RCELI Initial Findings: Year 7 holds the key to keeping pupils engaged in education

Today, ImpactEd Group’s national Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators shares early insights from a pupil study of more than 80,000 children. The research, which investigates the links between student engagement, attendance, wellbeing and attainment, has today revealed emerging findings which make clear that Year 7 may hold the key to ensuring young people stay engaged in school. Data also suggests girls experience greater worry about going to school than boys.

The Commission, established by ImpactEd Group and convened by representatives from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Confederation of School Trusts (CST), The Reach Foundation and Challenge Partners, includes representatives from 18 academy trusts and local authorities from across the country. The Commissioners, under the research direction of Professor John Jerrim, have shaped England’s largest study on student engagement, using The Engagement Platform (TEP).

The research aims to determine whether student engagement – the level of commitment, involvement and emotional investment a student has with their school – is a powerful signal of their future attendance and attainment. Based around a fixed question set, the study examines the cognitive, emotional and behavioural factors influencing a child’s engagement. If the level of engagement is indeed an early warning signal, this may be a crucial missing piece of the puzzle needed to help drive positive outcomes for all students.

The project’s first data drop has been analysed ahead of a full research report on the findings of year one, which will be published in May. Early findings indicate Spring and Summer terms in Year 7 may be the key tipping points which determine how engaged a young person will be throughout the rest of their time at school.

Data shows that levels of school engagement remain fairly high during primary school, with pupils reporting between 8.3 and 7.7 (out of 10) between Years 3 and 6. However, between Autumn term in Year 7 to Autumn term in Year 8, levels of school engagement drop from 7.3 to 5.9. Levels then take a smaller dip to 5.4 in Year 9 and then remain steady before a small increase between Years 10 and 11 from 5.4 to 5.5, respectively.

Change in headline engagement by year group

The research also shows a clear gender divide as girls report feeling more worried about school than their male peers. Meanwhile, boys report being more trusting of both peers and teachers and are more likely to have higher perceptions of people at school receiving help to do well than girls do.

The first data set also reveals that:

• Pupils experience a sharp decline in their engagement upon entering secondary school, reporting a lower perception of the importance of learning (from 9.2 in primary school to 7.6 in secondary), lower perception in feeling safe at school (8.4 in primary school to 6.5 in secondary), and sense of agency (8.3 in primary school to 7.4 in secondary) compared to primary school and post-16 pupils.

• Pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 experience a decline in their happiness about going to school which does not fully recover as they move through secondary school, with responses showing a 7.6 average score in Year 3 compared to 5.2 and 4.0 in Year 7 and 8, respectively.

• Girls feel increasingly less safe at school and more worried compared to their male peers between Year 7 and Year 9, reporting scores of more than 8.0 in Year 6 to below 6.0 by Year 9.

Differences in pupil’s sense of agency by school phase

Differences in children’s enjoyment of school by gender

While the Commission’s initial data shows fluctuation in engagement based on a variety of demographic figures, it is clear that pupils in Year 7 appear most at-risk of disengaging from school.

By uncovering patterns of engagement among pupils in England’s schools, the Commission hopes that teachers will be equipped with actionable insights that enable them to identify the moment at which pupils disengage and intervene accordingly.

Dame Sue John, Chair of the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators, said:

“Ensuring all pupils remain engaged throughout their school careers is essential to them securing positive education outcomes.

“Our early data is showing a clear drop-off point at which pupils are at high risk of disengaging from school.

Jonny Sobczyk Boddington, Founder and Group Director at ImpactEd Group, said:

“The interim findings from our research demonstrates the importance of engagement to the outcomes of children and young people, with the data showing a clear link between engagement and attainment and attendance.

“Moving forward, there is significant opportunity for educators to provide the necessary support for those transitioning from primary to secondary school to ensure engagement does not dip.”

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