368,000 Children Said the Same Thing

In 2024, the Children's Commissioner for England did something extraordinary. She asked children what they wanted. Not a sample of 500. Not a focus group of 30.

And 61% said they feel their opinions are not listened to in decisions about their education.

What children are actually telling us

When 368,000 children agree on something, it's not an outlier. It's not a vocal minority. It's a generation speaking. And they're saying:

• We're worried about our mental health — not grades, not friendships, not social media. Mental health. Above everything else
• Nobody asks us — 61% feel their opinions don't count in school decisions. The curriculum, the testing, the methods — all decided without consulting the people most affected
• We want less pressure — not less education. Less of the anxiety-inducing format that surrounds it

The exam pressure connection

This isn't happening in a vacuum. 76% of primary teachers report that SATs preparation increases stress and anxiety in their pupils. The Nuffield Foundation found that SATs primarily serve school accountability — not pupil learning — and that high-stakes testing narrows the Year 6 curriculum.

We built an assessment system for schools. Then we're surprised when children say it's hurting them. 368,000 of them. Saying the same thing.

Meanwhile, one in five children now has a probable mental health disorder — up from one in nine before the pandemic. We rank 4th globally for reading ability and 70th out of 73 for life satisfaction.

The anxiety-performance paradox

Here's what makes this urgent, not just sad: anxiety directly impairs learning.

This is why approach matters as much as content. You can have the best curriculum in the world — and we arguably do (4th globally for reading) — but if the preparation method creates anxiety, the knowledge can't get through.

Preparation that builds confidence

The EEF Toolkit provides the evidence-based alternative. Metacognition and self-regulation — teaching children how to manage their own learning — adds +7 months of progress. More than tutoring (+5). More than technology alone (+4).

TIMSS 2023 data confirms it from another angle: confidence in maths correlates strongly with achievement. Build the confidence, and the results follow.

This means the priority isn't more content. It's better delivery:

• Immediate feedback — know instantly what you got right and why (+6 months, EEF)
• Visible progress — children who can see themselves improving feel confident, not anxious
• Low-stakes repetition — getting things wrong should feel like data, not failure
• Autonomy — children who choose to practise are engaged. Children who are forced to practise are stressed