by Joe Faulkner, Head of Marketing and Business Development
With discussion this week focused on the implications of the new A* grade at A level, and the position of independent schools in university admissions, we wanted to change the focus and provide an insight into the factors affecting parental choice of school, and their level of satisfaction once in schools.
For several years now, mtm has offered parental surveys to schools. These surveys, typically carried out online, are an excellent means to understand reasons parents chose a school, and their satisfaction levels with various aspects of a school. We are able to benchmark all findings against a continually growing set of data for other schools.
Assessing importance of factors in comparison with satisfaction levels can help schools to understand priorities.
The chart on the left (click it to enlarge) shows our benchmarked scores from the last dozen parental surveys we carried out – with a total of 2000 parental responses (this is a small sample of our overall benchmark data and taken only from independent school results).
The findings are self-explanatory, suggesting that on balance parents find small class sizes, ethos and high quality teaching to be amongst the most important factors in choosing an independent school. Pupil behaviour, academic outcomes and facilities are also highly ranked.
What is also notable is that parents are largely satisfied with their school’s provision in these areas, indicating that experience and expectations are closely linked and suggesting a high overall level of satisfaction amongst these respondents.
Of course, the real value in a benchmark is the ability to compare individual results against this wider data set. For schools carrying out a parental surveys with mtm, we can provide clear and measurable results for schools to truly understand their strengths, areas for improvement and levels of parental contentment.
We can also go beyond this to suggest priority areas and recommendations for responding to findings.
To discuss this, and our other research services for schools, please contact mtm.
