Introduction
The Safe and Well at School Survey (SAWSS) is an anonymous online survey conducted by Brighton & Hove City Council Public Health team. It is created in partnership with the University of Sussex, across primary and secondary schools in the city. We thank schools for their active participation in this important survey.
In 2023 a total of 7802 young people aged 11 to 16 took part in the 10 different secondary schools across the city (63% of pupils).
5807 primary school children aged 8 to 11 years took part across 43 schools (76%).
The high participation in the survey from schools gives valuable information which is used to support communities. It also helps us understand and meet the needs of children and young people in the city.
The survey data is used to improve practice by:
- schools
- the Public Health Schools Programme team
- the Families, Children and Learning directorate in the council
This is just one data source and other data and qualitative information from children, young people and families is used with this to develop a fuller understanding.
This briefing gives a high level summary of key findings from the 2023 survey, with trends where available.
Bullying
At key stage 2 (KS2) (20%), KS3 (20%) and KS4 (15%) there has been an increase in bullying since the previous survey in 2021 (15%, 16%, and 9% respectively). This is the highest bullying has been since 2011.
The most commonly perceived reason for bulling was to do with appearance - 44% in primary schools, 66% in secondary.
Physical activity
Of primary school pupils aged 8 to 11 years, under a third (29%) meet the recommendation for at least one hour of physical activity every day. This falls to 23% of 11 to 14 year olds and to 17% of 14 to 16 year olds.
Secondary school pupils are less likely to actively travel to school which includes walking, cycling and by skateboard or scooter.
Motivations and barriers for physical activity
As part of this year's supplementary question set, students were also asked about their motivations and barriers for physical activity.
The most common motivation for taking part was 'to have fun' at both secondary (68%) and primary (80%).
At secondary, the most common reason for not taking part was 'I don't like other people watching me' (31%).
Primary school aged children were most likely to say that 'Nothing stops me' (43%).
5 a day
Of primary school pupils aged 8 to 11 years, 65% meet the recommendation for eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day (a small fruit juice is also included, contributing a maximum of 1 portion per day). 62% of 11 to 14 year olds meet the recommendation, and just over half (51%) of 14 to 16 year olds do.
These figures have been on the decline since 2018, with the biggest change seen in KS4 (from 60%).
Emotional wellbeing
Levels of happiness are high in all age groups. Younger pupils are more likely to agree that they have often felt happy in the last few weeks. For primary school pupils aged 8 to 11 years, 89% agreed with this statement. This falls to 83% of 11 to 14 year olds, and 80% of 14 to 16 year olds.
Most secondary school pupils often or sometimes worry about the future (62%). Furthermore, more than half often or sometimes struggle to sleep at night (54%).
School
In 2023 there has been a decrease in:
- children's enjoyment coming to school
- enjoyment learning at school
- feelings of safety at school
- their sense of belonging in school
These decreases can be seen in all three key stages.
In particular, since 2013 the percentage of all secondary school children that said they enjoyed coming to school has decreased by 25%.
Certain groups are also less likely to agree that people like them generally do well in their school, including:
- pupils that received extra help
- pupils that said they were LGB+, unlabelled or unsure of their sexuality
- those who did not or did not always identify with their gender assigned at birth
Experiences of racism
Around two thirds (66%) of secondary school students said they had seen racism in school happening in the last year. 22% said they had personally experienced racism themselves in the last year.
When asked where they saw or experienced this racism, the most common answer was other pupils. 55% of all secondary school pupils said they had seen it from this source and 17% said they had experienced racism from other pupils.
Smoking
The majority of secondary schools pupils have never smoked - 93% of 11 to 14 year olds and 72% of 14 to 16 year olds. This has increased over time from 85% of 11 to 14 year olds and 50% of 14 to 16 year olds in 2012.
Furthermore, most pupils who have tried smoking have only ever tried it once. 5% of 11 to 14 year olds and 13% of 14 to 16 year olds say they have tried smoking once.
In KS4, 7% of 14 to 16 year olds say they are an occasional smoker, and 4% say they regularly smoke.
Vaping
Most 11 to 14 year olds say they have never tried vaping (78%), and just over half (53%) of 14 to 16 year olds. This proportion has decreased since the question was first asked in 2016 from 64% in KS4 and 85% in KS3, respectively.
KS4 students are more likely to regularly vape (13%) compared with KS3 students (3%).
Alcohol
The majority (69%) of 11 to 14 year olds and the minority (36%) of 14 to 16 year olds have never tried alcohol.
59% of secondary school pupils say that they never drink and most (80%) say that they never get drunk.
Drugs
Almost all 11 to 14 year olds (94%) and the majority of 14 to 16 (77%) year olds have never tried drugs. This proportion has remained relatively stable since the question was first asked.
The most commonly tried drug was cannabis - 3% of 11 to 14 year olds and 20% of 14 to 16 year olds say they have tried cannabis. A small percentages of pupils had tried drugs other than cannabis (2% of 11 to 14 year olds and 8% of 14 to 16 year olds).
Sexual health and relationships
The majority of 14 to 16 year olds in the city have not had sex (86%). This has risen slightly in recent years since 2012 (80%).
Knowledge of both where to get tested for chlamydia (19%) and confidence using a condom (65%) has been decreasing since 2018 among 14 to 16 year olds.
Oral health
Most pupils brush their teeth, or have someone do it for them, at least twice a day, increasing from 84% in KS2, 87% in KS3, and 89% in KS4.
Primary school children were more likely to have never been to the dentist (5%) than secondary school aged children (2%).
Access to nature
The majority of secondary school aged children (81%) and primary school aged children (91%) said they regularly spent time in at least one place in nature outside of school.
The most common place pupils spent time in at both secondary and primary schools was parks, playing fields and playgrounds.
Gambling
23% of secondary school students said they had recently spent money on at least one of a number of gambling related activities, either online or in person.
The most common type of gambling was games and gaming machines, for example slot machines, both online (12%) and in person (8%).