Pupils’ experiences of safety in everyday school life are a central component of their wellbeing at school
Safety in everyday school life is an important aspect of pupils’ wellbeing at school. It is therefore essential to examine and monitor pupils’ experiences related to school safety and to use this information in the planning of activities.
We examined data from the 2025 School Health Promotion Study focusing on the experiences of pupils in grades 8 and 9 of basic education regarding how often they feel safe at school.
The majority of pupils (86%) reported that they always or often feel safe at school. However, six per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls reported feeling safe only rarely, and three per cent of pupils stated that they never feel safe.
In developing school safety, it is important to listen to pupils’ experiences and ideas. Together, safety can be considered broadly: are there situations, spaces or areas of the school grounds in everyday school life where pupils may feel unsafe? Is supervision sufficient? Do unpleasant incidents occur between pupils that go unnoticed by school adults?
Based on the School Health Promotion Study data, pupils’ sense of safety at school was particularly associated with feeling able to be oneself at school, not being bullied, and not feeling lonely.
It is clear that experiences of exclusion or bullying can increase feelings of insecurity. Being excluded from the peer group and being left without adult support can also give rise to emotions such as shame, hopelessness or anger, which further worsen a pupil’s situation. A sense of safety, in turn, is strengthened by practices such as a fair approach by school adults and a willingness to listen to the perspectives of all parties when addressing conflicts and bullying situations between pupils.
Preventing and addressing bullying requires systematic planning and situational awareness
Bullying was relatively common in school communities. One third (33%) of pupils had, during the term, either been bullied at school or participated in bullying others. Eight per cent of pupils reported experiencing bullying on a weekly basis.
Bullying most commonly involved name-calling or humiliation, spreading lies or speaking badly about someone, facial expressions or gestures, and exclusion, but many other forms of bullying were also reported.
Situational awareness is required of school adults to recognise, for example, the repeated nature of exclusion or the harmful impact of small facial expressions and gestures. Without discussing matters with pupils, it is also impossible to know whether what is described as “banter” is in fact bullying, whether all pupils involved in rough play in the playground are participating voluntarily, or whether someone is repeatedly tripped during football with the intention of causing harm.
Teachers cannot observe all situations, and therefore understanding the overall picture requires discussions with pupils.
Does everyone know how bullying is addressed?
At the core of bullying prevention is helping pupils get to know one another and ensuring equal treatment of pupils by school adults. Pupils should be made aware that if they experience bullying or notice another pupil being bullied, the matter should be raised and help sought from an adult. Pupils should not be left to deal with the situation alone; instead, it should be addressed as early as possible.
Plans related to preventing and addressing bullying and loneliness, as well as violence and harassment, require that everyone working in schools and student welfare services acts in accordance with them.
Pupils and guardians should also receive information about how issues are addressed at school. Pupils sometimes feel that help is available if they know how to ask the right people. Many report that they do not receive help from everyone. It is important for schools to reflect on what may underlie such experiences.
Experiences of teachers’ interest and the school climate have developed in a positive direction
Based on the results of the School Health Promotion Study, many aspects related to interaction in the school environment have developed positively over the long term. Effective interaction is a central component of a sense of safety.
In 2025, 61 per cent of pupils in grades 8 and 9 of basic education felt that teachers are interested in how pupils are doing, compared with 30 per cent in the early 2000s.
Pupils’ experiences of teachers encouraging them to express their opinions during lessons have also increased significantly compared with the early 2000s.
In 2025, 71 per cent of pupils felt that there was a good working atmosphere in the classroom, 74 per cent felt that the climate supported expressing one’s opinions, and 76 per cent felt that pupils enjoyed spending time together. These proportions are also higher than at the beginning of the millennium.
Although pupils’ opportunities to communicate with teachers appear to have improved positively over the long term, only about half of pupils felt that they could, if necessary, discuss matters that troubled them with an adult at school.
Supporting pupils in situations of concern is a core task of both communal and individual student welfare services. School is not only a place for learning, but also a developmental environment in which care, guidance and support from adults help sustain young people, whether the issues relate to learning difficulties, peer-related concerns or mental health challenges.