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70% against 56%: the London schools where pupils feel they belong

Qurexa Editorial Team22 September 20267 min read 0 0
70% against 56%: the London schools where pupils feel they belong

What happened

An evaluation of more than 700 London schools has found that pupils in schools which take children's rights seriously are considerably more likely to say they feel they belong. The research was carried out by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow together with London's Violence Reduction Unit. It was reported on 21 September 2026. Here is the background. There is a scheme called the Rights Respecting Schools Award, run in the UK by UNICEF. It is built around the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Schools work through stages and can be recognised at bronze, silver and gold level, depending on how far children's rights are embedded in how the school actually runs. The Mayor of London's Violence Reduction Unit has put £16 million into rolling this out across London schools since February 2024. Around 709 schools now take part, roughly one in five London schools, across all 32 boroughs. The evaluation ran from March 2025 to February 2026. Researchers surveyed 1,726 pupils and 236 teachers, and also ran focus groups and six detailed case studies in individual schools. The differences between schools at the highest level and those just starting out were consistent. At gold-level schools, 70% of pupils said they felt they belonged. At entry-level schools, it was 56%. On whether school leaders included all pupils, gold schools scored 79% against 64% at entry level. On feeling safe, it was 75% against 59%. And on whether teachers cared about them, 70% against 54%. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said: "When we invest in children's rights and support London's teachers, we create classrooms where young people feel safe, belong and thrive." Lib Peck, who directs the Violence Reduction Unit, said the evaluation showed "the true value of putting children's rights front and centre".

Why this matters

Belonging sounds like a soft outcome. It is not. A child who feels they belong at school turns up more often. Children who turn up more often learn more. Persistent absence has been one of the biggest problems in English schools since the pandemic, and no one has found a simple fix for it. Belonging is also linked to behaviour, to mental health, and to whether young people stay in education past 16. The funder here is worth noticing. This is a Violence Reduction Unit, not an education department. Its interest is in preventing young people being drawn into violence. The logic is that a young person who feels connected to school, safe there, and treated fairly, is less likely to find belonging somewhere more dangerous. That is a different way of thinking about school safety than metal detectors or exclusions. The approach itself is also worth understanding, because the name can mislead. A rights-respecting school is not one where children do as they please. In practice it tends to mean things like: pupils having a genuine say in decisions that affect them, behaviour policies explained rather than simply imposed, and staff treating rules as something to be understood rather than obeyed. The difference between 54% and 70% of children saying their teachers care about them is a large gap. Whatever is producing it, it is not trivial.

What the evidence actually says

The numbers are striking. The design means they need careful handling. This is a comparison between schools at different award levels at one point in time. It is not a trial. Nobody randomly assigned schools to become gold or entry level. That raises an obvious possibility, and it is the main limitation. Schools that reach gold level may already have been schools where children felt they belonged. Achieving gold takes years of sustained effort, stable leadership and staff who have capacity to take on extra work. Schools with all of that tend to be doing well in other ways too. So the honest reading is: gold-level schools have better belonging scores. Whether the award caused that, or whether schools with those qualities are the ones that reach gold, cannot be separated by this design. The sample is also worth noting. It surveyed 1,726 pupils across a programme covering 709 schools. That is an average of two or three pupils per school, so the pupil responses are likely concentrated in the case study schools rather than spread evenly. Schools that agreed to take part in an evaluation may not be typical. The evaluation was commissioned by the body funding the programme. That is normal and does not make it unreliable, especially with an independent university involved, but it is context worth having. The qualitative work, the focus groups and six case studies, is a real strength. It can show how something works in practice, which numbers alone cannot. What would settle the question is following schools over time as they move up the levels, and seeing whether belonging scores rise. That is a reasonable next step and this evaluation gives a baseline for it.

Practical advice

If you are a parent, the underlying question this research asks is a good one to ask of any school: does my child feel they belong here? It is worth asking your child directly, and the question that gets the most useful answer is usually not "do you like school". Try "is there an adult at school you could go to if something went wrong". A child who cannot name anyone is telling you something important. Schools that take part in the Rights Respecting Schools Award usually say so on their website. It is one signal among many, not a guarantee. If your child is reluctant to go to school, tell the school early rather than waiting. Schools have far more options when they hear about it in week one than in term two. If you work in a school, the practical elements here are not expensive. Pupils having genuine input into decisions, behaviour policies that are explained, and adults who are consistent, cost time rather than money. And if you are a school governor, pupil voice on belonging and safety is something you can ask to see. Many schools already collect it and rarely discuss it.

What to know

An evaluation by the University of Strathclyde and London's Violence Reduction Unit surveyed 1,726 pupils and 236 teachers, with focus groups and six case studies, across a programme covering 709 London schools in all 32 boroughs. The Mayor's office has invested £16 million since February 2024. Pupils at gold-level rights-respecting schools reported higher belonging (70% against 56%), inclusion by leaders (79% against 64%), feeling safe (75% against 59%) and feeling teachers cared about them (70% against 54%), compared with entry-level schools. The key limitation is that this compares schools at different stages rather than tracking the same schools over time. Schools that reach gold level may already have had strong cultures, so the award may be a marker as much as a cause. The practical elements behind the approach, giving pupils a real say, explaining rules rather than only enforcing them, and consistency from adults, cost time rather than money. Sources: Schools Week, "Pupil rights-based approach boosts belonging, study suggests", 21 September 2026, https://schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-rights-based-approach-boosts-belonging-study-suggests/; London Violence Reduction Unit, Mayor of London, https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/communities-and-social-justice/violence-reduction-unit; UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools Award, https://www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools/ This article is for general information about education and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are worried about your child's mental health, speak to your GP.

#schools#belonging#children's rights#London#school culture#education research

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