September 20th, 2025Victorian students feeling safer, more supported and stronger sense of belonging

Students in the Victoria are feeling safer, more supported and have a stronger sense of belonging at their schools.

The 2025 Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) shows positive trends, especially for early secondary school students who had the largest overall gains.

These improvements continue to build on the significant gains seen in 2024 with more than 90 per cent of measures improved across all year levels in this year’s results.

All year level groups reported a reduction in experiences of bullying, with the largest improvement among early secondary students, and fewer students reported negative online experiences, with the largest improvement in Grades 7, 8 and 9.

More students said their school handles bullying and harassment appropriately, with the largest improvement in Grades 7, 8 and 9. Fewer students in primary and early secondary experienced racism in the past year, and more students across all year levels said they knew what to do if they did.

This year has also seen high levels of positive responses to health and wellbeing factors, with good improvements from 2024.

More students across all year level groups reported feeling greater life satisfaction, stronger resilience and improved physical health.

The School-wide Positive Behaviour Support program gives schools practical tools to teach positive behaviour, create safer learning spaces, and support students who need extra help – with a $10.4 million investment in the Victorian Budget 2025/26, we’re expanding it to over 400 schools – almost doubling its reach.

AtoSS is an annual Department of Education survey that captures students’ attitudes to and experiences at Victorian government schools.

In 2025, more than 380,000 Victorian students in Grades 4 to 12 from 1,541 government schools participated in AtoSS, representing over 86 per cent of eligible students.