Summary

This evaluation describes how schools have used allocated Flexible Funding for Wellbeing Services and reports on whether they are satisfied with their selected services or programs and if they believe that their allocated funding is sufficient. The evaluation also aims to measure the impact of Flexible Funding for Wellbeing Services on student wellbeing.

Process evaluations findings are based on surveys and interviews that were conducted at two points in them to collect information from school principals. The department's Tell Them From Me survey was used to evaluate the impact of Flexible Funding for Wellbeing Services on measures of student wellbeing and engagement.

Schools most commonly spent their Flexible Funding for Wellbeing Services on whole school wellbeing programs (40%) and employing a Student Support Officer (37%). Decisions on spending were guided by the student profile and the additional needs of specific sub-groups of students. A large majority of schools perceived that the services they funded had improved student wellbeing. Principals are strongly supportive of the Flexible Funding concept, are highly satisfied with their funded services, and report positive impacts on student wellbeing. Our outcome analyses found no meaningful difference between Flexible Funding schools and non-Flexible Funding schools in changes to whole school student wellbeing measures, however this analysis was limited in that it could not isolate subgroups of students that received targeted support.