Part A

The Good Schools Guide routinely conducts online surveys to gauge the opinions of parents on a variety of topics to do with education and family life. Please read the questions below and take as much or as little time in answering them as you desire.
Everyone who completes this survey (and/or Part B which will be sent out mid-April) is asked for contact details so that they may be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 John Lewis gift voucher.
The first four questions are to do with how parents might choose schools for their children:

When choosing the right school for their children, parents often start with half a dozen which look good on paper - they may all have similar facilities, academic reputation and extra-curricular activities. The following questions all relate to how you made your decision. So what tipped it in favour of the school you chose? And what was it that put you off the schools you previously thought you would like?

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* 1. If you think about Open Days you have attended or other school visits, what details (especially the small things) made you favour the school which you eventually chose?

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* 2. What, if anything, put you off schools you had on your shortlist when you visited?

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* 3. How important were the school websites in making your decision? Did anything in particular annoy you when seeking information from the websites? Did anything you saw online make you keener on the school?

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* 4. How did your dealings with staff prior to application affect your decision? Were you persuaded by or put off a school by any heads, admin staff, or registrars you dealt with? If so, why?

The following questions are to do with parents' views on school ownership and management:

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* 5. Does it matter to you who owns the school your children attend? If so, why?

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* 6. How do you feel about the following schools?

  Strongly Dislike Dislike Neither dislike or like Like Strongly Like
Independent schools run by a family for profit (e.g. Thomas's and many other small independent schools)
Independent schools run by a business for profit (e.g. Cognita or Alpha Plus)
Independent schools run as a charitable foundation
State schools which run themselves (many Academies and Free Schools)
State schools run by Local Authorities (the way it all used to be)
State schools run by religions
State schools run by Multi-Academy Trusts (groups like Ark, Oasis and Harris)

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* 7. If we find your answers particularly interesting, we may contact you in order to gain further insight into your opinions on the topics in this survey. If you would like to enter the prize draw to win a £100 John Lewis gift voucher, please leave your contact details.

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