from the Times Educational Supplement, 9th October 2009
Commentary by Professor James Tooley and Dr Pauline Dixon, of Newcastle University in the Times Educational Supplement, which details their research findings that half of parents wanted a voucher scheme for independent school businesses. The plausibility of a voucher scheme of this nature has recently been explored in the mtmconsulting Independent Education Sector Report 2010.
The educational research, featured in The Beautiful Tree by James Tooley, found that “when asked which type of schools provided the best standards of education, the largest proportion voted for private schools. Just 5% chose state schools.” This figure has interesting implications when assessed alongside mtmconsulting’s 2008 report The Missing Million, which stated that “the most important reasons for not buying (independent education) are because parents are satisfied with the local state schools (cited by 73% of non-buyers) and/or because they felt that they cannot afford the fees (59%).”
The assumption is that if parents, by and large, feel that private schools provide better quality education to their children, then affordibility is the key factor in limiting the numbers of children in independent education. This has lead to suggestions that a voucher system for paying school fees, based on the model used in the Swedish education system, might be the ideal outcome.
Under such a voucher scheme, parents would be able to decide for themselves which school their children attend, and use a share of their contribution to the public purse to help pay the schools fees. mtm’s Independent Education Sector Report 2010 outlined this as one of three scenarios for independent education in 2030: “vouchers are an extremely positive development since independent schools are already aspirational for an enormous untapped market of parents who cannot afford them and are already successfully delivering against high parental expectations”. mtmconsulting added the caveat “despite this, there is still marketing work required to address the parental elitism and social exclusivity of independent education in the eyes of many parents.”
Reverting back to the findings of mtmconsulting’s Missing Million report, which explored the reasons why parents who were able to afford independent education and were not ethically against the idea did not go on to buy, the following independent school marketing opportunities were identified:
- Promoting schools: giving parents compelling reasons to consider the sector
- Parental research: using the research stage to start overcoming barriers
- Selling schools: using the visit stage to cement a relationship with parents and child
With over 25 years of experience in marketing schools and undertaking research for schools, mtm is well qualified to help schools enhance pupil recruitment. For more detail on our schools marketing, parental research, educational PR and communications work please contact Schools Consultant Joe Faulkner here.
For more information on the mtmconsulting Independent Education Sector Report 2010 please click here.
For more information on the mtm Missing Million Report 2008 please click here.
