One in 10 pupils in England have missed school in the last six months because they have felt unsafe, according to the findings of a large-scale survey.
The report, which is based on a poll of 70,000 English schoolchildren aged 7-18, looks at the connection between children feeling safe in school and attendance levels, which have fallen since the pandemic.
It found pupils are most likely to feel unsafe in corridors and playgrounds, mainly because of other children, though 13% said it was because of a teacher. Of those who felt unsafe, one-third cited multiple instances, but only 25% of those who felt unsafe spoke to someone at school.
Overall, three-quarters (75%) of the children who took part in the research said they felt “very” or “quite” safe at school, but a quarter (25%) said they only felt “fairly”, “not very”, or “not at all” safe, with older children more likely to feel unsafe.
