School Belonging, Attendance and Attainment | Worth-it

Everyone needs to belong somewhere. Belonging is a basic human need: it gives us a place in the world and underpins our resilience and wellbeing. For pupils, school belonging is also one of the clearest routes to two things every school is working hard on: getting young people into school, and helping them achieve once they are there.

What is school belonging?

School belonging is the extent to which pupils feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported in their school community. Closely related is school connectedness: a pupil's belief that both the adults and their peers at school care about their learning and about them as individuals.

Schools that work to build inclusive communities, where every pupil can take part and no one is pushed to the margins, are protecting their pupils' mental health and laying the foundations for learning.

Why school belonging matters now: achieving and thriving

The 2026 Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, puts belonging at the heart of national education policy. It sets an ambition for more children to feel a strong sense of belonging at school, commits to a new Pupil Engagement Framework to help schools measure and improve engagement, and expects schools to monitor belonging by 2029.

The message is that thriving and achieving go hand in hand. And there is ground to make up:

• Only 63% of 15-year-olds in England say they feel they belong at school (PISA 2022).
• Between 2014 and 2022, the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey recorded a 28-percentage-point fall in school belonging among adolescents in England.
• DfE surveys show some recovery, with 69% of secondary pupils feeling they belonged most or every day in May 2025, up from 57% a year earlier. But gaps remain for girls, pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEND.

Schools that start building belonging now will be ready for the Pupil Engagement Framework rather than reacting to it.

How school belonging supports attendance

Pupils are remarkably clear about this. In recent DfE case-study research across 16 schools, pupils linked their desire to come to school directly to feeling valued, listened to and connected to their friends. Pupils who did not feel they belonged described simply not wanting to be there.

That makes belonging a practical lever on persistent absence and emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), not just a wellbeing goal. The schools in the DfE research described several ways belonging and attendance work together:

• Relationships come first. When a pupil is absent, a known adult, often their tutor or coach, makes the first call home, starting with care for the pupil rather than a warning. Families who feel they belong are more likely to work with the school.
• Something to come in for. Clubs, roles and responsibilities give pupils a reason to be in school. One school used a Friday football club to lift attendance on its hardest day of the week.
• Easier ways back in. Predictable lesson routines and supportive classmates mean that pupils who have missed time can rejoin without facing a wall of lost learning.
• Tailored support. Breakfast clubs for pupils who struggle with mornings, or adjusted attendance rewards for pupils with medical absences, show pupils the school wants them there.

Schools in the research also named a tension: punitive attendance enforcement can damage the very relationships with families that help get children through the gates. Delivering firm messages with compassion protects belonging.

How school belonging supports attainment

The link with attainment is now backed by large-scale English data. A 2026 DfE study linked PISA survey responses to pupils' GCSE results. Pupils who strongly disagreed that they belonged at school scored around 8 Attainment 8 points lower than those who strongly agreed. That is close to a full grade across eight GCSEs, even after accounting for prior attainment, background, special educational needs and experience of bullying.

Why? Pupils in the case-study schools explained it simply. Belonging gives them the confidence to ask for help, to have a go at difficult work and to make mistakes without fear of judgement. Several said they work harder because they want to make a teacher proud. Staff described belonging as the precondition for learning: a pupil who does not feel safe and valued cannot learn, however able they are.

The schools saw belonging, attendance and attainment as a virtuous cycle. Pupils who belong want to attend. Being in school deepens engagement with learning. Success in learning strengthens belonging further. Prioritising belonging is not a distraction from standards; it is part of how schools raise them.

Relationships with staff: the strongest lever

A meta-analysis of 51 studies and more than 67,000 secondary pupils (Allen et al., 2018) found that teacher support was the factor most strongly linked to school belonging. Pupils who feel their teachers are caring, fair and genuinely interested in them are far more likely to feel they belong.

In practice, that means every pupil being known as a person, not just a name on a register or a data point, by several adults in school. Pupils in the DfE research valued adults who listen without immediately trying to fix things, notice when something is wrong and take an interest in their lives beyond lessons.

Research on secondary schools with high levels of need but low suspension rates points the same way. Pennacchia and Greany (2024) found that in all six schools they studied, pupils were seen, known, cared for and supported in ways that met their needs, backed by whole-school policies on inclusion, staff development and pupil voice.

For practical ways to build these relationships across a whole school, see our guide to [school belonging interventions].

Student wellbeing coaching: a practical approach to school belonging

Whole-school culture matters, but some pupils need more. Student wellbeing coaching gives schools a structured way to provide that extra layer: regular, pupil-led conversations with a trained adult that help a young person set goals, draw on their strengths and find their own way forward.

Coaching is grounded in coaching psychology and is different from telling or advising. The pupil leads; the coach listens, asks questions and helps them build confidence and agency. That makes it a natural fit for belonging, which grows when pupils feel heard and in control.

Supporting transitions

Transition is one of the highest-risk moments for undermining belonging. The move from primary to secondary can mean losing friendships and familiar adults overnight, and for some pupils it brings real stress and anxiety. Coaching can help pupils:

• prepare for the move and name what worries them before Year 7 starts
• build a relationship with a trusted adult in their new school from day one
• set small, achievable goals for joining clubs, making friends and finding their way
• return to school after a period of absence or EBSA, at a pace they help set

The same approach supports pupils who join mid-year, move into Year 10 or prepare for post-16 transitions.

Building relationships with staff

Because teacher support is the strongest factor linked to belonging, coaching is as much about adults as pupils. A regular coaching relationship gives a pupil at least one adult in school who knows them well. Training staff in coaching skills, such as active listening, open questions and non-judgemental responses, also changes everyday conversations in corridors and classrooms. That helps more pupils feel known and listened to, not only those being coached.

Targeted support that meets individual needs

The pupils least likely to feel they belong, including pupils eligible for free school meals, pupils with SEND and girls, often need support tailored to them rather than a one-size-fits-all programme. Coaching can be offered to pupils whose attendance is starting to slip, who report low belonging in a survey, or who are struggling with motivation, anxiety or friendships.

Because coaching is individual or small-group and pupil-led, it meets needs without labelling pupils or grouping them together in ways that can backfire. It also sits well alongside attendance and pastoral systems: coaching goals can link directly to coming to school, re-engaging with learning and rebuilding relationships.

Training your staff as adolescent wellbeing coaches

Many schools build coaching in-house by training staff they already have, such as pastoral leads, tutors, teaching assistants, SENCOs and careers advisers. Pupils get a trusted adult who already knows the school, and coaching skills spread into everyday conversations across the staff team.

Worth-it Adolescent Wellbeing Coach Training is an Accredited Award in Coach Training (AACT) with the Association for Coaching, and is recognised by the ACCPH as Level 3 equivalent. It combines coaching psychology and positive psychology, is designed for young people aged 11 to 25, and focuses on prevention and early intervention. Staff complete:

• 6 live online workshops of 4 hours each
• 7 online learning modules
• 20 hours of coaching practice with young people, with reflective logs and tutor feedback
• 2 group supervision sessions, so supervision is part of their practice from the start

The training can be completed in as little as 3 months, alongside an existing role.

To make coaching a lasting part of your targeted support offer, trained staff can go on to become Certified Worth-it Coaches, gaining Foundation Coach accreditation with the Association for Coaching. Certified coaches receive ongoing group supervision and support to agree referral criteria, measure impact and show leaders, governors and inspectors the difference coaching makes. Read more about why coach accreditation matters.

The approach is grounded in research. Our published study found that coaching helped young people at risk of mental health problems gain more choice and control over their thoughts, feelings and behaviour, leading to greater confidence, better coping and improved wellbeing. It also found that trust between coach and young person was the foundation everything else depended on (Robson-Kelly and van Nieuwerburgh, 2016), which is exactly why relationships with staff matter so much for school belonging.

How to tell whether it is working

Track a simple belonging question (such as "I feel like I belong at school") alongside attendance, engagement and wellbeing measures before and after coaching. Look at results for different groups of pupils, and ask coached pupils directly what has changed for them.

Peer support and coaching: working together

Coaching works best as part of a whole-school approach to belonging. Many young people find it easier to talk to a peer than an adult, which is why peer support is the other half of the picture. Our Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme uses coaching psychology and positive psychology to train young people to support their peers, lead wellbeing campaigns and help create a culture where everyone feels they belong.

"I saw the impact the Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme had on the other students we were supporting. They became more open and friendly with not only us but their peers around them." Lydia, Year 11 Wellbeing Ambassador, Brighouse High School

Together, peer support and targeted coaching give schools universal and individual layers of support that reinforce each other. Read more in our guide to how to create a sense of belonging in school.

Frequently asked questions

What is school belonging?

School belonging is the extent to which pupils feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in their school community.

How does school belonging affect attendance?

Pupils who feel they belong want to come to school, and pupils link not belonging directly to not wanting to attend. Strong relationships with pupils and families also make supportive conversations about absence easier.

Does school belonging improve attainment?

DfE research (2026) found pupils who strongly felt they did not belong scored around 8 Attainment 8 points lower than those who strongly felt they did, close to a grade per GCSE, after accounting for prior attainment and background.

What does the Schools White Paper say about belonging?

Every Child Achieving and Thriving (2026) sets an ambition for more children to feel a strong sense of belonging, commits to a new Pupil Engagement Framework, and expects schools to monitor belonging by 2029.

How can wellbeing coaching help pupils feel they belong?

Coaching gives pupils a trusted adult, supports them through transitions and offers targeted, pupil-led support for those who need it most, without labelling them.

Find out more

• Train your staff with Worth-it Adolescent Wellbeing Coach Training, or download the Adolescent Wellbeing Coach Training Prospectus for the curriculum, accreditation requirements and pricing.
• Download our free Peer Support Info Pack
• Access our introduction to Wellbeing Ambassadors webinar
• Find your starting point for devloping belonging and wellbeing with our simple Wellbeing and Inclusion Planning Tool.

References

1. Allen, K., Kern, M. L., Vella-Brodrick, D., Hattie, J., & Waters, L. (2018). What schools need to know about fostering school belonging: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30, 1–34.
2. Banerjee, P. (2026). School belonging and attainment at key stage 4: linked data study. Department for Education (RR1645).
3. Bohling, K., et al. (2026). School belonging case studies. Department for Education (RR1664).
4. Department for Education (2026). Every Child Achieving and Thriving (Schools White Paper).
5. Hamilton, L. G. (2024). Emotionally based school avoidance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic: Neurodiversity, agency and belonging in school. Education Sciences, 14(2), 156.
6. Pennacchia, J., & Greany, T. (2024). School suspensions are on the rise: secondary schools can tackle this by creating a sense of belonging. The Conversation.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). School connectedness: Strategies for increasing protective factors among youth.
8. Robson-Kelly, L., & van Nieuwerburgh, C. (2016). What does coaching have to offer to young people at risk of developing mental health problems? A grounded theory study. International Coaching Psychology Review, 11(1).