This year, The Pearson School Report, brings together over 12,000 teacher, student and sector voices on education – the challenges, solutions in action, and opportunities for the future. Since 2022, these annual reports have showcased educator and student views that have fuelled conversations from playgrounds to the Houses of Parliament. This year they have taken it even further, reflecting on three years of findings in order to encourage further debate. And timings couldn't be better.

LoveReading4Schools highlights the key takeouts for educators everywhere:

Key Findings

  • 2 in 3 teachers went into teaching to make a difference to pupils' lives.
  • Only 5% of educators say the education system allows them to support all pupils in the ways they would like to.
  • Report highlights a focus on staff, digital and diverse solutions to support growing concerns over pupil disengagement as report states at least 1.5 million children a week are struggling to engage in learning. In the week asked, 97% of classroom teachers witnessed children and young people having difficulty engaging with their learning.
  • When asked what would support student engagement, additional staff to support pupils topped the list (identified by 85% of teachers). Other suggested solutions included:
    • making curriculum content relevant to students' lives (64%)
    • additional vocational/hands-on learning options (57%)
    • access to diverse resources and texts (46%)
    • increased use of digital tools (38%) and devices (39%)
    • enhanced access to extracurricular activities (47%) and clubs (44%)
    • focusing on life skills (54%)
  • At primary and secondary and increasing number of teachers are seeing SEND as a barrier to pupil learning. In secondary this has jumped by 16% year on year.
  • More than 8 in 10 educators think students with SEND or additional needs are being ineffectively supported in their aspirations and achievements by the current system.

What Students Said

  • 74% of learners feel their school supports them to achieve what they want in the future.
  • Whilst seven in 10 learners surveyed (68%) shared their enjoyment of school, a similar number (73%) admitted that they struggled to engage in lessons and one in five (19%) shared that they struggled ‘a lot’.
  • Among the top five things students said impacted their learning are a lack of understanding (45%), not feeling clever enough (30%), feeling unwell (23%), struggling to engage in the same way as classmates (21%), and being hungry (17%).

In Secondary...

  • More than a fifth of students struggle a lot.
  • 21% of studets don't enjoy school.
  • 50% of students feel that what they are learning at school doesn't help them with issues they're facing now or in the future.

The Ongoing Challenges

  • Budget pressures are still perceived as the top challenge in schools today with 59% of teachers.
  • 57% of educators say that teacher recruitment and retention will be one of the biggest challenges their school faces this year.

Challenges on the Rise

In the last year educators have highlighted that they are becoming increasingly concerned about:

  • Pupil behaviour (70%).
  • Pupil mental health and wellbeing (66%).
  • Prevalence of SEND (61%).

Education for All

  • 6 in 10 teachers say today's education system isn't accessible enough.
  • 8% of teachers say that education reflects the diversity of pupils' lives. Down from 10% in 2023.
  • Only 5% of teachers feel the national curriculum reflkects the world around us.

Making an Impact

What’s clear from the research is that teachers are really rising to the challenge and going the extra mile to help students engage. Feedback on solutions being implemented in schools include focusing on and adapting content so that it’s relevant to their students’ lives today, utilising digital tools to record and stream lessons to support different learning styles as well as providing the opportunity for absent students to catch up on missed lessons. 

Speaking about the findings, Sharon Hague, Managing Director, School Assessment and Qualifications at Pearson, said:

“While the challenges raised in our findings may seem stark at times, the proactivity and positivity of educators in seeking solutions and making a difference shine through. But they cannot do this alone. Whether it’s teachers innovating with digital resources, diverse content or adapting content so that it’s relevant to students lives today, we need to listen to what works and share that success far and wide.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to education. Through our own pilots and wider research, we have seen the staggering difference technology and adaptations are making to students. We are committed to sharing the voices of students, school staff and those in the sector as we strive to play our part in engaging this generation and those to come.”

Pearson's Pledge

"Building on the insights and commitments of the Pearson School Reports to date, we’ll work alongside the education community to continue seeking answers to four key questions:

  • How can we facilitate further collaboration and showcase innovation around some of the key challenges being experienced within the education community?
  • How can we accelerate progress to ensure all learners and educators feel included in education?
  • How can we help each school and trust to shape sustainable and brighter futures where everyone can flourish?
  • How can we keep embracing digital innovation and collectively tackle barriers such as the digital divide?"

About the Research

Pearson commissioned a nationally representative external survey of primary and secondary educators between 20th March 2024 and 13th April 2024. Responses were collected by polling orgbaisation Teacher Tapp and weighted to reflect national teacher and school demographics.

Student research was conducted by Censuswide in April 2024 with 1003 primary and 1002 secondary school children.

Download the Full Report

@PearsonSchools

#PearsonSchoolReport