A student wellbeing app earns its place in a school when students open it on their own, counsellors hear about the students who need them, and nobody reads anyone's private conversations. Those three things pull against each other, so the checklist below is mostly about how a vendor resolves them. We make one (CalmSpace EDU), so read our answers as a vendor's and check them.

The checklist

  1. Age rules, stated plainly. Which ages the app accepts, what consent the school must obtain, and how the vendor handles a student who is too young. CalmSpace.ai is for 13 and over.
  2. What the student gets in the first minute. Something a stressed sixteen-year-old would use at 11 pm: a companion to talk to, a breath, a way to sleep. Content libraries alone are used in assemblies and forgotten.
  3. A one-tap way to ask for help. Not a form. A button that tells a counsellor "I want to talk", with the student's name and nothing else.
  4. Counsellor alerts that respect privacy. When the app detects crisis language, the counsellor is told, without being shown the conversation. Ask the vendor to show you exactly what the counsellor sees.
  5. What the student is told. Students must know what triggers an alert and who is told. An app that alerts secretly will be abandoned the week students find out.
  6. What happens in a crisis, in the app. Crisis lines for the country, an SOS screen, and an honest statement that the app is not an emergency service.
  7. Privacy from everyone else. Teachers, parents and administrators see nothing personal. Aggregate numbers only.
  8. Data and safeguarding. Where data is kept, how it is encrypted, who processes it, the vendor's certifications, and how the app fits your safeguarding policy. Your country's guidance applies; in England, for example, the Department for Education's mental health guidance for schools sets the frame.
  9. Sign-in that works for a school. SSO with your identity provider, or invitations by email; no app required to start.
  10. A pilot with a counsellor in it. One year group, a term, with the counsellor's view live from day one, and the measures agreed in advance.

How CalmSpace EDU answers

Secondary students get their own account with Bliss (voice and text, English and Spanish), breathing, sleep and the library; an "I need help" button reaches a counsellor; counsellors are alerted when crisis language is detected and never see the conversation; students are told how it works; the SOS screen shows the lines for the country; teachers and parents see nothing personal; data in AWS US-East, encrypted, with ClayDesk LLC holding ISO 27001 and ISO 22301; SSO or email invitations; a pilot with the counsellor view from the start; pricing on request. What Bliss does in a crisis is the exact behaviour, and how to ask for help at school is what a student reads.

Questions to ask on the demo

"Show me the counsellor's screen when an alert fires." "Show me what the student is told about alerts." "What does the app say to a student who writes that they want to hurt themselves?" Book a demo and ask us.

Questions people ask

What should a school look for in a student wellbeing app?

Age rules, something students will actually open, a one-tap way to reach a counsellor, alerts that do not expose conversations, honest crisis handling, privacy from staff and parents, and a pilot with the counsellor involved.

Can teachers see what students write in a wellbeing app?

They should not be able to. In CalmSpace EDU, only a counsellor is alerted, and only that the student needs help, never the conversation.

How old do students have to be for CalmSpace EDU?

13 and over, under the school's agreement and the consents its law requires.

Does a student wellbeing app replace the school counsellor?

No. It gets more students to the counsellor, earlier, and gives them something to use at 11 pm when the counsellor is not there.

CalmSpace.ai is a wellness app, not a medical service, and Bliss is not a therapist. If you are in crisis, contact the crisis line for your country; in the United States, call or text 988.