentation

The data on the promotion of health and wellbeing in general upper secondary schools, collected by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), describe activities that promote wellbeing, health and a communal operating culture in general upper secondary schools.

The data collection is part of the benchmarking system of health promotion capacity building (TEAviisari), which has been developed in cooperation with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Agency for Education. The bench-marking system highlights the work undertaken by municipalities and wellbeing services counties to promote the health and wellbeing of their residents in seven different sectors. In addition to upper sec-ondary schools information is collected on health promotion capacity building in vocational education and training, comprehensive educa-tion, physical activity, municipal strategic management, culture, and wellbeing services counties.
The data is collected in even-numbered years, starting from 2012. The data for these statistics was collected in 2024. The preliminary study of the data collection was carried out in 2008. As a rule, the data primarily reflects the situation at the time of data collection. Some data must, however, be collected from the previous academic year, such as data describing realised resources and the monitoring of students’ health and wellbeing. The data collection is carried out in cooperation with the Finnish National Agency for Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The expert group also in-cludes representatives of educational institutions. In the preparation of the data collection, the expert working group reviews the con-tents of the previous data collection and re-evaluates and scores individual questions. In addition, feedback from educational institu-tions is considered.

Relevance

The results are used to support the utilisation of comprehensive wellbeing data in the everyday activities of educational institutions and in the management of student welfare activities. The results of the data collections have been used nationally, for example, in the preparation of the Pupil and Student Welfare Act (1287/2013), which entered into force in August 2014, and in the development of stu-dent welfare and student welfare services. Using the data, education providers and educational institutions can develop and evaluate the activities of their general upper secondary schools in relation to the national situation or to other general upper secondary schools. The data are intended for headmasters and student welfare groups of upper secondary schools, organisations responsible for student wel-fare services, municipal and city authorities, national and regional authorities, as well as planners and researchers.

Data content of the statistics

The target population of the statistics comprises general upper sec-ondary schools in mainland Finland. The Promotion of Health and Wellbeing in General Upper Secondary Schools module is divided into seven dimensions: commitment, management, monitoring and needs analysis, resources, common practices, participation, and oth-er core activities.

• Commitment describes, among other things, the extent to which results from data collections relating to students’ health and wellbeing have been discussed at staff meetings of general upper secondary schools and whether measures have been decided on, based on these results.
• Management describes, among other things, the activities of the student welfare group, the monitoring of absences, and the timing concerning of inspection of the health and safety of the school environment and the well-being of the learn-ing community.
• Monitoring and needs analysis describe, among other things, the monitoring of bullying, harassment and problem situa-tions, smoking and substance use, and the use of discipli-nary measures.
• Resources describe, among other things, the staffing of stu-dent welfare services.
• Common practices describe, among other things, the pre-vention of substance use, and interventions related to the use of tobacco products.
• Participation describes, among other things, opportunities for students and parents or guardians to influence activities, as well as cooperation between the home and the educa-tional institution.
• Other core activities describe, for example, actions that in-crease physical activity during the school day.

Statistical processing

Source data

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) collects the data for the Promotion of Health and Wellbeing in Upper Secondary Schools directly from upper secondary schools. In 2024, the dataset comprises a total of 92 indicators.
The data describe the seven dimensions of health promotion capaci-ty building activity: commitment, management, monitoring and needs assessment, resources, common practices, participation, and other core functions. Dimension-specific scores are produced by scoring factual information describing upper secondary school activities in relation to legislation, recommendations and good practice. The overall score is calculated as the mean of the dimension scores. Indicators are scored on a scale from 0 to 100. The score describes how well the promotion of health and wellbeing is implemented in general upper secondary schools. A score of 100 indicates that activ-ities are consistent with good practice and of high quality in all re-spects.

Example of indicator scoring:

Question 17. Does the school have systematic monitoring of acci-dental injuries that required treatment by public health nurse or physician? 

At school premises (indoors or outdoors):

• No information (0 points)
• Not monitored (0 points)
• Monitored (50 points)
• Monitored and systematically reviewed (100 points)

During school or study-related trips:

• No information (0 points)
• Not monitored (0 points)
• Monitored (50 points)
• Monitored and systematically reviewed (100 points)

Municipal scores are calculated as student-weighted averages of the scores of general upper secondary schools located in the munici-pality. Regional scores are calculated as population-weighted aver-ages of municipality-level data. A municipality-level score is calcu-lated if at least half of the general upper secondary schools in the municipality have submitted data. If a municipality has fewer than three general upper secondary schools, data can be published only if all responding schools have given permission for publication.

Data collection

Data on the promotion of health and wellbeing in general upper sec-ondary schools are collected in the autumn, every two years in even-numbered years. The data collection form is sent electronically to all educational institutions providing general upper secondary education for young people, addressed to the headmaster. The information is requested to be compiled in cooperation with the student welfare group. Two email reminders are sent to submit the information. If necessary, educational institutions that have not responded are con-tacted by telephone.

Data validation

In 2024, the data were mainly compiled by the principal together with staff from student welfare services (79%) or the student wel-fare group (67%). In 40% of general upper secondary schools, the principal alone or together with office staff compiled the response, and in 74% of schools the principal prepared the response together with representatives of the teaching staff. The instructions were that the form should be completed in cooperation with the student wel-fare group.

In 2024, to improve the quality and reliability of the data, information on the human resources of student welfare services in general up-per secondary schools, namely public health nurses, doctors, psy-chologists and school social workers (a total of four indicators), was systematically reviewed.

Numerical indicators measuring work input were selected for quality assurance. Key figures describing the work input of each profession-al group were calculated based on the reported data. These school-specific key figures were sent by email to the contact persons for the data collection, who were asked to verify the information to-gether with student welfare services staff.

The information was sent to all general upper secondary schools for verification. Schools were specifically asked to check figures in cas-es where reported resources exceeded national recommendations or statutory levels by more than double. These figures were high-lighted in the verification file. In this context, schools were also able to correct the number of students.

A total of 55 general upper secondary schools revised their data. Of these, four schools reported that the verification data were correct, while the remaining 51 schools corrected or supplemented their in-formation. In total, 116 student welfare services key figures were amended during the review.

Data compilation

The quality of the published statistical data is verified through measures such as audits carried out in connection with each data collection (see Section 3.3, Data validation).

Data revision

These statistics are based on a data collection in which the data were obtained in full at one time and are generally not supplement-ed later. If necessary, data relating to individual general upper sec-ondary schools may be corrected retrospectively.

Quality assessment of the statistics

Accuracy and reliability

The data in the statistics are based on factual and objective infor-mation reported by general upper secondary schools. The infor-mation collected through the questionnaire was of a type that each school should have been able to provide for the purposes of the data collection. Of the individual data items used in TEAviisari (92 indicators), 178 general upper secondary schools provided complete responses, meaning that no data were missing. Less than 5% miss-ing data were recorded in 96% of the responses. One response was excluded because more than half of the information was missing.

In 2024, to further improve data quality and reliability, information on human resources in student welfare services (four indicators) was systematically reviewed (see Section 3.3).

Timeliness and punctuality

Data on the promotion of health and wellbeing in general upper sec-ondary schools are collected in the autumn of even-numbered years (October–December). Question-level distributions are published as preliminary results in the basic tables in April of the following year, broken down by student numbers and language of instruction, sta-tistical municipal grouping, Regional State Administrative Agency ar-ea, and wellbeing services county.

School-level data for those general upper secondary schools that have given permission for publication, as well as municipality-level data, are published as scored results in TEAviisari in May. The data are presented as pre-analysed visual graphs that support planning, management and evaluation. TEAviisari provides an overall picture and helps to identify key strengths and development needs in school activities.

Coherence and comparability

In 2024, data were submitted by 345 general upper secondary schools, representing 97% of all general upper secondary schools in mainland Finland. The data cover 98% (222) of municipalities provid-ing general upper secondary education. All general upper secondary schools submitted data in the following wellbeing services counties: South Karelia, South Ostrobothnia, South Savo, Eastern Uusimaa, Kainuu, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, Päijät-Häme, Satakunta, Vantaa-Kerava and Southwest Finland. The lowest response rate was observed in Kanta-Häme (78%).

Among schools with more than 400 students, 99% submitted data, and among schools with fewer than 100 students, 98% submitted data. The responding schools covered 98% of all students in the country. School-specific data are published only with the consent of school management. A total of 79% of respondents gave permission for school-level publication in TEAviisari.

Data on the promotion of health and wellbeing in general upper sec-ondary schools have been collected in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024. The core data content, comprising 42 indicators, has remained unchanged since 2012, although new indicators have been developed and minor revisions made. In 2024, a total of 92 indica-tors were used, of which 86 were already in use in 2022. By dimen-sion, the indicators in 2024 were as follows: commitment 4 (4 un-changed from 2022), management 11/11, monitoring and needs analy-sis 36/36, resources 4/4, common practices 7/11, participation 19/20, and other core activities 5/6.

Institutional mandate

The production of the statistics is based on the Act on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (688/2008) and the Statistics Act (280/2004). One of the official tasks of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is to produce statistical data on the health and welfare of the population, the factors affecting them, and the use and functioning of healthcare and social welfare services to support decision-making, development and research. THL’s statistical pro-duction practices are guided by the instructions, recommendations and regulations of Eurostat and the Official Statistics of Finland as well as the principles of statistical ethics.
Act on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (Finlex)
Statistics Act (Finlex) (in Finnish and Swedish)

Data sharing and publishing

THL publishes the data at the time indicated in advance in the statistics publication calendar. The data is made public to all users at the same time.
In addition, municipal officials, including directors of education, principals and wellbeing coordinators, are informed of the publication date through separate TEAviisari information messages.
Statistics publication calendar

Confidentiality

As an authority, the National Institute for Health and Welfare has an obligation to report aggregated data related to health and well-being for the entire country. The protection of the data processed is based on the Act on the National Institute for Health and Welfare (688/2008), the Statistics Act (280/2004) and the Act on the Open-ness of Government Activities (621/1999), the EU's General Data Pro-tection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (1050/2018) as well as other regulations guiding the activities of the institution. THL's datasets are protected at all stages of processing. The data and information systems can only be accessed by those who have the right to use a certain material for clearly defined pur-poses. Others do not have the ability to view, process, change or delete the data. Written instructions have been drawn up for ensur-ing the data protection of the completed statistics. All THL staff members are bound by professional secrecy.

The data presented in these statistics are organisation-level data and do not contain personal data concerning individuals.

Special issues concerning the 2024 statistics

No data were available for four municipalities: Hausjärvi, Laihia, Mänttä-Vilppula and Utsjoki.

In addition, data are not displayed for municipalities with two gen-eral upper secondary schools where only one school submitted data and did not give permission for publication, or where both schools submitted data but at least one did not give permission for publica-tion, as well as for municipalities with one general upper secondary school that submitted data but did not give permission for publica-tion. 

These municipalities are listed in TEAviisari when the conditions for publication are met.