X-twitter Facebook Instagram Linkedin
Donate
Donate
Donate

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

This page answers common questions about BrainWaves: what we do, how we work with educators and researchers, and how young people are involved. 

All our work with young people is guided by robust safeguarding, ethical, and data protection practices. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, please get in touch at support@brainwaveshub.org 

What is BrainWaves?

BrainWaves is a major response to a growing number of young people experiencing mental health concerns. It is led by a group of academics, educationalists and philanthropists. Our mission is to help young people live well through research. We equip educators with the resources and tools to effectively nurture mental wellbeing amongst young people. To achieve this, BrainWaves is creating a platform for scientific studies to build on the base of evidence and develop educational material for the classroom.

Academics at the University of Oxford (a registered charity), Swansea University and education specialists at The Day News & Media Ltd, the leading publisher of news and critical literacy content for secondary schools, have partnered to establish BrainWaves.

BrainWaves is a charity. We are funded by philanthropic donations by a number of individuals who have recognised the importance of the work BrainWaves is undertaking. It is expected that in time a range of public, corporate and private funds will contribute to BrainWaves income.

BrainWaves is helping in several ways. Firstly, it is creating a large cohort group of adolescents and collecting extensive data about their mental health over time. This data will enable far more research to be undertaken and for that research to be done effectively and faster than has previously been possible. Insights and discoveries made will be fed back into educators in the form of interventions based on science. This will be tested in BrainWaves Research Partner schools and colleges and rolled out in new lesson plans and materials for all educators to access. Additionally, schools and colleges that participate in the Cohort Study will receive a personalised report on their cohort’s wellbeing trends, enabling them to take timely action wherever the students’ needs lie.

BrainWaves is establishing a platform for high-quality science. It is doing this with the active support of schools and colleges. Central to the study is a cohort of young people, which will be developed over many years in what is called a longitudinal cohort study. It will provide deep levels of data about adolescent wellbeing and mental health. The initial research focused on how best to secure a positive, engaged consent from young participants, and now consists of annual data collection. This research will inform other trials and school and college-based interventions.

An annual questionnaire will be used to learn more about young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and things that can affect it. These can range from sleep to online activity, happiness, friendships, depression, loneliness, etc. The goal of the questionnaire is to learn more about young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and things that can affect it.

Students (aged 11+) at participating schools and colleges are being asked to complete an online questionnaire, over a minimum of two years, in timetabled, supervised school or college sessions. All questions will be age-appropriate.

The information collected gives BrainWaves the opportunity to learn about what contributes to good or poor mental health among young people, which can help us improve mental health in the future. The survey is conducted online and is confidential. Data is ‘de-identified’, i.e students cannot be identified by their answers.

It is expected that biological samples will be taken at some point in the future during the study. We expect this to be in the later stages of the BrainWaves project. Such samples would only be requested from students aged 16 years and over, and we would require additional consent for them to be taken.

Each student will be asked whether they want to take part in the BrainWaves study. At every stage they will have the option to withdraw or withhold their consent or choose to stop contributing to the programme.

The information shared by each participating student is collected in a way that maintains privacy. For research purposes, the data of an individual may be stored, but their identity will be pseudonomised, safeguarding the identity of that person. This means data about someone can be used in research without their name or identifying details being known. In addition, all data is kept on a highly secure Data Portal. (See below ‘How secure is the data?’)

BrainWaves partner Swansea University manages its data in a controlled environment called the Secure eResearch Platform (SeRP). This is accredited to the highest international standards. Data can only be used within the secure research space on the data portal and cannot be exported or used outside this space.

Researchers wanting to use the data we have collected in the BrainWaves Cohort Study will have to apply for access. Access will only be given for specific purposes, and the research will have to be undertaken in the safe research space provided on the data portal.

The survey data helps to identify which mental health and wellbeing issues are of greatest concern to young people. This could be their prevalence and severity, as well as how they are changing over time. (Which issues are getting worse, or which are resolving themselves).

At a later stage of the BrainWaves project, mental health and wellbeing survey results will be linked to health and educational data using a secure, trusted research environment where consent is given. There are strict governance arrangements controlling this. If BrainWaves is permitted to link survey and other data in the future, participants will be given additional information so that they can make an informed decision before giving their final consent.

If you want your school to partake in this ground-breaking initiative, contact us via support@brainwaveshub.org or sign up for our newsletter here.

All ages in secondary education (11-18 year-olds).

There are many different ways for schools and colleges to be involved with BrainWaves. They can choose to be Research Partners (taking part in our Cohort Study, teaching and evaluating lessons, or testing and evaluating interventions). Each element has its own time commitments, but generates benefits for each school or college community. Whatever schools / colleges and teachers choose to do, we are committed to providing relevant and efficient training to support their BrainWaves journey. You can contact us at support@brainwaveshub.org if you’d like to find out more.

We have an education website where you can find all the information you need, including supporting webinars for teachers, lesson plans and materials: https://education.brainwaveshub.org/

This is an exciting project which could make a real difference to both participating students’ mental health and that of future generations. Students will be directly contributing to enormously important research on adolescent mental health and helping to build a more accurate and in-depth scientific evidence base in this area. 

Students and teachers will have the opportunity to work closely with Oxford University BrainWaves researchers to co-create and influence the direction and content of educational materials – from lesson plans to teacher training materials and webinars.

Additionally, schools and colleges that choose to become Research Partners will:

  • Gain accreditation through BrainWaves;
  • Receive a plaque for their school / college;
  • Gain one free space to the annual BrainWaves conference;
  • Receive a personalised report on their student cohort’s wellbeing (study dependent);
  • Have access to Research Partner exclusive webinars and opportunities…

…and more!

Still have questions?

If you can’t find an answer to a question you have, please feel free to email us

Contact