Responding to stubbornly high rates of absence and a mental health crisis among young people, policy attention turns to boosting their sense of belonging at school.
Mental health problems among children have increased dramatically. In 2023, NHS England reported that more than one in five 8-16-year-olds had a probable mental health disorder, up from one in eight just six years earlier.
Data from Understanding Society shows that, in the same year, average happiness among 10-15 year olds in the UK also reached its lowest level since the survey began in 2010, having decreased steadily since 2015/16. Schoolwork was the aspect of life children were least happy with, while average happiness with school overall was only marginally higher.
Perhaps little wonder, then, that school absence rates have remained stubbornly high since the pandemic, with 18% of pupils persistently absent (missing half a day per week or more) in the autumn term of 2024, compared to 11% in 2018.
School can both cause and address poor mental health
We have previously highlighted the complex interplay between children’s education and their mental health. Relationships between low well-being and poor school outcomes, such as frequent absence, are often two-way and mutually reinforcing. While aspects of the school experience can cause or exacerbate psychological distress, school can also be a critical place for prevention, support and remediation.
With a worsening picture of children’s well-being, improving our understanding of what schools can do to make a difference has become increasingly important.
The role of school belonging
Alongside rolling out Mental Health Support Teams, the UK Government has developed a strong focus on the importance of pupils feeling a sense of belonging at school. School belonging has been defined as: “the extent to which pupils feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment.”
Research has linked a stronger sense of school belonging to better attendance, engagement and academic outcomes, and consequently to improved life chances in the longer term.
In its February 2026 White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving, the Department for Education introduced a new requirement that, by 2029, all schools in England should monitor pupils’ sense of belonging using a new “engagement framework”. This aligns with its ambition that “every school should be a safe, calm, and caring place where every child feels they belong and are seen”. The devolved governments have also placed increasing emphasis on belonging or closely related ideas, such as connectedness and participation.
Unfortunately, the evidence suggests a substantial gap between this ambition and many current pupils’ experiences at school. For example, in 2022, the UK’s 15-year-olds reported levels of school belonging significantly lower than the average across OECD countries.
At the Nuffield Foundation, we are helping build the UK evidence base on school belonging with a pair of recently-funded projects led respectively by Dr Sam Sims and Professor John Jerrim at University College London. Through analysis of complementary datasets, both studies focus on how pupils’ sense of belonging relates to attendance and academic attainment. Dr Sims’ work is also exploring how school and class climate fit into the picture. Together, these studies will help establish whether improving pupils’ sense of belonging could contribute to better attendance and exam results, as well as improved well-being.
Vulnerable groups
The Schools White Paper highlights lower levels of belonging among certain groups of pupils, primarily those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The interaction between different forms of vulnerability and children’s mental health remains poorly understood. As a step towards addressing this, we recently funded Dr Johny Daniel at Durham University to explore rates of referral to mental health services and diagnoses of depression, anxiety and stress-related conditions among pupils with different types of SEND compared to their non-SEND peers. This work builds on our substantial existing portfolio of SEND research. The findings could help identify where support is most needed and whether current patterns of access to services vary across different groups of pupils with SEND.
Addressing the evidence gaps
Despite growing policy interest in children and young people’s mental health and school belonging, important gaps in the evidence remain.
If you are interested in working with us to fill these gaps, the deadline for our next Main Grants funding round is 5 October 2026.
For initial feedback on your project idea, email a one-page description to Alice Reeves at areeves@nuffieldfoundation.org
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