Pupil motivation drops despite rises in safety and belonging, DfE finds
The share of pupils who said they felt they belonged in school most or every day rose to 69% in May 2025, up 12 percentage points on the previous year
Register to get 1 free article
Reveal the article below by registering for our email newsletter.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Pupil experiences of school shifted in mixed directions during the 2024 to 2025 academic year, with improvements across several wellbeing measures set against a fall in motivation to learn, according to new Department for Education (DfE) data.
The report brings together findings from the Pupil, Parent and Learner Voice survey and its predecessor panels to track trends in belonging, safety, enjoyment and relationships with staff among pupils in years seven to 11. In May 2025, 70% of pupils reported feeling fairly or very motivated to learn, down from 75% in April 2024 after earlier increases.
Other indicators moved upward. The share of pupils who said they felt they belonged in school most or every day rose to 69% in May 2025, up 12 percentage points on the previous year. Feelings of safety reached 78%, compared with 72% in May 2024, while school enjoyment climbed to 59% after fluctuating in earlier months.
Female pupils, pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils identified with special educational needs or disability all recorded lower levels of belonging than their peers, with differences for these groups found to be significant in the latest wave. Differences by key stage were smaller and not statistically significant.
Relationships with staff showed consistent improvement. In May 2025, 57% of pupils said there was often or always an adult who “really cares about me”, compared with 50% the previous year.
Meanwhile, 61% said an adult “listens to me when I have something to say”, while 63% felt an adult “believes that I will be a success”. The proportion who said an adult “tells me when I do a good job” reached 59%, up from 52% in 2024.
Parents’ responses largely echoed pupils’ views. In May 2025, 94% of primary parents, 87% of secondary parents and 83% of parents of pupils in special schools said their child felt safe at school most days or every day. For enjoyment, 85% of primary parents, 73% of secondary parents and 79% of special-school parents reported their child enjoyed school.
The department said it would continue monitoring these measures and explore wider data sources to strengthen understanding of pupils’ experiences.