246: Pupil Learning Experience and Wellbeing Review with Edurio
Iona Jackson is Head of Research at Edurio, managing a team of survey experts and data analysts through projects relating to stakeholder feedback in schools.New Edurio research reveals half of children feel stressed and a quarter feel lonely.Edurio has published their latest research examining pupil wellbeing, support systems in school and how pupils feel about school. The study drew on responses from 45,000 children of which 15,000 were from primary.Children feel progressively less well as the move through primary school – 76% in year 1 feel well but this drops by 17 percentage points in Y6 when 59% report feeling well.Children feel more stressed in Y6 (36%) than in Y1 (22%)More primary aged children feel overworked in Y2 and Y3 than at any other time during primary school.The research shows that the transition to secondary school has a negative impact on children’s wellbeing and the drop is greater than at other times during school.Children’s overall wellbeing drops from 59% feeling well in Y6 to 46% in Y7.More students often feel stressed – rising from 36% in Y6 to 43% in Y7More children report not sleeping well in Y7 (30%) than in Y6 (28%) A survey of 45,000 school-aged children conducted by Edurio reveals that less than half (47 per cent) of pupils reported that they had been feeling well in the period leading up to the survey. A similar number (46 per cent) often felt stressed. Added to this, a quarter (24 per cent) of pupils admitted feeling lonely. This is much higher than a previous study by the Office for National Statistics in 2018 which found 11 per cent of 10-15 year olds felt lonely. It suggests that the pandemic has had a significant impact on pupils.The research, which was conducted during the summer term, found that pupils in the latter stages of their schooling fared worst for overall wellness, sleep and overwork. A third (31 per cent) of pupils in their final year of GCSEs reported feeling well; four in 10 (41 per cent) slept badly; two-thirds (66 per cent) felt overworked and over half (63 per cent) of year 11 pupils felt stressed. The research found significant differences in wellbeing between girls and boys, with girls reporting lower wellbeing scores. More than half (55 per cent) of girls feel quite or very often stressed compared to just a third (36 per cent) of boys. Almost half (48 per cent) of girls feel frequently overworked compared to just over a third (38 per cent) of boys. Furthermore, less girls (43 per cent) felt well than boys (54 per cent) and less girls (40 per cent) slept well than boys (47 per cent).Interestingly, the research points to a correlation between pupil wellbeing and a school’s Ofsted rating. Pupils at schools judged ‘outstanding’ have consistently higher stress levels, problems sleeping and feel overworked:Almost half of pupils (49 per cent) have felt stressed lately compared to 44 per cent at ‘good’ schools and 45 per cent at ‘requires improvement (RI)’ schools.Under half (41 per cent) reported having good sleep compared to 44 per cent at ‘good’ schools and 45 per cent at RI schools.Just under half (46 per cent) feel overworked compared to 42 per cent at ’good’ schools and 44 per cent at RI schools.Edurio found that 71 per cent of students feel safe in class. However, eight per cent reported feeling unsafe in class which means, in an average-sized class, two to three pupils feel unsafe. Furthermore, when there is an issue, less than half (41 per cent) feel they have an adult at school whom they can trust and talk to. Similarly, just over a third (37 per cent) feel that they would rarely or never have an adult at school that they can trust and talk to. So, who do pupils turn to when they feel sad or worried? Almost half (48 per cent) choose...