School is more than a place to learn

In this webinar, we'll look at how we can prevent inequalities in education from widening.

  • Location
    Online
  • Time
    1pm - 2pm
  • Date
    Wed 22 Oct 2025
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Since the pandemic, wellbeing in adolescents has been declining, and educational inequalities widening. So what's the solution? 

In this webinar, we'll be looking at a research study that examined changes in adolescent wellbeing across the WHO European Region following the Covid-19 pandemic.

We'll discuss how we can stop educational inequalities widening, how we can improve data collection on the impact that school closures have, and what a strategy on adolescent wellbeing would look like.

This webinar supports the development of a new WHO/UNICEF regional strategy for Child and Adolescent Health in Europe and Central Asia, as part of our Public Health in Practice Special Issue.

The research

Adolescent well-being was assessed using the UN H6+ framework, which includes:

  1. Good health and optimal nutrition
  2. Connectedness, positive values, and societal contribution
  3. Safety and a supportive environment
  4. Learning, competence, education, skills, and employability
  5. Agency and resilience

Secondary analysis of data from two large datasets concerning adolescents, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), revealed a decline in well-being across European countries from 2018 (pre-pandemic) to 2022 (post-pandemic). Additionally, the study highlighted a significant widening of educational inequalities in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The key issues for debate

We'll be discussing the following points:

  1. How can we prevent existing inequalities in educational attainment from widening?

  2. How can we improve our data collection strategies about school closure impact for future health crises?
  3. What would an intersectoral strategy on adolescent well-being look like, to minimize the impact of future emergency measures?

Speakers

Dr Maximilian Limburg, a white man with brown hair and glasses

Dr Maximilian Limburg

Speaker

Max is an Honorary Research Associate, based at the Institu…

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Dr Maximilian Limburg, a white man with brown hair and glasses
Dr Maximilian Limburg

Speaker

Max is an Honorary Research Associate, based at the Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool. His perspective is shaped by his background in clinical medicine and public health practice in local government. He is passionate about understanding inequalities faced by young people and the impact on their aspirations, as well as utilising the benefits of international public health collaboration.

Nicola Gray, a white woman with short light brown curly hair

Dr Nicola Gray

Co-Chair

Nicola is Reader in Medicines and Health at the University …

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Nicola Gray, a white woman with short light brown curly hair
Dr Nicola Gray

Co-Chair

Nicola is Reader in Medicines and Health at the University of Huddersfield. She is a pharmacist by training, with expertise in children and young people’s health, and research interests in health literacy and lifelong health learning pathways. She brings professionals together to explore opportunities for better intersectoral working across health and education to promote well-being in schools.

Mary Cronin, a white woman with long brown hair and bangs.

Mary Cronin

Speaker

Currently based at the Institute of Population Health, Univ…

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Mary Cronin, a white woman with long brown hair and bangs.
Mary Cronin

Speaker

Currently based at the Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool. Mary has previous experience working in local government and with the Field Epidemiology Service at Public Health England (now part of the UK Health Security Agency). She has a strong interest in the role of policy in reducing health inequalities.

Ingrid Wolfe, a white woman with short brown hair and glasses.

Professor Ingrid Wolfe OBE

Chair

Professor Ingrid Wolfe is Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Pop…

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Ingrid Wolfe, a white woman with short brown hair and glasses.
Professor Ingrid Wolfe OBE

Chair

Professor Ingrid Wolfe is Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Population Medicine) at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, a Consultant in Paediatric Population Medicine at Evelina London Children’s Health, and Professor of Paediatrics and Child Population Health at King’s College London. She leads a clinical-academic group (CHILDS) working to advance and apply knowledge for improving child health. Alongside this, Ingrid is Director of King’s Health Partners Women’s and Children’s Health, Director of NIHR Applied Research Collaborative (ARC) South London, and co-Chair of the British Association for Child and Adolescent Public Health.

Ingrid is qualified in paediatrics and public health, enabling her to be a children’s doctor with a very broad perspective. She has on-the-ground insight from clinical practice, and an understanding of the population from public health. These two aspects come together in her NHS and academic work focusing on improving child health through strengthening healthcare, health systems, and informing policy in the UK and Europe. She leads several research programmes designing and testing interventions to improve child health, publishing and speaking widely in academic, clinical, and policy settings. She was awarded an OBE for services to children’s health in 2016.