Research

When truly independent education research pays dividends

Education coverage in the news earlier this week was focused on a new report commissioned by the Sutton Trust, title Fee Remissions and Bursaries in Independent Schools. The study, carried out by Staffordshire University’s Institute for Education Policy Research (IEPR), attracted headlines such as “Top school bursary funds lower” (BBC), and “Richest schools give least of their income to bursaries” (Guardian).

However, the Independent Schools Council’s (ISC) response, arguing that the Sutton Trust’s report was “ based on out of date, incomplete and mismatched data”, gives rise to a broader question: how trustworthy is research into ‘the facts’? Read more

Blog post – Independent schools offer refuge from the storm in state education

Blog by Jane Davies and James Leggett, mtm Research Analysts

The coalition government’s recent – and significant – reduction in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme is likely to have knock-on effects through the education sector, including in independent schools… Read more

Marketing independent schools: where do parents drop out?

While the UK’s independent schools sector is remarkably robust in the face of recession, challenges to charitable status, and national falling affordability, research from mtm suggests that there are a number of key opportunities for independent schools to better recruit from their target markets.

In this excerpt from the mtmconsulting Missing Million Report, 2008 (follow the link for details) we explore where potential buyers drop out of the decision making process… Read more

Proprietorial Schools Forum: September event

mtmconsulting Proprietorial Schools’ Forum
Monday 13th September, Cavalry and Guards Club, 127 Piccadilly, London W1

The date of the September Proprietorial Schools’ Forum event – the latest in our series of half day seminar and discussion events for owners and heads of proprietorial schools, is confirmed as 13th September. Read more

Blog post – As parents get smarter, school research becomes more crucial

Blog by Gavin Humphries, mtm’s Head of Research

Over the last few years the marketing press has contained lots of articles about how consumers are getting savvier. The Internet has increased the dissemination of information -– be it prices, product reviews or examples of shocking customer service. And we now live in a consumer society where people are wise to marketing messages.

Independent schools have to contend with this trend more than most sectors. Read more

Private school for a tenner a day: could it work?

The TES has today reported of Professor James Tooley’s (of Newcastle University and chair of Omega Schools in Ghana and Empathy Learning in Hyderabad) suggestion that a low-cost, bare-bones model of independent education could be run in the UK for fees of as little as £2,000 per year. Read more

Who buys independent education?

taken from the mtm Independent Education Sector Report 2010

Households in Great Britain can be classified into different types – one such classification is the Acorn system (developed by CACI Ltd) that is used in mtm’s Mandarin (market and area intelligence) catchment area analysis service. The Acorn system divides individual postcodes into one of 17 different groups. What’s particularly striking in looking at independent school buyers is that typical buyers make up just one third of households but four fifths of independent school pupils. Read more

IFS report: Private Schooling in the UK and Australia

The Institute of Fiscal Studies last week released a new report, Private Schooling in the UK and Australia, which explores experiences of private schooling in the two countries and draws similarities and lessons “from each country’s individual experience”.

A number of the report’s core findings relating to the UK independent schools market place are relatively well documented elsewhere, not least by mtm. These include tracking of “long-run decline” in the pupil-teacher ratio in the independent sector, and the growth of academies and free schools.

However, the report also flags up two trends relating to target markets that independent school educational strategies should take notice of.

Read more

mtm launches Priority Benchmarking: a new guide to parental surveys

It has never been more important to know what parents think of your school or college. Pressure on family budgets, exacerbated by the recession, is making parents much more pragmatic in their educational choices. And the prospect of heightened competition from a radically reformed state sector will further emphasise the need for schools to have regular and accurate intelligence from buyers and potential buyers. Read more

Will increasing numbers of academies lead to rise in demand for effective school marketing?

Today’s news has covered – in considerable detail – Education Secretary Michael Gove’s letter to all state schools offering them the chance to opt-out of Local Authority control and adopt academy status, essentially offering greater freedom of control to Heads and school leaders over budget, spending and curriculum.

What impact might this have on the way state schools communicate and position their brands, ethos and values to prospective parents and pupils? mtm’s Schools Marketing Consultant Joe Faulkner explores the issue. Read more