Findings from Department for Education’s omnibus surveys with pupils and parents have now been published.
The report presents findings from the Department for Education’s surveys using termly data from multiple respondent groups on a range of priority topics across DfE policy areas. For the first time, this publication brings together the published data on a selection of topics to provide a single, thematic report on pupils’ experiences in schools. This report is structured in line with these topics, with chapters containing findings relating to experiences of school, relationships with staff and motivation to learn.
They key findings on experiences of school:
- Following decreases in previous years, in May 2025 there was a significant increase of 12 percentage points compared to May 2024 in the percentage of secondary school pupils in years 7 to 11 who reported they felt they belong in school most or every day in the last two weeks (69% in May 2025 compared to 57% in May 2024).
- There were significant differences in feelings of belonging in school with female pupils, pupils eligible for free school meals, pupils identified with SEND and pupils in Key Stage 4 all reporting lower levels of school belonging.
- The percentage of pupils who report feeling safe in school most or every day has been fairly stable between March 2022 and November 2024 with decreases seen during each academic year. There was a significant increase of 6 percentage points in the latest academic year; in May 2025, 78% of secondary school pupils in years 7 to 11 reported they feel safe in school most or every day in the last two weeks compared to 72% in May 2024.
- The percentage of pupils who reported that they enjoy school most or every day had been fairly stable between March 2022 and March 2025 with fluctuations seen during the academic year and a significant increase of 11 percentage points seen in the most recent wave, in comparison to the previous year. In May 2025, 59% of secondary school pupils in years 7 to 11 reported they enjoyed school most or every day in the last two weeks, compared to 48% in May 2024.
Further detail available in the full report.
