For some parents, the school choice for their child or children is pretty much established. The school may be local or may the school a parent previously attended. For these parents, unless something unexpected emerges, school choice is almost pre-set.
For others, school choice may be influenced by fees, ease of transport access, other parents’ views (often evidenced through school discussion forums on platforms such as Facebook), the child’s nature, the family religion, or other factors. Choice motivations can modify over time, so that reasons for choice that were significant in the past may be less so now.
When reviewing schools’ strategic plans to ensure they strengthen enrolments in your school or schools, knowledge of parents’ current expectations can clarify what you need to tell parents, so that your school or schools are in their consideration sets – and are then chosen.
The Parents School Choice Monitor can expressly provide your school or schools with knowledge of parents’ current school choice motivations.
This syndicated Monitor (and one of our 20 Questions One Topic Monitors) asks parents of your schools’ Prep and Grade 1 and Grade 6 and year 7 students what motivated them to choose the school their child attends now. And if the child is moving from primary to secondary school, what motivated that choice. The Parents School Choice Monitor also asks parents on your schools’ waiting lists why they have chosen to add their child to the waiting list. The Parents School Choice Monitor contrasts the school choice views of 1,000 parents nationally, in the same categories, so you can understand school choice motivations of those within and without your communities.
This knowledge of your own students’ parents’ views and those of the broader parental community will enable you to further strengthen your strategic planning and enrolment-communications and activities.
To know more, please call Philip Derham on 0414 543 765, or email him at derhamp@derhamresearch.com.au or use the Let’s get started – Derham Insights Research contact form.