How safe do pupils in your school or trust feel?

The Key and Edurio surveyed 70,000 pupils in what is England's largest review of children's feelings of safety in school and beyond

Nearly 1 in 10 of pupils surveyed in The Pupils Safeguarding Review reported not feeling safe in school and there's a link between feeling safe and attendance.

It's published alongside a governor and trustee discussion guide so boards can explore the issues raised with leaders at their next meeting.

Key findings

• Nearly one in ten (8%) of pupils reported not feeling safe in school
• Of the pupils that feel unsafe in school, one third (33%) report multiple instances of feeling unsafe
• Pupils from certain minority groups, particularly homosexual pupils and those with gender identities other than male or female, are much less likely to feel safe in school than their peers
• Only 25% of pupils that have felt unsafe at school have reported speaking to an adult at school for help or support.

The report, a robust view of pupils across year groups, regions and other key demographics, found that whilst the majority of pupils reported feeling safe in school – 75% of all pupils surveyed – one quarter of pupils reported feeling not at all safe, not very safe, or only fairly safe.

As well as being an important issue to address in terms of young people’s safety and wellbeing, the report helps demonstrate the relationship between safety and attendance, with pupils who felt unsafe at school more likely to report they had missed school because they felt unsafe.

The review also provides a breakdown of the feelings of safety amongst different demographics including, sexuality and gender identity, sharing that those with a gender identity other than male or female have lower feelings of safety in school (just 48% felt safe at school in the last six months, compared to 75% of girls and 78% of boys) and that less than half of gay (43%) or bisexual (45%) pupils reported feeling safe at school compared to nearly three quarters of heterosexual pupils (71%).

In addition to feelings of safety at school, the review asked pupils how safe they felt online, to which 88% responded positively. This indicates that more children feel safe online than in school (88% online compared to 75% in school) however, the report also notes the hidden nature of online risks that could be granting young people a false sense of security as they are less aware of the online dangers they may encounter.