Hume Resilience Youth Surveys

In 2023, we worked in partnership with Resilient Youth Australia and 25 local schools to survey 7,010 students in Years 3 to 12 to obtain insights into the mental health, wellbeing, and sense of connection of young people in Hume. Returning in 2025, 22 local schools and 8845 students across grades 3-12 participated in the survey- making up the largest data set for young people in Hume!

This data provides a comprehensive picture of how young people are faring in relation to their strengths, life satisfaction, hopefulness, anxiety and depression, coping styles, and risk and protective behaviours, highlighting key trends and changes between 2023 and 2025.

We look forward to strengthening community resources, staff development areas and evidence-based student interventions with the outcomes of this survey.

There were 2846 students surveyed in grade 3 to 6 year levels. The data below outlines the key strengths and challenges for this cohort, providing a comparison between 2023 and 2025.

What is Resilience?

Resilience is the ability to draw upon the strengths within yourself and from around you to flexibly respond to life while remaining true to yourself and creating positive relationships with others.

What is the Resilience Youth Survey?

The Resilience Survey is an online survey which collects, analyses and reports the resilience of young people at different ages in terms of their strengths, life satisfaction, hopefulness, anxiety and depression, coping style, and risk and protective behaviours.

Specifically, the survey measures the resilience and wellbeing of your young people across 9 key domains: Understanding Self, Social Skills, Positive Relationships, Safety, Healthy Body and Healthy Mind, Learning, Positive Attitude, Positive Values, Positive Identity.

For more information, follow this link; FAQ — Resilient Youth

 

What are the benefits of doing the survey?

Given the challenges of COVID over the past couple of years, it is important to understand how young people are faring in terms of the health, wellbeing and resilience.

In particular, the survey benefits:

  • School Principals and School Leaders
  • Classroom Teachers
  • Wellbeing Staff
  • Students

Benefits include:

  • Evidence-based strategic planning – schools have access to detailed, user-friendly survey reports and school leaders can put efficient and effective data-based strategies in place to enhance their student education outcomes and school community wellbeing.
  • Detailed year – level information- schools can understand each year-level and can compare year-levels (cross-sectional) and past year cohorts (longitudinal comparisons) within the parameters of education outcomes and student resilience.
  • Build a Positive Learners Mindset – the survey data is invaluable for class teachers, enabling them to analyse and understand the key factors for student success, the resilience characteristics of their classes and enabling them better to engage their students as positive learners for improved wellbeing and academic results.
  • Student Voice – the survey is confidential and anonymous. In this way, the survey elicits honest answers from students, empowering them to share responsibility for developing and enhancing their own resilience, mental health and wellbeing.

Findings: Keys Strengths and Challenges for Students

Key Strengths and Challenges for Grade 3 to 6

There were 2846 students surveyed in grade 3 to 6 year levels. The data below outlines the key strengths and challenges for this cohort, providing a comparison between 2023 and 2025.

Key Strengths

  • 91% have love and support from family (89% in 2023)
  • 90% have at least one good friend at school (90% in 2023)
  • 94% feel safe at home (89% in 2023)
  • 91% try hard at school (87% in 2023)

 

Key challenges:

  • 51% can’t talk about the things that upset them (57% in 2023)
  • 38% are using a device between 10pm/midnight and 6am (43% in 2023)
  • 26% feel nervous, anxious or on edge (31% in 2023)
  • 19% do not feel safe at school (26% in 2023)

Download a snapshot report for 3-6(PDF, 3MB)(PDF, 3MB).

Secondary School Year 7 to 12 Summary

There were 6184 students surveyed in Year 7 to 12 who identified as male, female, prefer not to say and non-binary/other. The data below outlines the key strengths and challenges for this cohort.

Key Strengths:

  • 94% are not bullied online (93% in 2023)
  • 91% have at least one good friend at school (91% in 2023)
  • 93% feel safe at home (91% in 2023)
  • 88% have love and support from family (86% in 2023)

 

Key Challenges:

  • 35% do not have a teacher who encourages them (39% in 2023)
  • 28% do not feel safe at school (35% in 2023)
  • 28% do not have an adult in their lives that they can talk too (33% in 2023)
  • 20% have threatened to physically hurt someone (24% in 2023)

 

Download a snapshot report for 7-12(PDF, 3MB)(PDF, 3MB).

 

Resilient Youth Australia presentation 28 March 2023

The presentation explains how the Resilient Youth Survey measures student wellbeing and how schools will be able to use the data to support advocacy, planning and programming.