About PASS

What is PASS?

Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) is an all-age survey that will help you understand your student’s mindset towards school, and if they are confident, ready and motivated to learn. PASS helps to identify barriers to learning in order to ensure student wellbeing and positive outcomes at a whole school, class, and individual level. 

PASS assesses students’ attitudes towards themselves as learners and their attitudes to school in order to understand internal and complex reasons behind behavioural issues, low attendance levels, poor attainment and mental health and wellbeing issues. 

PASS is a survey style of assessment that consists of 50 statements (for secondary school) or 27 statements (for primary school). It explores 3 areas related to student attitude: Contextual, Self-Regard and Motivational. It does this through the use of 9 Standardised Attitudinal Measures or Factors that link to key educational goals. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: If your school is currently using remote learning methods you cannot use PASS as it is only relevant in the context of the physical school environment.

Why use PASS?

PASS gives insight into a student’s mindset, allowing for effective interventions to be prescribed with the aim of raising attainment, improving attendance, reducing engagement in risky or anti-social behaviours, and positively impacting mental health and wellbeing. 

PASS will provide you with clear analysis, at both group and individual level, and by required demographic, such as: gender or ethnicity. A simple traffic light system (green, yellow, amber, red) provides an instant visual indication of problems and their severity, to flag the children who might need additional support and intervention and prioritise vulnerable students. 

PASS was established by educational psychologists and standardised on 600,000 children, so the results are statistically reliable in measuring highly subjective and sensitive issues. Your results will be set against national benchmarks, enabling you to see how your students compare to the national picture. 

Features of PASS

  • A nationally benchmarked psychometric assessment specifically designed to spot attitudinal or emotional issues in children 
  • Takes 20–30 minutes to complete, available in 26 language translations to support EAL learners  
  • Provides easy to read traffic light reporting, helping to pinpoint high risk students 
  • Provides an objective means to aid communication with parents, carers, external agencies and other professionals supporting young people 
  • Ready-made collection of PASS Interventions provides interventions and ideas for addressing issues identified in your results
  • For each PASS Factor you will see detailed information about the factor, how this might manifest in the classroom, questions to consider from whole school, class and individual level, and practical intervention strategies 
  • NEW: PASS Interventions: Reconnections (bank of additional strategies specifically designed to build pupil confidence after a prolonged absence from school)