Following the publication of the Pupil Experiences in
School survey, showing annual data on pupils' sense of
belonging, safety and enjoyment in schools, the Government are
sharing a ministerial comment analysing the findings.
This follows a roundtable with Mission 44's Founder
Sir Lewis Hamilton in June 2025 which discussed how to make the
education system more inclusive.
, Minister for Early Years
Education said:
"These findings show we are making real progress in creating
school environments where every child feels valued and supported
– and through our Plan for Change we are determined to go
further.
“Through our rollout of mental health support teams in schools, a
renewed National Curriculum and plans to drive up pupil
engagement, we will break down barriers to opportunity for every
child.”
Background
- The government made a commitment to expand the annual data it
publishes on pupils' sense of school belonging, safety and sense
of enjoyment following a roundtable with young
people and Sir Lewis Hamilton in June 2025 discussing
how the education system could be more inclusive.
- The Department has committed to publishing a best practice
framework to help schools increase pupil engagement in 2026. This
will support schools to identify and address aspects of the pupil
experience in their setting which may be preventing children from
attending, achieving and thriving.
- Poor attendance has a direct impact on a pupils' attainment,
future earnings and life chances - with persistently absent
pupils in secondary school earning £10,000 less at age 28
compared to pupils with strong attendance.
- Mental Health Support Teams currently reach around seven in
ten secondary school pupils.
- School mental health support rollout to reach up to 900,000
more pupils in 2026-26, covering six in ten children across the
country.
- The teams are made up of specialists who intervene early with
children with mild to moderate mental health issues, empowering
them to work through challenges in a calm and supportive learning
environment. They also provide timely advice to school and
college staff to develop a whole school approach to mental health
and liaise with external specialist services such as the NHS, to
help young people get the right support and stay in
education.
- Our national curriculum hasn't been updated in ten years, so
today we're setting out plans to not only bring it into the
modern day, but help young people step into the future.
- That means two things:
- It means strengthened foundations
in what has always been critical – reading, maths, science - with
changes like a new reading assessment for all children in year 8.
- And it means equipping young people
to navigate the modern world, for example with lessons on media
literacy, so pupils can tell fact from fiction when they're
online.
Jason Arthur, CEO of Mission 44 said:
“We welcome the publication of this important data. It is a
unique insight into what children are thinking and feeling at
school. When Mission 44's Founder, Sir Lewis Hamilton, and I met
the Prime Minister earlier this year, one of our key asks was for
better information on pupils' experiences - so this is a positive
step forward. But these findings also show there is much more to
do to ensure every child feels included, supported and able to
thrive.
“Another result of our meeting was that the Government committed
to developing a national Pupil Engagement Framework to give
schools clear guidance on creating inclusive, supportive
environments - work we are now supporting.
“But the framework must respond directly to the issues raised in
this data, and schools must receive the resources and support to
put its recommendations into practice.”
Key stats from report:
All four measures of pupil-staff relationships showed
notable improvements in May 2025:
- 57% report an adult "really cares about me" (up 7 percentage
points from 2024)
- 61% report an adult "listens to me" (up 5 percentage points
from 2024)
- 63% report an adult "believes I will be a success" (up 8
percentage points from 2024)
- 59% report an adult "tells me when I do a good job" (up 7
percentage points from 2024)
School Belonging and Engagement
- Belonging: 12 percentage point increase in pupils feeling
they belong in school most or every day
- Safety and enjoyment: Both measures remained stable over time
but showed significant increases in the latest wave
