School climate and pupil belonging, attendance and achievement

This project will explore the relationships between school climate, classroom climate, pupil belonging, attendance, and achievement in England. 

Why this project is important

The student absence rate in England remains 50% higher than pre-pandemic levels, with 7.1% of sessions missed in 2023/24 and 20% of pupils persistently absent, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged groups. Evidence suggests that school climate and pupil belonging are associated with attendance and achievement. 

In the 2024/25 school year, Lift Schools, one of England’s largest multi-academy trusts (MATs), surveyed more than 20,000 of their pupils in Years 5-11 and their teachers. The pupil questionnaire included validated measures of school climate, class climate, and sense of belonging at school, which can be linked to pupil attendance data as well as scores from annual academic test scores in English and Maths. The survey will be repeated in the academic years 2025/6 and 2026/7.  

What it will involve

The research team, in collaboration with Lift Schools, aim to support school leaders to enact changes to improve their school climate and consequently improve the belonging, attendance and attainment of their pupils. The following questions will be addressed: 

1. What is the relationship between school climate and pupil sense of belonging?  
2. What is the relationship between school climate and pupil attendance?  
3. What is the relationship between class climate, class belonging and pupil academic achievement?  
4. What are the pathways linking school/class climate, pupil sense of belonging, pupil attendance, and pupil achievement?  
5. What changes in policy and practice occurred in schools that improved school climate or pupil sense of belonging or pupil attendance between 2025 and 2027? 

Questions 1 to 3 will be explored both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, with investigation of differences by school type, year group, and key pupil characteristics. For Question 4, the team will use sophisticated statistical techniques to address questions such as “Does school belonging mediate the relationship between school climate and attendance?” and “Does belonging affect achievement other than via attendance, e.g. due to increased motivation?”. To answer Question 5, a small number of schools showing recent improvement on one or more of the key measures will be selected for an in-depth case study involving interviews with several leaders and teachers to understand what changes in practice, policy, or culture precipitated these positive developments.   

How it will make a difference

Lift will develop training materials based on the research findings for delivery to their own teachers and leaders and make these freely available to other school leaders and educators online. The MAT’s 57 schools include primary, secondary, and special schools spread across every region of England, with pupils from a diversity of backgrounds. The findings of the study will therefore be relevant to a wide range of other schools.