New surveys enable parents to feed back on Welsh school performance

With parents of school children in Wales now able to access detailed reports on school performance through the ‘My Local School’ website, a new survey service launched today makes it easier for schools to find out what parents really think of every aspect of school life, from bullying to how the school is managed.

Designed to incorporate the questions posed by Estyn inspectors, the Pyper School Surveys were created to help schools secure valuable parental feedback on a wide range of issues.  With all questions in English and Welsh, the online system will enable schools to track parental opinions of the school alongside the academic results.

“Whilst academic results are very important to any school, pastoral care and how the school deals with issues on a day-to-day basis can really affect a school’s perception in the local community, and yet it is not sufficient for any school to rely on overheard playground chat to get a real understanding of the issues the parents are discussing,” comments Jay Commins, managing director of Pyper Surveys.  “Often parents have small concerns which they are not comfortable raising with teachers, so providing them with a forum where they can share worries or highlight problems that may be largely under the teachers’ radar is an invaluable way of not only finding out the issues, but reassuring parents that the school will deal with them quickly and effectively.”

The surveys are conducted online, which encourages faster responses, with schools encouraged to set up one or more dedicated computers in schools for those who might not have internet access at home.  Alternatively, the surveys can be run during parent/teacher conferences using the school’s own ICT facilities.

With pressure on school budgets across the country, the surveys have a fixed price of £150 + VAT, making them affordable and accessible for schools large and small, with results provided in an easy-to-understand report format.  Each survey contains up to 50 questions, with schools choosing their questions from a large question bank created by education experts, teachers and headteachers, and incorporating the questions from schools inspectorates in Wales ((Estyn), England (Ofsted) and Scotland (Education Scotland).  The surveys are turned around very quickly – with a target from booking to completed report of under 14 days.

“These surveys can be used as an internal monitoring system, but many schools will choose to share the results with parents to demonstrate how important their feedback and involvement in the school’s operation really is,” adds Jay.

For more information, please visit www.pypersurveys.co.uk or call 01904 500698.

ENDS

For further media information, please contact:

Jay Commins

Tel: 01904 500698

Mob: 07810 546567

Email: jay@pyperyork.co.uk