Using PASS data to understand pupil wellbeing at Haileybury

We have used PASS at our school for a number of years, as it provides us with valuable data on the pupils’ wellbeing which is especially important at a busy setting like Haileybury. It provides a snapshot of how pupils are feeling at different points in the year, as well as giving tutors, teachers and residential staff a detailed breakdown of each pupil.

The PASS survey is taken entirely online in as little as 20 minutes, meaning we can administer this to pupils at the start of a lesson. All pupils at Haileybury have access to an iPad, therefore the administration of the survey is simple and convenient for us – as well as the instantaneous results and easy-to-read traffic light reporting system.

When it comes to interpreting the results, we usually start off by honing in on any pupils of concern, or those who we know have been struggling with boarding school life, and consider the responses they have given to the PASS survey. This might be the start of a conversation with the pupil to see how they are feeling and if any further support can be provided to them. 

Additionally, there may be pupils whose results have unexpectedly shown low satisfaction scores for their Feelings about School or their Self-Regard as a Learner – revealing hidden attitudinal issues they might otherwise have been masking. The data provided by PASS has therefore been extremely helpful for us to be able to catch pupils early on who may require additional pastoral support.

PASS identified that one of our Year 7 pupils had been lacking in confidence, which may be due to being new at the school and feeling that he wasn’t as academically strong as others. This is reflected in his PASS report under Feelings about School, and Perceived Learning Capability.

However, the pupil’s Cognitive Ability Test (CAT4) scores were in line with others in the year group, suggesting that his feelings didn't reflect his actual capability. In fact, his Perceived Learning Capability score from PASS was the lowest in the year group, as seen in the accompanying report image.

We spoke to some of the pupil’s teachers and suggested that a little more praise might go a long way, as well as encouraging him in his areas of strength (particularly sport) – as we knew this was vital to his school experience.

A year later, his Feelings about School had significantly increased (unsurprising – if you are told that you are performing well and encouraged, it is likely that you will feel better about your performance!). His score for Perceived Learning Capability was still a little low, but it was a marked improvement from the previous year. This shows us that we still need to keep an eye on the pupil and continue to encourage and support him academically where appropriate.

We have also used PASS at Haileybury to back up our thoughts on particular pupils of concern. If we find that the data supports our feelings, then we would encourage tutors to speak to, or closely monitor, these pupils. Alternatively, if we thought a pupil was improving, we would use PASS to see if this supports our teacher judgement on their academic performance. An improvement in the way the pupil presents, and a significant increase in their PASS scores, would mean that they are no longer deemed a pupil of pastoral concern.

Haileybury is one of our Centres of Assessment Excellence.