Parent Surveys

Parents hold a pivotal role in children's education, and their feedback is both valuable and essential. We have the tools, templates and reports you need to build successful surveys.
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Here’s how it works

Parent surveys are easy as 1-2-3. Choose from a range of survey questions, pick your distribution method, and monitor your results in real-time. It's that straightforward.

CREATE

Create your questions

Easily create great looking surveys, forms and questionnaires for every need.

COLLECT

Collect your responses

Gather feedback through weblinks, embeds, email, social media and more.

Analyze

Analyze your results

Home in on essential insights with our wide ranging data analysis tools.

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What can you measure with a parent survey?

Survey your pupils' parents or guardians and you can gain insights into what matters not only to educational institutions but also to families and communities at large. But what to explore?

To give a flavor of the breadth of areas you could investigate, here is a list of 9 areas to consider. We hope these will offer some inspiration as to what to explore for your own school, to spark conversations and inspire actions that can bring meaningful change.

Each survey topic is an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding and build a better school community.

The school's ambiance

Keen to gage how parents feel about the school environment? Explore their impressions on everything from classroom setting to staff approachability. Their feedback can be invaluable for fine-tuning the overall atmosphere.

The info flow

Is the current communication between school and home effective? That's worth examining. Emails, texts, and good old-fashioned letters—let's find out what channels actually resonate with parents.

Navigating the digital landscape

Remote learning has shifted from a temporary measure to an educational staple. What's the parental consensus on its effectiveness? Insights here could steer the future of your school's online strategy.

Tailoring special education

Are parents satisfied with how the school accommodates children with special needs? Time to take the pulse and find out where improvements could be made.

Parental engagement

How involved do parents feel in their children's academic lives? This data could help you find smart ways to get them more actively engaged.

The safety barometer

School safety is non-negotiable. From digital to physical security measures, how well do parents think you're doing? Their perspective might flag up blind spots you weren't even aware of.

Nutrition or just food?

Ah, the perennial hot potato: school meals. Are they hitting the mark for taste and nutrition? The feedback loop here can guide future menu planning.

Beyond the syllabus

Extracurricular activities can be a pivotal part of the school experience. What's the parental take on your current offerings? Good, bad, or in need of a revamp?

The commute conundrum

Getting to and from school; is it smooth sailing or a logistical nightmare? Parents' views could help sort any glitches in the system.

Parent survey templates

Explore our diverse collection of parent survey templates to gather valuable insights for your school, club or activity. From parent satisfaction to feedback on school culture, we've got you covered with a range of customizable template questionnaires.

Quick guide to surveys for parent feedback

Gathering feedback from parents isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a cornerstone of a well-rounded educational environment. This brief guide looks at how educators and school administrators can fruitfully use surveys to collect invaluable parental feedback. After all, parents are the silent partners in children's educational journeys.

Why parental feedback matters

Parents hold a pivotal role in the educational ecosystem. Their insights offer a unique vantage point: a blend of emotional investment and analytical distance that neither teachers nor their pupils can provide. Parental feedback can aid in fine-tuning educational programs, enhancing facilities, and even shaping school policies.

Types of surveys to consider

Paper-based questionnaires

These are the classic paper-and-pencil methods we all know. Some pros of this collection method include their convenience (for the participant at least) and the ease of distribution in some settings. Also, there are no tech barriers for less digitally savvy parents. Some cons include the additional time required to collate and analyze your responses, and the potential for lost, incomplete or illegible submissions.

Online surveys

The digital counterpart to paper questionnaires, online surveys are often quicker and more convenient for both parties. They are ideal for when you need results swiftly for decision-making. Two notable pros of online surveys are the fact that automated analysis is possible, and that they are easy to modify and update. Some cons are the need for internet access (although kiosk surveys can help here) and the risk of lower completion rates if the survey is not optimized for mobile (our themes are all mobile ready).

Face-to-face interviews

This traditional method can often yield the most insightful feedback, and are best reserved for in-depth investigations into specific issues, often as a follow-up to broad surveys. Some of the pros of face-to-face feedback include the opportunity for deep, nuanced responses, and the ability to clarify questions if required. Some negatives include the fact that this method can be time-consuming, and the requirement for scheduling and the potential to be logistically challenging.

Designing your parent survey

Selecting the right questions

Crafting effective questions is more art than science. Consider mixing open-ended and closed-ended questions. The former gives parents the freedom to express their thoughts, while the latter allows for straightforward quantitative analysis.

The importance of anonymity

Anonymity can often be the key that unlocks honest and detailed responses. No one wants to be the parent who complains and then becomes the topic of discussion in the teachers' lounge. Whilst any good online platform will naturally allow for anonymous responses, for paper-based methods, setting up anonymous drop boxes can be effective.

Pilot testing your survey

Before diving headlong into the main survey, a small-scale pilot test is often a good idea. It helps iron out kinks and ensures that you're asking the right questions in the right way.

Distributing your survey

Optimal times to distribute

Think about the school calendar when planning your survey distribution. Avoid exam periods or holiday seasons when parents are less likely to engage.

Methods of distribution

For physical handouts, parent-teacher meetings can serve as an excellent platform. Digital methods, like emails or notifications through a parent portal, work well for online surveys.

Analyzing and interpreting results

Quantitative analysis

Tools like spreadsheets or specialized software such as SmartSurvey can help sort the numbers. Look for trends, outliers, and correlations that could reveal actionable insights.

Qualitative analysis

Textual feedback might be more challenging to analyze, but it's often where the gold lies. Don't ignore it; use text analysis tools or manual review to delve into these responses.

Making data-driven decisions

The real litmus test of any survey is how its findings are employed. Make sure to loop back and inform stakeholders – both internal, like teachers and school support staff, and external, like parents and community members – about any action steps.

Final recommendations

To wrap things up, here are some quick tips:

- Keep surveys concise; respect parents' time

- Use straightforward language; avoid jargon

- Be transparent about how the data will be used

- Set a clear deadline for responses

- Send reminders, but don't overdo it

School surveys, when done right, can be incredibly enriching for your educational community. So why not get started on your next one? To help you get up and running quickly we have a growing collection of educational survey templates as well as sample questions for you to use (find a brief summary below or see our longer list of example parent questions).

Example parent survey questions

Crafting the right questions is pivotal for a successful parent survey. The type of questions you pose can deeply impact the kind of answers you receive, so let's review the basics before looking at some examples.

Multiple choice questions are straightforward; they offer a few predefined choices and respondents tick the one that resonates most. Likert scale questions probe deeper, asking respondents to rate their sentiments on a scale, usually from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree." Open questions let people offer their thoughts freely, using either a single text box or a longer essay box, but they can be labor-intensive to analyze.

These are some common question types, but there are many more you could use, from matrix questions to ranking and rating questions (for more on your choices, see our run down of survey question types).

Now, onto the sample questions.

Multiple choice

How do you usually receive updates from the school?

  • Email
  • Text Message
  • School App
  • Other

Likert scale

The school's facilities meet my child's educational needs.

  • Strongly Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Neutral
  • Agree
  • Strongly Agree

Communication between school and parents is effective.

  • Strongly Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Neutral
  • Agree
  • Strongly Agree

Open questions

What suggestions do you have for improving school safety measures?

Can you describe your experiences with our school's online learning platforms?

What extracurricular activities would you like the school to offer?

Mixed types

How satisfied are you with the current school meal options? (Likert Scale)

  • Very Unsatisfied
  • Unsatisfied
  • Neutral
  • Satisfied
  • Very Satisfied
  • If unsatisfied, what changes would you recommend? (Free text)

How often do you engage in your child's homework? (Multiple choice)

  • Never
  • Rarely
  • Sometimes
  • Often
  • Always
  • Any particular reason? (Free text)

Do you feel the school accommodates special educational needs effectively? (Likert scale)

  • Strongly Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Neutral
  • Agree
  • Strongly Agree
  • Please elaborate. (Free text)

How convenient is the school's location for you? (Multiple choice)

  • Very Inconvenient
  • Inconvenient
  • Neutral
  • Convenient
  • Very Convenient
  • Do you have any travel-related issues? Share them here. (Free text)

For even more ideas, see our longer list of 30 parent survey questions.

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