school choice: the parent view - national foundation for ... · school choice: the parent view...
TRANSCRIPT
School choice 1
Report
School choice: The parent view National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
School choice: The parent view Survey of parents 2014
Karen Wespieser Ben Durbin
David Sims
Published in April 2015 By the National Foundation for Educational Research, The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire SL1 2DQ www.nfer.ac.uk © 2015 National Foundation for Educational Research Registered Charity No. 313392 ISBN 978-1-910008-65-2 How to cite this publication: Wespieser, K., Durbin, B. and Sims, D. (2015). School Choice: The Parent View. Slough: NFER.
This document is a confidential draft
Contents
1 Methodology 1
2 School choice 2
3 Local accountability 6
4 Academy schools 8
References 11
School choice 1
0 10 20 30 40 50
Per cent
Age
Age of respondents
Gender of respondents
50% female
50% Male
Type of school attended by respondents child/children*
67% Maintained
30% Academy
*2% don't know
0
10
20
30
40
50
Under £25,000
£25,000 - £50,000
Over £50,000
Per cent
Household income of respondents
0
20
40
60
Per cent
Phase of school attended by respondents child/children*
60% Primary
58% Secondary
*Multi-response. 9% other
1 Methodology
Data collected by Research Now in December 2014 and January 2015 on behalf of NFER.
Survey conducted with 1005 parents of children aged 5-18 participating in an online panel.
Sample selected to include 50 per cent male and 50 per cent female respondents from across England.
Other variables sampled included: age, child age and household income.
Subgroup comparisons (e.g. by household income) only presented where differences are statistically significant (p=0.05)
Region of respondents
34%
31%
36%
School choice 2
2 School choice
The majority of parents feel that they had a genuine choice in choosing a school
To what extent do you agree that you had a genuine choice in deciding which school your child/children attended? Response shown in per cent. n=1005 Agree/strongly agree Disagree/strongly disagree combined
10% neither
agree or disagree
18% disagree or strongly disagree
72% agree or strongly agree
In 2014, according to DfE figures, nearly 90 per cent of parents
got their first choice of primary school for their children and 85
per cent got their first choice of secondary (DfE, 2014). Most
respondents to our survey (72 per cent) also feel that they had a
choice, although slightly fewer than got their first choice –
highlighting that in some instances there may only be one real
option available.
Local factors, such as ‘location’ and ‘school that most suits my
child’, are the most important to parents when choosing a
school.
Household income affects school choice. Location, well-qualified
teachers and community links are more important to parents
with a lower household income whilst discipline, exam results
and the effectiveness of the school’s senior leadership team are
more important to parents with a higher household income.
Most parents undertake a range of activities to help decide
which school their child should attend, in particular undertaking
their own research and attending open evenings or school visits.
However, there are some differences by household income with
those on a lower income more likely to let their child decide or
select the school already attended by siblings.
School choice 3
20
19
10
16
10
11
5
4
2
1
1
16
15
16
12
11
12
6
6
4
2
2
12
12
17
9
13
10
10
7
4
3
3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
School that most suits my child/children
Location
Discipline and behaviour which promote effective learning
Ofsted inspection rating
Well-qualified teachers
Examination results
Inclusive ethos where all pupils are valued
Effectiveness of school's senior leadership team
Reputation for taking parents'/carers' views into account
Links with the local community
Freedom to make decisions about what curriculum is taught
Percentage of parents
Local factors are the most important to parents when choosing a school Most important factor
Second most important factor
Third most important factor
Which of the following do you consider to be the most important factors when choosing a school for your child/children? Percentage of respondents. Multiple response item. n=1005. Closed list of response options provided. Please note that the survey did not provide any further definition for any response option and therefore could have been interpreted by respondents in a number of ways (e.g. 'Ofsted inspection rating' takes into account a number of the other items such as exam results).
School choice 4
Household income affects school choice
Location, well-
qualified
teachers and
reputation for
taking parent
views into
account are
more important
to parents with
a lower
household
income...
...Discipline,
exam results
and the
effectiveness of
the school’s
leadership are
more important
to parents with
a higher
household
income
52
46
40
Location*
39 35
29
Well-qualified teachers
12 10
6
Reputation for taking parents/carers views into account*
41 39
48
Discipline and behaviour which promote effective learning
26
30
41
Examination results*
11
16
22
Effectiveness of school's senior leadership team*
Which of the following do you consider to be the most important factors when choosing a school for your child/children? Response cross-tabulated by household income and shown in per cent for statistically significant findings at p=0.05. Charts show respondents identifying item in their top three choices, charts marked with an * indicate that the difference was also statistically significant for the top choice. n=1005. Lower income <£25,000 n=334. Middle income £25-50,000 n=294. Higher income >£50,000 n=377
Lower income
Middle income
Higher income
School choice 5
79
88
60
53
43
87
89
71
52
41
94
95
79
47
36
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Undertake your own research on possible schools
Attend open evenings/visit or contact schools
Discuss potential schools with other parents/carers
Select the school already attended by siblings
Let your child decide
Most parents undertake a range of activities to help decide which school their child should attend. However, there are some differences by household income
Higher income
Middle income
Lower income
When choosing a school for your child, do/did you... [multiple response items as listed above]. n=1005. Lower income <£25,000 n=334. Middle income £25-50,000 n=294. Higher income >£50,000 n=377
Activites more often undertaken by parents on lower income
Activites more often undertaken by parents on higher income
School choice 6
Parents believe schools should be locally accountable
% who agreed with the statement 'all publicly-funded schools should have an element of local accountability'. n=1005. Agree/strongly agree Disagree/ strongly disagree combined. Please note that the survey did not provide any further definition of local accountability and this could have been interpreted by respondents in a number of ways (e.g. such as being held accountable by parents themselves and/or the school governing body).
79% agree or strongly agree
19% neither agree or
disagree / don't know
2% disagree or strongly disagree
3 Local accountability
Over three quarters of the parents responding to our survey
believe schools should be locally accountable (however it
should be noted that the survey did not provide any further
definition of local accountability and this could have been
interpreted by respondents in a number of ways).
Local actors, such as the headteacher, classroom teachers and
school governors are seen by parents as being most
responsible for children's education. It is therefore logical that
parents also say that they would pursue local routes, such as
the local authority or the governing body, if they had a problem
with their school.
However, less than half of parents feel that they have a say in
how their child's school is run. Parents of children at academy
schools and parents with higher incomes are slightly more likely
to feel they have an influence.
School choice 7
15
9
5
5
14
31
34
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Don’t know/no one
Other
Government/MP
Head teacher/senior leadership
Ofsted
School governing body
Local Authority
Parents would turn to their local authority or the governing body if they had a problem with their school that the headteacher had not resolved
If you had a problem with a school and felt that the headteacher had not resolved it, who would you complain to? Open question with multiple response s. n=1005.
27 35
42 40 34 35
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Lower income
Middle income
Higher income
Academy parents
Non-academy parents
All
Few parents feel that they have a say in how their child's school is run. Parents of children at academy schools and parents with higher incomes are slightly more likely to feel they have an influence.
Parents who answer 'yes' to 'do you feel you have a say in how your child's school is run?' n=1005. Lower income <£25,000 n=334. Middle income £25-50,000 n=294. Higher income >£50,000 n=377. Academy parents n=306. Non-academy parents n= 677.
35
22
18
8
8
4
4
28
30
11
11
6
5
6
18
18
17
15
8
11
10
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Head teacher/senior …
Classroom teacher
Parents/carers
School governing body
Government
Ofsted
Local Authority
Academy chain
Local actors are seen as most responsible for the quality of children's education Most responsible
Second most responsible
Third most responsible
Who do you think is most responsible for the quality of your child's education? Percentage of respondents. Multiple response item. n=1005.
School choice 8
4 Academy schools
Type of school attended by respondents child/children
67% Non-academy 30% Academy
2% don't know
Does your child or any of your children attend an academy school? n=1005
Thirty per cent of our sample said they had a child that attended
an academy school. This compares to 21 per cent of schools
nationally (DFE 2014).
A test of parents' knowledge of academies reveals many are
confused about what an academy is and the differences
between academies and maintained schools. We asked
respondents nine questions about academies and on average
respondents answered 'don't know' to three out of these nine.
Respondents got an average of four questions correct. Parents
with a higher income or with children at an academy school
knew more about academies
When directly asked ‘how much do you feel you know about
academy schools?’, a majority of parents admitted that they did
not know much. However, those on higher incomes or with
children at an academy were slightly more confident.
Many parents want more information about academy schools,
especially those with children at an academy. Parents’ feet that
the DfE website was the best place to find out more about
academies.
School choice 9
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number of questions respondents got correct
On average, respondents got 4.0 questions correct out of 9
Mean
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number of questions where respondents answered 'don't know'
On average, respondents answered 'don't know' to 3.4 out of 9 questions
Mean
27
40
40
40
46
47
52
53
59
30
18
15
14
20
22
14
9
11
43
42
45
46
33
31
34
38
30
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Academies can employ teaching staff with no teaching qualifications?
Academies can change the length of their school terms?
Academies can't exclude pupils without giving a reason?*
Academies have to publish their examination results?*
Academies can set their own curriculum?
Academies are free from the control of local authorities?
Academies are independent state schools, funded directly by central government?
Academies have greater freedom to set pay and conditions for their staff?
Academies are subject to inspections from Ofsted?*
A test of parents' knowledge of academies reveals many are confused Correct response Don't know
Knowledge test quest comprising of 9 statements (6 true / 3 false, items with '*' were false but have been are reversed for reporting). N=1005.
3
4
5
5
4
4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Lower income
Middle income
Higher income
Academy parents
Non-academy …
All
Score out of 9
Parents on a higher income or with children at an academy school know more about academies
Knowledge test quest comprising of 9 statements (6 true / 3 false). N=1005. Chart shows mean response. Lower income <£25,000 n=334. Middle income £25-50,000 n=294. Higher income >£50,000 n=377. Academy parents n=306. Non-academy parents n= 677.
School choice 10
3
6
8
2
13
6
22
24
24
15
42
23
59
58
59
67
42
59
16
12
9
16
3
12
0% 50% 100%
Lower income
Middle income
Higher income
Non academy parents
Academy parents
All
Parents admit that they do not know much about academies. Those on higher incomes or with children at an academy were slightly more confident
A great deal
Quite a lot
Not very much
Nothing at all
How much do you feel you know about academy schools? N=1005. Lower income <£25,000 n=334. Middle income £25-50,000 n=294. Higher income >£50,000 n=377. Academy parents n=306. Non-academy parents n= 677.
59
39
46
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Academy parents
Non-academy parents
All
Many parents want more information about academy schools, especially those with children at an academy
Would you like further information on academy schools? N=877 (respondents answering 'don't know' removed from sample). Academy parents n=283. Non-academy parents n= 579.
68
36
23
21
18
15
11
8
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
DfE website
My child's/children's school
Media (e.g. press, radio, TV)
Other parents/carers
Friends
Other
Another school
Don't know
Parent's think that the DfE website was the best place to find out more about academies
If you wanted to find out more about academy schools, where would you get the information? Multiple response item. N=2011.
School choice 11
References
Department for Education (2014). Secondary and Primary School Applications and Offers: March to April 2014 (Statistical First Release
17/2014) [online]. Available: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/325695/SFR_17-
2014_Apps_and_Offers.pdf [24 April, 2015].