Out-of-class support and children’s sense of school belonging. Is there a relationship, or is it just “a bit of a boost”?

Feeling that one 'belongs' has been recognised as important for maintaining psychological wellbeing.

A systematic literature review highlighted the positive impact which feeling that one belongs in school can have on academic outcomes.

It also highlighted a need to clarify key terms used in the belongingness literature and to conduct work within the UK.

It raised questions about the impact of classroom practices on sense of belonging.

Investigating the relationship between sense of school belonging and receiving support away from one's classroom, the empirical paper sought to address this question.

Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to obtain the views of young people in key stages two to four about withdrawal group teaching.

The research compared levels of school belonging, revealing no significant difference in sense of school belonging between those attending small groups and those who did not.

Opinion of small groups was significantly positively related to sense of school belonging, but the correlation between age and opinion of small group withdrawal was significantly negative.

Key themes arising as important with regard to small group membership were peers, behaviour, academic impact, educational support and attention from staff.

A key conclusion was that only the element of school belonging associated with feeling supported is impacted by attending small withdrawal groups.