Curriculum Tool Curriculum Tool Planning tool for CfW
Estyn Report
Pricing
Get started Log in

Last updated on 10 November 2026

Health and Well-being

Health and Well-being

Overview

Health and Well-being is one of the six Areas of Learning and Experience in the Curriculum for Wales. Hwb names physical health and development, mental health, and emotional and social well-being as its fundamental components. It has five statements of what matters. It helps learners navigate life's opportunities and challenges.

Hwb starts from the idea that good health and well-being support successful learning. The five statements act as lenses: physical health, how experiences affect mental health, decision-making, social influences, and healthy relationships. Teachers explore diet, sleep, substance misuse and first aid through them. Hwb asks teachers to draw across all five statements when planning.

Hwb calls the Area "an entirely new element of the curriculum in Wales". Schools decide how to organise teaching within it. The guidance expects a whole-school approach that lets health and well-being permeate all aspects of school life. Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) is closely tied to this Area. RSE is mandatory for all learners aged 3 to 16, with its own RSE Code under the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021. The same Act requires pupil referral units and EOTAS (education other than at school) settings to include this Area, even where other Areas are not required. Read the full framework in the Health and Well-being guidance on Hwb.

What does Health and Well-being look like in practice?

Physical health and well-being

Year 6 learners plan, cost and cook a nutritious lunch for a community coffee morning in rural Ceredigion. This supports the physical health statement and the step 3 description "I can plan and prepare basic, nutritious meals". Budgeting and weighing ingredients add numeracy.

Mental health and emotional well-being

Nursery children in Welsh-medium settings across Gwynedd start each day with a "sut wyt ti'n teimlo?" (how are you feeling?) check-in using picture cards. Learners point to a card and name the feeling. This is early work on the mental health statement, building towards "I can notice and communicate how I am feeling".

Decision-making

Year 9 learners research the post-16 routes open to them in Newport using impartial careers advice, then justify a provisional choice to a partner. This sits under the decision-making statement, which names career pathways as a key decision. It practises weighing evidence before deciding.

Social influences

Year 11 learners analyse how norms about vaping or body image spread on social media, then plan a peer-led response for younger learners in Swansea. This covers the social influences statement and the step 5 description "I can promote positive attitudes and values".

Healthy relationships

Year 3 learners role-play scenes in a Merthyr Tydfil park. They ask permission to borrow things and practise what to do when a friend says no. This is the general consent groundwork set by the RSE Code for its early phases. It supports the healthy relationships statement through making friends and resolving disagreements.

Statements of what matters

The 5 statements below are the official wording from the Curriculum for Wales. Together they set out the big ideas learners should come to understand in Health and Well-being.

Developing physical health and well-being has lifelong benefits
Learners build health-promoting behaviours: physical activity, including sport and other forms, a balanced diet, personal care and hygiene, sleep and protection from infection. Plan for confidence, motivation and physical competence as well as knowledge. Read it on Hwb
How we process and respond to our experiences affects our mental health and emotional well-being
Learners explore how experiences connect to mental health, learn that feelings and emotions are neither fixed nor consistent, and practise regulating them and seeking help. Plan regular chances to name feelings and try strategies, so talking about mental health becomes normal. Read it on Hwb
Our decision-making impacts on the quality of our lives and the lives of others
Learners examine what shapes decisions and their consequences for themselves, others and wider society. They take part in collective decision-making. Plan for learners to make, justify and later evaluate real decisions, including career pathways. Read it on Hwb
How we engage with social influences shapes who we are and affects our health and well-being
Social influences are the rules, norms, attitudes and values that groups create and reinforce, often without our noticing. Learners engage critically with them, in their own culture and others'. Plan for learners to spot a norm in their own lives and question its source. Read it on Hwb
Healthy relationships are fundamental to our well-being
Learners value belonging and learn to form, nurture and maintain relationships. They recognise when a relationship is unhealthy, and know how to keep safe and seek support. Plan for learners to practise these skills and to name who they would turn to, for themselves and for friends. Read it on Hwb

Progression in Health and Well-being

Progression step 1

Around age 5, towards the end of reception, learners are building awareness. They move in different ways, start to control gross and fine motor movements, link diet with health, and can say "I can notice and communicate how I am feeling". Decisions rest on likes and dislikes, with an early sense that things can be safe or unsafe. They follow group rules, show care for others and can say who looks after them.

Progression step 2

Around age 8, about Year 3, learners improve basic movement skills, persevere with physical challenges and make informed food choices. They understand why thoughts and feelings change. They can say "I am beginning to notice when I need help to manage my feelings". Decisions rest on what they know, and they begin to identify and assess risks. They recognise relationships beyond family and friends, try to resolve disagreements, and can say when they do not feel safe.

Progression step 3

Around age 11, about Year 6, learners apply their skills as situations change, motivate themselves to be active, and plan and prepare basic, nutritious meals. They regulate their emotions with strategies of their own and ask trusted people for help. They set goals and manage risk. They can say "I can identify and assess risks, and I can take steps to reduce them". They see how groups shape values and identity, and keep relationships going while resolving conflict.

Progression step 4

Around age 14, about Year 9, learners transfer movement skills to unfamiliar settings, plan a variety of nutritious meals and analyse links between physical and emotional change. They identify people and groups who can support their mental health. Decisions draw on evidence. They can say "I can research, examine and evaluate a range of evidence to make considered and informed decisions". They notice how social norms can go unchallenged, evaluate what shapes their identity, and recognise when safety or rights are threatened.

Progression step 5

Around age 16, about Year 11, learners act independently and on behalf of others. They adapt movement skills, use nutrition knowledge to support others, and can safely intervene with learnt techniques when someone's physical health is at risk. They help build a culture where talking about mental health is normalised, critically evaluate decisions and risks, and challenge harmful attitudes where appropriate. They can say "I can take steps to avoid conflict and to remove myself from unsafe relationships".

How does Health and Well-being relate to the four purposes?

Ambitious, capable learners

Hwb links this Area to learners' motivation, resilience, empathy and decision-making. These abilities keep learners going when learning gets hard. The decision-making statement does much of the work. It covers weighing evidence and risk, setting short-term and long-term goals, and taking steps to achieve them, including choosing a career pathway.

Enterprising, creative contributors

Hwb says the Area helps learners manage risks, express ideas and emotions, develop and maintain healthy relationships, and take on different roles and responsibilities. Practical creativity also matters. The guidance asks for chances to express themselves in physical activity, including sport, to generate ideas for nutritious meals, and to think innovatively about career pathways.

Ethical, informed citizens

The Area asks learners to show respect, value equity, listen to others and evaluate the social influences affecting them. The social influences statement and the guidance's focus on rights, including the UNCRC, give this real content. By progression step 5, learners promote positive attitudes and values and, where appropriate, challenge harmful ones.

Healthy, confident individuals

This is the purpose the Area serves most directly. All five statements feed it. They cover an active lifestyle, regulating emotions and knowing where to seek help, considered decisions, a critical eye on social norms, and safe, supportive relationships. Hwb's progression moves learners from their own well-being towards that of others, becoming more socially responsible as they go.

Cross-cutting themes

Local, national and international contexts

Start from your area's picture, such as access to green space, local services or rural isolation. Hwb says these local drivers and influences should shape your curriculum. Progression widens learners' concern from themselves to others in local, national and international contexts.

Careers and work-related experiences

Careers sit inside a statement of what matters. Hwb calls career pathways "a key decision that affects learners for life". The guidance links resilience and adaptability to informed career decisions, and says learners need impartial and unbiased advice. Plan careers work as decision-making practice that learners revisit across the years.

Human rights education and diversity

Hwb says understanding and valuing diversity is intrinsic to this Area. Learners need to know they have rights, including those in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and that these should protect them from harm. Hwb also wants learners to exercise their rights, for example through class and school council decisions.

Relationships and sexuality education

RSE is mandatory for all learners from ages 3 to 16. A curriculum must accord with the RSE Code issued under the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021. Hwb calls this Area central to RSE, and its principles of progression guide progression in RSE. The three strands are relationships and identity, sexual health and well-being, and empowerment, safety and respect.

Cross-curricular skills

Literacy

Hwb calls literacy "a fundamental enabler of well-being". Literature gives learners the means to communicate their feelings, develop relationships and seek help and support. Critical reading of a range of texts supports decision-making. Organising writing and adapting language confidently matter when learners apply for learning pathways and careers.

Numeracy

Hwb links numeracy to informed decisions, especially managing money, good financial decision-making and critically engaging with social norms around money. It also plays a role in purchasing and preparing food, and in measuring distance, weight and time, for example timing a run or weighing ingredients for a recipe.

Digital competence

Hwb says learning in this Area is fundamental to safe behaviour in relation to digital media and the online world. Digital contexts include relationships, online safety, legal implications and social influences online, including social media. Keep your own understanding of what learners are accessing current, and aim for responsible digital citizens.

Thinking tools for Health and Well-being

Practical classroom strategies that develop thinking skills across Health and Well-being. Each tool is ready to use in your next lesson.

Diamond Ranking

A prioritisation tool that gets learners discussing and defending what matters most, arranging ideas into a diamond shape that forces real choices.

Ranking & sorting

Living Graphs

An interactive graph where learners place statement cards at the correct position on pre-labelled axes, exploring cause and effect, change over time, and spatial relationships.

Visual organisers

PMI Diagram

A structured evaluation tool where learners consider the Plus, Minus and Interesting aspects of an idea, preventing snap judgements by requiring deliberate consideration of multiple perspectives.

Ranking & sorting

Pros and Cons

A simple evaluation framework where learners list the advantages and disadvantages of an idea, decision, or course of action, developing balanced judgement and argumentation skills.

Ranking & sorting

Think-Pair-Share

A three-stage discussion framework where learners first think individually, then discuss with a partner, then share with the wider group, ensuring all learners engage with the question before whole-class discussion.

Discussion

Traffic Lighting

A self-assessment system where learners indicate their understanding using traffic light colours: green (confident), amber (partly confident), and red (not confident), providing instant visual feedback to teacher and learner.

Assessment for learning

Common questions about Health and Well-being

No. Hwb says RSE is statutory in the Curriculum for Wales and mandatory for all learners aged 3 to 16. A school's curriculum must accord with the RSE Code.

Parents have no right to withdraw. The High Court confirmed this when it upheld the RSE Code and guidance in R (Isherwood) v Welsh Ministers [2022] EWHC 3331 (Admin).

Talk openly with parents and carers about what RSE covers in each phase. Explain that the Code requires RSE to be developmentally appropriate. Younger learners learn general consent as groundwork for sexual consent, which comes at the developmentally appropriate time in the phase from age 11.

You design your own RSE within the mandatory RSE Code issued under the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021. It applies to all learners from ages 3 to 16. It has three strands: relationships and identity; sexual health and well-being; and empowerment, safety and respect. It sets mandatory content in three broad phases, from age 3, from age 7 and from age 11. Learners are taught general consent in the first two phases before sexual consent in the third. RSE must be developmentally appropriate, inclusive (including LGBTQ+ lives), and objective, critical and pluralistic. Hwb says the Health and Well-being principles of progression offer guidance on progression in RSE. Revisit each strand with growing depth.

Health and Well-being is a full Area of Learning and Experience. Hwb calls it "an entirely new element of the curriculum in Wales". It rests on five statements of what matters: physical health, mental health, decision-making, social influences and healthy relationships. Its fundamental components are physical health and development, mental health, and emotional and social well-being. Progression runs from ages 3 to 16. Hwb expects a whole-school approach, so well-being runs through school life as well as planned lessons. Map your existing PSE units against the five statements and plan for any gaps. RSE follows its own RSE Code.

The other Areas of Learning and Experience

Expressive Arts

Expressive Arts

3 statements of what matters

 Humanities

Humanities

5 statements of what matters

 Languages, Literacy and Communication

Languages, Literacy and Communication

4 statements of what matters

 Mathematics and Numeracy

Mathematics and Numeracy

4 statements of what matters

 Science and Technology

Science and Technology

6 statements of what matters