Building Psychological Safety: Essential Strategies for Schools

The Hidden Key to Academic Excellence: Why Psychological Safety Matters More Than We Think

As I walk through classrooms across Britain, observing thousands of interactions between teachers and pupils, one factor consistently emerges as a predictor of academic success – yet it rarely features in school improvement plans or Ofsted frameworks. That factor is psychological safety, a concept pioneered by Harvard’s Amy Edmondson and now gaining traction in educational settings.

Understanding Psychological Safety in Education

Psychological safety, in its simplest form, is the belief that one can speak up, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of negative consequences. In the classroom context, it manifests as students feeling secure enough to raise their hands even when unsure, challenge ideas respectfully, and view errors as learning opportunities rather than sources of shame.

The evidence for its importance is compelling. Research suggests that in providing emotional support, teachers appeal to a child’s need for relatedness through interactions that facilitate the sense of psychological safety necessary for exploring novel experiences and developing connectedness to others (Pianta & Hamre, 2009), particularly in subjects requiring critical thinking and creative problem-solving. More tellingly, these benefits extend beyond academic measures to improve mental health outcomes and reduce instances of behavioural issues.

The Current Landscape

However, the reality in many British classrooms presents a concerning picture. In my work I consistently observe environments where, despite teachers’ best intentions, psychological safety is compromised. Common culprits include:

• An overemphasis on performance over learning
• Unconscious bias in teacher responses to student contributions
• Peer dynamics that penalise academic engagement
• Assessment practices that heighten anxiety rather than support learning
• Limited opportunities for genuine intellectual risk-taking

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

The implications of low psychological safety are far-reaching. Beyond the immediate impact on academic performance, we see long-term effects on students’ relationship with learning. Many develop what Carol Dweck terms a ‘fixed mindset’, believing their abilities are static rather than malleable. This mindset can persist well into adulthood, affecting career choices and lifelong learning attitudes.

Consider the case of mathematics education in Britain. Our national anxiety about mathematics isn’t merely about the subject itself – it often stems from early classroom experiences where mistakes were met with disappointment or ridicule rather than viewed as valuable learning opportunities.

Building Psychological Safety: A Practical Framework

Creating psychological safety requires deliberate effort and a systematic approach. Through my work with successful schools, I’ve identified several key principles that consistently yield results.

1. First, leadership must model vulnerability. When school leaders and teachers openly acknowledge their own learning journeys, including mistakes and uncertainties, they create permission for students to do the same. This isn’t about lowering standards – quite the opposite. It’s about creating an environment where high standards feel achievable rather than threatening. We have written an article on how school leaders can create a psychologically safe environment.
2. Second, feedback practices need careful consideration. The most effective teachers in our study group had shifted from purely evaluative feedback to more process-focused discussions. They asked questions like “What made you choose that approach?” rather than immediately highlighting errors.
3. Third, classroom discourse patterns matter enormously. In psychologically safe classrooms, teachers deliberately create what Robin Alexander terms ‘dialogic teaching’ – extended exchanges that explore thinking rather than merely test knowledge.

The Role of Assessment

Perhaps surprisingly, assessment practices play a crucial role in psychological safety. Traditional testing methods often undermine it, creating high-stakes situations that activate threat responses. However, innovative approaches to assessment can actually build psychological safety.

For instance, several schools in our network have implemented ‘learning portfolios’ where students collect evidence of their progress over time, including drafts and revisions. This approach shifts focus from performance moments to learning journeys, making it safer to take risks and learn from mistakes.

Cultural Considerations

Cultural aspects of psychological safety require particular attention. What feels safe for one student may feel threatening for another, based on their cultural background and previous educational experiences.

Effective teachers demonstrate cultural competence by recognising these differences and creating flexible environments that accommodate various cultural norms around participation and expression.

The Impact on Teacher Wellbeing

Interestingly, our research suggests that creating psychologically safe classrooms benefits teachers as much as students. Teachers report higher job satisfaction and lower stress levels when working in environments where they too feel safe to innovate and learn from mistakes.

This reciprocal relationship between teacher and student psychological safety creates virtuous cycles of improvement and innovation.

Measuring and Monitoring

While psychological safety can seem intangible, several indicators help track its presence:

• Student willingness to ask questions
• Frequency of voluntary participation across the whole class
• Quality of peer-to-peer discussion
• Student comfort in admitting confusion
• Rate of risk-taking in learning activities
• Emotional responses to mistakes
• Level of engagement in challenging tasks

Looking Forward

As we continue to grapple with educational recovery post-pandemic and the growing mental health challenges facing young people, psychological safety becomes ever more critical. Schools that prioritise it are seeing not just better academic outcomes but more resilient, engaged learners prepared for future challenges.

The evidence is clear: psychological safety isn’t a ‘soft’ alternative to rigorous academic standards – it’s a prerequisite for achieving them. As we plan for the future of education in Britain, it deserves a central place in our thinking about school improvement and effectiveness.

For school leaders considering how to enhance psychological safety, the journey begins with an honest assessment of current practices and the courage to make necessary changes. The investment required may be substantial, but the returns – in terms of both academic achievement and student wellbeing – make it one of the most valuable investments a school can make.

Making It Happen

The path to psychological safety requires sustained effort and systematic change. It involves training teachers in new approaches to questioning and feedback, reviewing assessment practices, and often challenging deeply held assumptions about what constitutes good teaching.

However, the schools that have made this journey report that while the initial changes may feel uncomfortable, the resulting improvements in student engagement and achievement make the effort worthwhile. As one headteacher in our network noted, “Once you see the impact of genuine psychological safety on learning, you can’t unsee it. It changes everything.”

Conclusion

As we look to the future of education in Britain, psychological safety must move from the periphery to the centre of our thinking about effective teaching and learning. The evidence for its importance is too compelling to ignore, and the costs of neglecting it too high to accept.

The question for educators is no longer whether psychological safety matters, but how best to create and sustain it in our unique educational contexts. In answering this question, we may find the key to unlocking not just better academic outcomes, but more engaged, resilient, and capable learners ready for the challenges ahead.

References:

Pianta, R. C., & Hamre, B. K. (2009). Classroom processes and positive youth development: Conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of interactions between teachers and students. New Directions for Youth Development, 2009(121), 33-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.295

Wang, M., L. Degol, J., Amemiya, J., Parr, A., & Guo, J. (2020). Classroom climate and children’s academic and psychological wellbeing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Developmental Review, 57, 100912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2020.100912