A pupil voice survey asks children and young people about their school: whether they feel safe, whether they belong, how behaviour affects their learning, and whether adults listen. Pupils notice things adults miss, and a survey reaches the quiet ones who would never say it out loud.
What to ask
Ask in words pupils use, and keep it short.
- For primary pupils (Years 3 to 6): short yes, not sure or no questions about feeling safe, kindness and bullying, learning, adults who help, playtime and lunch. Our Pupil voice survey (primary) takes about 5 minutes.
- For secondary pupils: safety, belonging, behaviour, bullying, teaching, relationships with staff and wellbeing. Our Pupil voice survey (secondary) covers Years 7 to 13, and the Secondary pupil survey with national comparison asks pupils in Years 7 to 11 thirteen questions from the Department for Education's national pupil panel, word for word.
How England compares
From the Department for Education's Parent, pupil and learner voice survey, March 2026, pupils in Years 7 to 11 in England:
- 86.7% felt safe at school every day or most days in the past week of term.
- 78.8% felt they belong at their school every day or most days.
- 16.3% said they had been bullied by pupils at their school in the past 12 months.
- 11.6% feel lonely often.
Source: DfE Parent, pupil and learner voice, March 2026. There are no published national figures for primary pupils on these questions, so primary results are shown on their own.
Keeping it safe
Pupils sometimes use a survey to tell an adult something serious. Plan for it before the survey opens:
- Agree with your designated safeguarding lead who reads comments, and how quickly.
- Tell pupils, in plain words, that if they write something that suggests they or someone else may be at risk, a trusted adult will follow it up.
- Ours flags comments that suggest a pupil may be at risk and sends them to your safeguarding lead, and shows group results only when 5 or more pupils answered. See answering a school survey, written for pupils and parents, and our safeguarding protocol.
Making it count
Tell pupils what changed because of what they said. A pupil council or assembly is a good place to do it. Our Does pupil voice change anything? survey asks pupils whether they think it does.
What it costs with Benchmark.Pulse
Running a survey is free, and so is the headline result when it closes. The full report is £149. See pricing.