Background and Purpose: Recent OECD PISA results show that students in Latvian schools report higher levels of bullying, abuse and insecurity than many peers across OECD countries. These experiences can affect concentration, confidence and engagement, influencing how reliably students demonstrate their competencies in assessment situations. Bystanders are also affected by tense school climates, which may lower academic performance and well-being. As large-scale assessments highlight the importance of contextual factors, understanding how emotional and physical safety relate to measured learning outcomes has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study is to analyse safety-related trends in Latvian schools over the last decade and examine how emotional and physical safety indicators are associated with student achievement. Research Questions: 1. What characterises school environments with high versus low levels of bullying and perceived safety? 2. How are emotional and physical safety indicators associated with student achievement across PISA cycles and national examinations? 3. To what extent do school‑level antibullying programmes influence safety indicators and students performance? Methods: The study employs a mixed-methods design based on secondary analysis of PISA 2015, 2018 and 2022 cognitive test results and student questionnaire data, supplemented by national basic education examination outcomes. Quantitative analyses include descriptive trends, multilevel modelling of student‑ and school‑level variance, and cluster analysis identifying school profiles combining safety indicators and achievement. Qualitative analysis of school regulations and internal safety procedures supports interpretation of structural factors shaping students’ perceived safety. Expected Outcomes: The study is expected to identify long-term trends in bullying and perceived school safety, reveal associations between safety-related background indicators and student achievement, and provide insight into the potential effectiveness of antibullying programmes. The development of safety‑achievement school profiles will highlight patterns that differentiate safer from less safe learning environments and show how these differences manifest in assessment results. The findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of how school climate factors interact with cognitive performance in large-scale assessment contexts. Relevance: The study contributes to international discussions on how emotional and physical safety shape students’ learning experiences and influence the reliability of measured achievement. By integrating large-scale assessment data with school-level contextual information, it offers evidence on how safety conditions affect student performance and highlights the importance of supportive learning environments for ensuring equitable and valid demonstrations of student competencies.

Bolarinwa, E.,L. (2024). Effects of Bullying behaviour on Secondary School Students’ Performance in Jos South Local Government, Plateau State, Nigeria. Pieejams: https://ijrpr.com/uploads/V5ISSUE10/IJRPR34067.pdf Cornell, D., & Mayer, M. J. (2010). Why do School Order and Safety Matter? Pieejams: https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/77951463808?origin=resultslist Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J., W. (2023) Cyberbullying: Identification, Prevention, and Response. Pieejams: https://cyberbullying.org/Cyberbullying-Identification-Prevention-Response-2023.pdf Mayer, M. J., Nickerson, A. B., & Jimerson, S. R. (2021). Preventing school violence and promoting school safety: Contemporary scholarship advancing science, practice, and policy. School Psychology Review, 50(2–3), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1949933 Okeke, C., Akobi, T., & Maseli, M. (2024). The perceived impact of bullying on academic performance of high school learners. Webology, 21(1). https://webology.org/data-cms/articles/20240116111144amWEBOLOGY%2021%20(1)%20-%204.pdf Ray, G., McDermott, C. D., & Nicho, M. (2024). Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, prevalence, and impact challenges. Journal of Cybersecurity, 10(1), Article tyae026. https://doi.org/10.1093/cybsec/tyae026 Salamanca, D. V., & Rollo, C. R. (2024). Bullying encountered and their perceived impacts on students’ sense of self. European Journal of Education Studies, 11(3). https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/5231