Understanding digital skills, confidence, and online safety across the region
Census is a youth-led research initiative by The Refract Foundation to help schools and workplaces better understand how students and staff use technology in their everyday lives.
Census gathers anonymous data on:
- Digital skills and confidence
- Online safety awareness
- Access to devices and the internet
- The emerging trend of AI
The objective is to identify patterns in digital literacy and highlight where additional investment may be needed within individual institutions and across the region.
Why this matters
Digital skills are now vital for learning, communication and work, however levels of confidence and access vary across the region.
Census provides institutions with:
- A clear picture of staff or student digital confidence
- An insight into online safety awareness
- Data to support digital strategy and intervention
All responses are anonymous and we report in an aggregated form.
How it works
- A short survey is completed by students and staff during school time (5-10 minutes)
- Responses are analysed by Refract
- Schools receive a concise report with findings and insights
Getting involved
We can’t wait to work with schools, businesses and local authorities in the West Midlands to conduct Census!
As of now, we’re particularly interested in working with secondary schools within the region to help us design our future programmes.
Please feel free to get in touch with us for further details: oliver@refractfoundation.org
Privacy
Protecting participants’ privacy is a core part of how Census is designed.
Census is designed to minimise the collection of personal information. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, it does not collect names, email addresses, student identifiers or other directly identifying information. Please do not include personal information in any free-text responses unless specifically requested.
Most findings are analysed and reported in aggregated or anonymised form to help identify trends and inform educational improvement, without identifying individual participants.
For full details about how we collect, use and protect information, please read our Privacy Policy.
Refract is entirely youth-led. Your donation helps us deliver programmes, events and resources that empower young people through technology and education.
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