A proposed amendment to the government鈥檚 schools bill presents a timely opportunity to ensure we finally develop a system to measure young people鈥檚 wellbeing. I will be supporting it in the House of Lords, and here鈥檚 why you should support it too. 聽shows that 66 per cent of parents consider pupil wellbeing an important factor when choosing a secondary school,聽more so than school location (62 per cent), facilities (61 per cent), school culture and ethos (56 per cent), or Ofsted rating (52 per cent). Notably, only 43 per cent cited exam results.聽 They鈥檙e right to prioritise this, because the facts are alarming. In the , our pupils ranked 70th out of 73 for life satisfaction. One in five reports low wellbeing, with serious implications for learning, mental health, and . An annual survey co-developed with young people, schools, local government, the voluntary sector and public health teams is an essential first step. Indeed, 75 per cent of parents agree that measuring young people鈥檚 wellbeing is essential if we want to improve it. We don鈥檛 need to start from scratch. England has already taken steps in this direction. The Office for National Statistics regularly gathers headline data and has developed聽indicators聽to explain why children聽and young people聽feel the way they feel. And a government-led attempt to create a聽, while short-lived, provided valuable insights. But these efforts remain partial. They don鈥檛 offer the breadth, consistency or local granularity needed to inform action. Meanwhile, examples from The Children鈥檚 Society, #BeeWell and Coram Voice鈥檚 work with care-experienced young people show what鈥檚 possible when data is gathered with care and purpose. But these efforts cannot gather all the data, and many fall through the cracks. What we need is a national wellbeing measurement programme that is consistent and inclusive. This isn鈥檛 about adding more burden onto schools This isn鈥檛 about adding more burden onto schools. It鈥檚 about equipping them, communities and policymakers with the insight they need to improve children and young people鈥檚 lives: a tool for support, not a stick for accountability. Schools are already responsible for many aspects of children and young people鈥檚 wellbeing: safeguarding, mental health and a rich curriculum. But each school context is different, and the current system rightly allows leaders to make their own decisions about how to meet these responsibilities. That鈥檚 why a national wellbeing measurement programme must be voluntary for children and young people, for parents and for school leaders. This approach respects local autonomy and builds mutual trust. It also works. In Wales, the School Health Research Network survey is voluntary, yet聽. That鈥檚 because the data are useful. Schools can see value in the insight they receive and use it to guide their practice. Confidentiality and data protection are vital, of course, not just for their own sake but to encourage honest responses and high engagement. They also mean that wellbeing data should not 鈥� and cannot 鈥� be used as an accountability tool. Instead, the focus should be on the actions schools and others take in response to what they learn. A national programme would enable cross-sector collaboration 鈥� from health to youth services to education 鈥� around the needs of children and young people. Because wellbeing isn鈥檛 just built in schools. It鈥檚 shaped at home, in youth clubs, playgrounds, and online. And because better data leads to better decisions, but incomplete or inconsistent data risks doing harm. As Baroness Louise Casey warned recently when reflecting on the failure to collect ethnicity data on grooming gangs: 鈥�.鈥� When it comes to wellbeing, the stakes are just as high. If we want to shift from firefighting crises to offering earlier, more effective support, we need better information to guide schools, inform local services and shape national policy. With careful design, we can ensure the programme supports schools, empowers young people and delivers better outcomes. If we treasure children and young people鈥檚 wellbeing as parents do, we must start to measure it. Not to judge, but to improve.