Safety at school

For some students, safety is about not being victimised or bullied. For others it can be about knowing what is going to happen, understanding the rules, or feeling that an adult will step in if something goes wrong.

What does research say about safety at school?

Research shows that the experience of safety at school is closely linked to students' mental health. A systematic review of 43 studies found that students who did not feel safe at school more often had mental health problems, including depressive symptoms and suicide-related behaviours. Feeling unsafe was also connected to experiences of being subjected to bullying, among other things.

At the same time it is important to understand what safety actually means. Safety is not only the absence of serious incidents. It can also be the feeling of knowing what applies: that rules are clear and that adults act when someone crosses a line, that those rules are applied in a fair and predictable way, and that the student knows who to turn to when something happens.

In research on school climate we also see that the experience of safety and fairness is connected to students' wellbeing.

The rule says more than the rule

This makes safety more than a question of order.

A clear rule can, for example, serve two functions. It can set a limit on a behaviour, but it can also signal:

"Here we take responsibility for one another."

When an adult intervenes in a case of harassment, it is not only about the concrete situation. It can also create an experience for the other students:

"If something happens to me, someone will act."

That is an important part of a safe school climate.

At the same time, we should not believe there is a simple solution. Students' experience of safety is affected by relationships, bullying, the school's rules, the physical environment and many other factors. Research also shows that we need to understand better how different parts of the school environment together affect safety and mental health.

Why it belongs with the knowledge mission

The basic idea is simple: a student who feels safe does not have to use as much of her energy staying on guard. That energy can instead go into learning, playing, building relationships or trying something difficult.

Safety can therefore not be something that sits alongside the school's knowledge mission; it is one of the preconditions for it.

What does research say about safety at school?​

The rule says more than the rule​

Why it belongs with the knowledge mission​

Further reading​

What does research say about safety at school?

The rule says more than the rule

Why it belongs with the knowledge mission

Further reading