Students’ mental health is one of the biggest challenges facing schools.

In Australia, half of all adult mental health challenges emerge before the age of 14. It is also estimated that more than 50% of children experiencing mental health challenges are not receiving professional help.

Schools are increasingly being asked to help identify students who may be struggling and to help identify them early.

One way schools do this is through mental health screening. Students complete a questionnaire, and those whose score particular results may be flagged for follow-up.

When screening is used, it is often conducted at a single point in time. But when it comes to mental health, we know it’s important to notice patterns or changes over time.

Does this means schools are making decisions about support for students based on unreliable snapshots?

To explore this, our new study tracked students’ emotional experiences over time.

We asked 767 students aged 11-15 years old from schools in Australia and the UK, to complete a very brief check-in, repeatedly across six to seven weeks.

Each check-in took around one to two minutes and used a brief, structured measure of emotional........

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