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The OxWell Student Survey, run by the University of Oxford, questioned more than 35,000 nine to 18-year-olds in England last year.
When asked from a range of options what made them feel most engaged with their school community, 58% said school trips, followed by lunchtime and after-school activities such as drama and sports clubs (39%), and then celebrations and special events, such as sports day and themed days (29%).
School trips remained the most popular across every demographic, including children who had higher rates of absence from school, pupils with special educational needs, those with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and children who experienced higher levels of loneliness.
Lead of the OxWell study, Professor Mina Fazel, Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry, said:
A sense of belonging is close linked to students’ mental health and wellbeing, and when students feel part of their school community, they are also more likely to thrive.
School trips emerged as the most frequently selected option by a clear margin, well above things like student councils, peer support programmes and assemblies. This was consistent across groups, including amongst those who reported that they did not feel a sense of belonging at school.
These findings highlight the potential importance of shared experiences that take place outside the structured classroom environment, where students may interact with their peers and staff in different, often less formal, ways.
While such activities are not always easy to organise or resource, the consistency of this finding across groups suggests they may represent a valuable opportunity to support belonging, particularly for students who are otherwise at greater risk of isolation or disengagement.
As well as strengthening community and belonging by offering experiences beyond the classroom, we may also want to think about why trips help students feel they belong, and how they can bring that feeling into everyday school life.”
The data came from the OxWell Student Survey which is conducted every two years. Last year 35,244 pupils in 95 schools and further education colleges across England took part, mainly across Liverpool and Oxfordshire.
The findings are shared back with schools to inform policy and practice, as well as with local authorities to guide education and mental health provision, and to shape national policy on education and wellbeing.
The OxWell study has recently had additional funding from Bukhman Philanthropies to set up a new platform to offer participating schools access not only to their anonymised data, but also to tailored strategies and initiatives to support their pupils’ wellbeing based on their results.