GEC Inclusion Index - Student - Key Behavioural Area 8
Safety
“I have at least one adult I can speak honestly to here.”
58.5% agree
⬆ Improving Trend
So what?
When students don’t feel safe to speak, they stay silent — not because they have nothing to say, but because they believe no one will understand, believe, or help them. And yet, only 58.5% of students in our GEC 26,000 Voices dataset report a strong sense of safety and agree they have at least one adult in school they can speak honestly to.
That leaves nearly 4 in 10 students with no trusted adult connection in their school — a serious safeguarding and wellbeing risk.
📣 What We Heard
“There’s no one I can talk to who I think would get it.”
“When I tried to talk to my teacher about being anxious, they said I should just try harder.”
“I’ve never heard a teacher talk about LGBTQ stuff unless it’s about ‘issues.’ So I don’t know who I can trust.”
The GEC Platform: Proven Solution
The GEC Platform was designed with safeguarding experts and has now been used by tens of thousands of students to safely surface concerns, spot gaps in support, and build a culture of trust.
We don’t just measure psychological safety — we help you build it. Our platform identifies which students don’t have access to trusted adult relationships and helps you create visible pathways of support, inclusive mentoring programmes, and staff development that bridges the trust gap. See how Coleman Primary School used the GEC Platform to embed safety and inclusion.
Because when students feel safe enough to speak, schools become communities of care — not just places of compliance.
The Kaleidoscope View
Kaleidoscopic Data shows that a lack of trusted adult relationships intersects with lower scores across:
Belonging
Inclusion
Identity representation in the curriculum
Participation in enrichment
Attendance due to feeling unsafe
Students without a safe adult were more likely to miss school, less likely to report bullying, and more likely to feel isolated.
Black and Muslim students described being misread or punished when trying to communicate distress:
“When I get upset, they think I’m angry. I just need someone to ask what’s wrong.”LGBTQIA+ students — especially those who hadn’t disclosed their identities — feared being outed or judged, and often avoided staff altogether.
Neurodivergent and trauma-impacted students frequently said their communication styles were misunderstood:
“I don’t speak the way they want me to. So I get ignored.”
Students with multiple marginalised identities — e.g., queer and ND, or Global Majority and disabled — were the most likely to say they had no adult in school they trusted.
But the difference that just one adult can make is profound. In schools with stronger staff-student trust, students reported higher attendance, better mental health, and more consistent engagement:
“I have a mentor here. I know they care and won’t judge me. That changes everything.”
Next Steps & Free Stuff
Read our blog “An Inclusive Approach to eSafety: Recognising Red Flags” for digital and real-world safeguarding tips
🔗 Read the blog
📌 Explore the GEC Pinboard for student-safety resources
🎟️ Attend upcoming GEC events on safeguarding and trust-building strategies
