ImpactEd Group, the organisation which runs the country’s biggest study of pupil engagement, used its TEP (The Engagement Platform) survey tool to gather the opinions of more than 2,000 of our primary pupils.

The pupils were asked about everything from how much they enjoyed school to how good the teaching they receive is, and how well behaved they feel their classmates are.

For every one of the 37 positive statements that our pupils were asked to agree or disagree with, the proportion who agreed was higher than the national average.

The Trust saw particularly outstanding results against the statements ‘I look forward to going to school on Monday’, ‘my school lessons are not too easy’ and ‘my school lessons are interesting’.

Emily Goodridge, Senior Community Officer at TEP, said, “Inspire Partnership’s pupils delivered statistically significant positive results. If pupil engagement is a marker of successful schools - which we firmly believe it should be - then Inspire Partnership’s schools have a lot to be proud of.”

A particular highlight in the results was the responses returned from the relatively high proportion of students in our schools eligible for free school meals (FSM) and also on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

In marks given out of 10, our FSM pupils on EHCPs were almost two points higher than their national average equivalent.

Against statements such as ‘I usually feel happy when I am in school’ and ‘People at school treat me the same as everyone else’, this cohort scored 9.0 and 8.9 respectively, in contrast to the national averages 7.1 and 7.0.

Melissa Carpenter, Deputy Chief Executive at Inspire Partnership, said, “In our schools, pupils’ experiences sit at the heart of everything we do. We think carefully not only about the curriculum our children experience in the classroom, but also about the wider aspects of school life that matter deeply to them - including friendships, play and social time.

“We know children learn best when they feel happy, included and valued. Hearing this feedback, reassures us that this approach is making a real difference.”