Service Children's Education : Survey of Parental Views 2007

Service Children’s Education (SCE) is an agency of the Ministry of Defence that has responsibility for, and represents the interests of, children in 43 Service schools and 41 Foundation Stage (FS1) settings around the world. Since 2004, SCE has commissioned NFER to undertake an annual questionnaire survey of parental satisfaction with their child’s Service school/FS1 setting. The results reported here are key findings from the 2007 survey of parents. This survey also explored the views of parents in regard to how well SCE schools were achieving the five Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes. Key findings On the whole, parents were very positive about the Service schools their children attended, and the majority of parents were satisfied or very satisfied with their child’s education - 98 per cent of FS1 parents, 95 per cent of primary school parents and 83 per cent of secondary school parents. Parents had good levels of satisfaction with how schools were addressing the ECM agenda and its associated outcomes. The majority of parents, for example, were satisfied with schools’ provision for pupils to be healthy, and enjoy and achieve. Parents were slightly less sure, however, about some aspects of schools’ provision for pupils to make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. In FS1 settings and primary schools, parents most commonly reported that their child’s FS1 setting/ school had a positive, welcoming ethos, that it provided a good level of support for pupils, and focused on the personal development of pupils. In secondary schools, parents most commonly reported that their child’s school provided good support for pupils, and offered a varied curriculum. The main area where parents thought schools could improve related to the level of communication between parents and their child’s school.