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].

School choice 12