School area safety & neighbourhood crime
How School Compass assesses neighbourhood crime around schools using police data — and how it differs from school safeguarding.
Parents often ask whether an area feels safe around a school. School Compass uses police-recorded crime data aggregated near the school site to provide neighbourhood context — not a judgement about the school itself.
What we measure
We analyse anonymised police-recorded crime within approximately one mile of the school, compare rates to national benchmarks, and highlight trends where data allows.
What we do not measure
This is not school safeguarding, on-site safety, or pupil behaviour. Always review Ofsted safeguarding judgements and speak to the school directly about pastoral care.
How Parent Reports help
The Crime & Safety section in a Parent Report explains area context in plain English with guidance and required disclaimers — saving you hours of interpreting raw crime maps.
Get the full picture
School Compass Parent Reports combine score, rankings, recommendation, application strategy, and neighbourhood crime context in one £4.99 PDF briefing.
Frequently asked questions
- Does area crime mean the school is unsafe?
- No. Area crime reflects the surrounding neighbourhood, not incidents on school premises or the school's safeguarding record.
- Where does the data come from?
- data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence, with population context from ONS.