Research and analysis

Parent, pupil and learner voice: May 2024

Updated 17 December 2024

Applies to England

Introduction

The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Verian (formerly known as Kantar Public) to recruit and maintain a panel of Parents, Pupils and Learners in England, known as the Parent, Pupil and Learner Voice (PPLV). The PPLV is designed to collect robust evidence to help the Department for Education understand the perspectives of parents, carers, pupils and learners. This allows us to make more effective policy.

The PPLV works as a series of short surveys across the academic year, covering a range of new and longstanding policy issues. This report is about the findings from the May 2024 survey wave of the Parent, Pupil and Learner Voice. This wave took place before the new UK government took office on 5 July 2024. As a result, the content may not reflect current government policy.

Methodology

The PPLV survey is answered by secondary school pupils (years 7 to 13), learners in further education (years 12 and 13) and parents of primary, secondary and special school pupils (years 1 to 11) who have agreed to participate in short, regular research surveys on topical education issues. We select parents and pupils randomly using records from the National Pupil Database (NPD) and invite them to take part in an online survey. For the first survey of the academic year, we send invitation letters to households. For other surveys in that same academic year, we send the invitation by email and text message to the parents and pupils who agreed to join the panel in the first survey.

Mid-way through the academic year, we randomly select pupils and learners in years 12 and 13 and invite them to join the panel in the same way. We select learners (those studying in a college setting) from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and we select pupils (those studying in a school setting) from the NPD.

We conducted the survey between 15 May and 24 May. The respondents were:

• 838 parents of primary school pupils
• 927 parents of secondary school pupils
• 524 parents of special school pupils
• 1,059 key stage 3 pupils
• 733 key stage 4 pupils
• 979 pupils and learners in years 12 and 13

The topics included in the survey are related to a variety of policy areas that teams in DfE are working on. Policy teams submit questions for inclusion in the survey and use the results to help inform policy development in the areas they work on. This report summarises findings for each topic covered.

Unless otherwise stated, when we refer to the ‘average’, we are reporting the arithmetic mean. Complete findings can be found in the published data tables, which include more detail on how different groups answered each question.

The report makes some comparisons to previous surveys conducted in previous academic years, for example the Parent, Pupil and Learner Panel Omnibus surveys for 2022 to 2023. These comparisons are helpful to understand how trends may be changing. However, the survey methodology changes over time and so comparisons to previous years are not as reliable as survey findings within each academic year. When making comparisons to previous data, we compare data to the most recent wave in which we asked the question and/or waves run at a similar time of year.

Further information on the survey methodology is available in the accompanying technical report.

Banding for percentages

We use a consistent banding system for describing percentages, as follows:

• Very few - 0% to 10%
• A small minority - 11% to 32%
• A minority - 33% to 47%
• About half - 48% to 52%
• The majority - 53% to 66%
• A large majority - 67% to 89%
• Almost all - 90% to 100%

We do not describe 0% and 100% as ‘none’ and ‘all’ because figure rounding may mean this is not accurate. For instance, 100% may be 99.6% of respondents, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Topics covered in this survey

The survey included questions about:

• green jobs awareness
• higher education plans
• mixing academic and technical subjects
• extra learning time and study resources
• study hours and resources
• National Tutoring Programme (NTP)
• wraparound childcare information
• support for SEND
• period products
• school belonging
• behaviour in school
• bullying
• pupil and learner wellbeing

Green jobs awareness

We asked pupils and learners and parents if they were aware, or if their child was aware, of green job opportunities available when they leave education (Figure 1).

A minority of pupils and learners (47%) said they had heard of green job opportunities available when they leave education.

A minority of parents of secondary school pupils (34%) said their child had heard of green job opportunities, while a small minority of parents of special school pupils (14%) said the same.

Higher Education Plans

We asked pupils in years 12 and 13 what their plans were from September 2024.

Pupils in year 12 (Figure 2) most commonly said they plan to continue at school (49%), complete any other learning at a college or other training provider (16%), or begin an apprenticeship (14%).

Pupils in year 13 (Figure 3) most commonly said they plan to go to university or study for a higher education qualification (51%), begin an apprenticeship (15%) or enter paid work (8%).

We also asked pupils in years 12 and 13 which factors they consider to be the most important when deciding on which university or higher education courses to apply to (Figure 4).

Pupils most commonly said that course content (59%), entry requirements (50%) and location (40%) were most important when deciding which university or higher education courses to apply to.

Among year 13 pupils who said they were planning to go to university or study for a higher education course, a large majority said that they are planning to do so fully on campus (89%).

The majority (60%) said that they plan to live in university property, while a small minority (27%) said that they planned to live in their parent or guardian’s home. Very few (7%) said that they plan to live in private sector halls.

We asked pupils in years 12 and 13 who said they were not planning to go to university or study for a higher education qualification in September 2024 why this was not in their plans (Figure 5).

The most common reasons were wanting to start earning money sooner rather than later (34%), planning to attend university or study a higher education qualification later in life (28%), or thinking the cost of university or higher education is too expensive (21%).

Mixing academic and technical subjects

We asked pupils in years 10 and 11 what they are planning on starting after they finish their GCSEs (Figure 6).

The majority (65%) said that they planned to start academic qualifications (e.g. A levels or AS levels) after their GCSEs, while a small minority said that they would start an apprenticeship (22%) an applied or technical qualification (17%) or employment (16%).

A small minority (26%) of pupils who said they were planning to start an academic qualification after their GCSEs said they would study a technical qualification alongside it if that option was possible. Similarly, a small minority (14%) of pupils who said they were planning to start a technical qualification after their GCSEs said they would choose to study an academic qualification alongside it if that option was possible.

We asked pupils who indicated they would like to study a mix of academic and technical qualifications why they want to study both qualification (Figure 7).

The majority (53%) said being interested in a variety of subjects was a reason for wanting to study a mix of academic and technical qualifications. A minority said that studying a mix of academic and technical qualifications would prepare them better for their first job (37%) or the future learning they want to do (34%).

We asked pupils who said they would not like to study a mix of academic and technical qualifications why this was (Figure 8).

The most common responses were that it would not be relevant to the job they want (41%), the time commitment would be too much (34%), they are not interested in studying more subjects (33%) and that it would not be relevant to the higher education course they want to take (33%).

Extra learning time and study resources

We asked pupils in years 12 and 13 what they would prioritise if they had an extra 5 hours of school time every week (Figure 9).

Pupils most commonly said that they would prioritise support with other life skills (38%), support with study skills (37%) and enrichment activities (26%).

We asked pupils in years 12 and 13 how useful an extra 5 hours in school every week would be for their course outcome and personal development (Figure 10).

About half (51%) said that an extra 5 hours in school every week would be very useful or fairly useful for their course outcome and personal development. A minority (43%) said that it would be not very useful or not useful at all.

We asked pupils in years 12 and 13 what support they had received from their school to help with homework or independent study since January 2024 (Figure 11).

Pupils most commonly said they had received access to a suitable study space in school (69%), access to subject resources, guidance or equipment (63%) and access to internet or a digital device (58%).

Period Products

A large majority of female pupils and learners (75%) said their school or college provides free period products. This is a lower proportion when compared to June 2023 when this was last asked (80%).

We asked pupils and learners who had used the free period products provided by their school or college which benefits, if any, accessing free period products gave them (Figure 12).

The most common responses were that being able to access period products more easily (60%) and feeling less worried and anxious (53%) were benefits. These findings are similar to June 2023, when this question was last asked, when 61% said they were able to access period products more easily and 51% said feeling less worried and anxious were benefits.

We asked female pupils and learners who have not used the free period products provided by their school or college why they have not used them (Figure 13).

Pupils most commonly said that their parent or carer provided them with period products (61%), and that they never needed to access period products in school (50%) as reasons why they had not used the free period products provided by their school or college.

Among female pupils and learners, 28% said they had been unable to access period products because of their cost in the last 12 months. This is a similar proportion of female pupils and learners to June 2023, when this question was last asked, when 24% said they were unable to access period products because of their cost in the last 12 months.

We asked pupils and learners who said they had been unable to access period products due to cost in the last 12 months how this has affected them (Figure 14).

Pupils most commonly said that feeling worried or anxious (44%), struggling to concentrate on school work (28%) and being unable to take part in sports and fitness activities (17%) were effects of being unable to access period products.

However, 32% of pupils said that not being able to access period products in the last 12 months had not affected them.

National Tutoring Programme

The National Tutoring Programme operated between the 2020/21 and 2023/24 academic years. We asked parents whether they had heard of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) (Figure 15).

A small minority of parents (25%) said they had heard of the NTP, while a large majority (72%) said they had not.

We asked parents whether their child had received tutoring since September 2023. We defined tutoring as a programme of regular, targeted academic classes, which may be delivered 1:1 or in small groups, during and/or outside of school.

A large majority of parents (75%) said that their child had not received tutoring. Very few said their child had received tutoring through paid-for private tuition (10%), their school (4%), through their school via the NTP (2%), or that they did not know (9%).

We asked parents who said their child had received tutoring since September 2023 what benefits there were from the tutoring their child received (Figure 16).

A large majority of parents who said their child had received tutoring since September 2023 said that tutoring helped their child’s ability to pass or succeed (70%). About half (48%) said tutoring improved their child’s self-confidence, while a minority (38%) said tutoring helped their child catch up with their peers.

We asked parents who said their child had received tutoring since September 2023 what size groups their child had received tutoring in. About half (51%) said that their child had received one-to-one tutoring, while a minority (45%) said that their child had received tutoring in a small group. Very few (5%) parents said their child had received tutoring in a pair.

We asked parents who said their child had received tutoring since September 2023 when their child had received this tutoring. The majority (56%) said their child had received tutoring after school. A small minority said their child had received tutoring during school time (26%) or at weekends (20%).

Wraparound childcare information

We asked parents of primary and special school pupils where, if at all, they have found information about wraparound childcare for primary school aged children in their area (Figure 17).

The majority (62%) said they received wraparound childcare information from their child’s school, while a small minority (18%) said they received information via word of mouth.

A small minority (20%) said they have never encountered information about wraparound childcare.

Support for SEND

We asked parents of pupils with SEND in years 1 to 6 a series of questions about their child’s support for SEND at school. Firstly, we asked them how included they feel in decisions made for their child’s support for SEND at school (Figure 18).

The majority of parents of primary school pupils (60%) and a large majority of parents of special school pupils (76%) said they feel very or fairly included in the decisions made for the support their child with SEND receives at school.

We also asked how effective the communication they receive from their child’s school is relating to SEND care and education (Figure 19).

The majority of parents of primary school pupils (56%) and a large majority of parents of special school pupils (79%) said the communication they receive from their child’s school relating to their SEND care and education is very or fairly effective.

We asked parents of pupils with SEND in years 1 to 6 how well they felt their child’s school helps their child understand their own special educational needs (Figure 20).

The majority of parents of primary school pupils (55%) and a large majority of parents of special school pupils (74%) said their child’s school helps their child understand their own special educational needs very well or fairly well.

We also asked parents of pupils with SEND in years 1 to 6 how well their child’s school helps them to understand their child’s special educational needs (Figure 21).

The majority of parents of primary school pupils (55%) and a large majority of parents of special school pupils (73%) said their child’s school helps them to understand their child’s special educational needs very or fairly well.

About half of parents of primary school pupils (50%) said their child’s school engages with them on SEND issues during parent’s evening. A minority (33%) said their child’s school engages with them via email, while a small minority (25%) said their child’s school engages with them via telephone.

About half of parents of special school pupils said their child’s school engages with them on SEND issues via telephone (51%) or via email (49%). A minority (45%) said their child’s school engages with them during parent’s evenings.

School belonging

We asked pupils and parents a series of questions about how they, or their child, felt about school over the previous week of term. Firstly, we asked pupils and parents how often they or their child had enjoyed going to school over the previous week (Figure 22).

A large majority of parents of primary school pupils (83%) and parents of special school pupils (74%) said their child had enjoyed going to school every day or most days over the previous week. The majority of parents of secondary school pupils (64%) said the same.

These results were similar to when last asked in March 2024, when 86% of parents of primary school pupils, and 79% of parents of special school pupils said their child had enjoyed going to school every day or most days over the previous week. A smaller proportion of parents of secondary school pupils said their child enjoyed going to school every day or most days over the previous week compared to March 2024 (79%).

About half of pupils in years 7 to 11 (48%) and the majority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (54%) said they had enjoyed going to school every day or most days over the previous week.

A smaller proportion of pupils in years 7 to 11 said this compared to when last asked in March 2024 (54%), while a similar proportion of pupils in years 12 and 13 said this compared to March 2024 (51%).

We also asked how often they, or their child, had felt safe at school over the previous week of term (Figure 23).

Almost all parents of primary school pupils (93%) said their child had felt safe at school every day or most days over the previous week. A large majority of parents of secondary school pupils (85%) and parents of special school pupils (82%) said the same.

These results were similar to March 2024, when 93% of parents of primary school pupils, 83% of parents of secondary school pupils and 85% of parents of special school pupils said their child had felt safe at school every day or most days over the previous week.

A large majority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (72%) and pupils in years 12 and 13 (88%) said they had felt safe at school every day or most days over the previous week. These results were similar when compared to March 2024, when 74% of pupils in years 7 to 11 said they had felt safe at school every day or most days, however had risen for pupils in years 12 and 13 when 87% said they had felt safe every day or most days.

Finally, we asked pupils how often they felt like they belonged at school over the past week (Figure 24).

The majority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (57%) and pupils in years 12 and 13 (66%) said they had felt they belonged at school every day or most days over the past week.

These results were similar to when last asked in March 2024, when 61% of pupils in years 7 to 11 and 59% of pupils in years 12 and 13 said they had felt they belonged in school every day or most days.

School connectedness

We asked pupils to respond to a series of statements about adults at their school, on a scale of 1 (Never) to 5 (Always).

The average scores across the statements were:

• 3.5 for “there is an adult who really cares about me”
• 3.5 for “there is an adult who tells me when I do a good job”
• 3.6 for “there is an adult who listens to me when I have something to say”
• 3.6 for “there is an adult who believes I will be a success”

We combined these scores to produce an overall ‘school connectedness’ score, between 4 and 20 (Figure 25).

The average school connectedness score was 14.2 for KS3 pupils, 14.3 for KS4 pupils, and 14.8 for year 12 and 13 pupils.

Results were similar when compared to when we last asked this question in March 2024, when the average scores were 14.4 for KS3 pupils, 14.4 for KS4 pupils and 14.4 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners.

Behaviour in school

We asked school pupils in years 7 to 13 a series of questions about behaviour in their school over the previous week (Figure 26).

A minority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (39%) said behaviour in their school over the past week had been good or very good. A small minority (22%) said that it had been poor or very poor.

The majority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (64%) said behaviour in their school over the past week had been good or very good, while very few (10%) said it had been poor or very poor.

We looked at how pupils’ ratings of the behaviour of other pupils in their school has changed over time (Figure 27).

A larger proportion of pupils in years 7 to 11 rated behaviour in their school as good or very good compared to March 2024 (32%), while this proportion was similar compared to May 2023 (40%).

A larger proportion of pupils in years 12 and 13 rated behaviour in their school as good or very good compared to March 2024 (56%), while this proportion was similar compared to May 2023 (62%).

Frequency of positive behaviours

We asked pupils in years 7 to 13 about how often certain positive behaviours had occurred in their school over the previous week of term.

The majority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (54%) said that their school had been calm and orderly every day or most days, a larger proportion than in March 2024 (48%) and a similar proportion compared to May 2023 (52%).

The majority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (65%) said that their school had been calm and orderly every day or most days. This was similar when compared to March 2024 (66%) and May 2023 (64%).

A minority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (42%) said pupils had been respectful towards each other every day or most days. This is a similar proportion compared to March 2024 (41%), but a smaller proportion compared to May 2023 (47%).

A large majority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (68%) said pupils had been respectful towards each other every day or most days. This is a similar proportion when compared to March 2024 (71%) and May 2023 (65%).

A large majority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (83%) said staff had been respectful towards each other every day or most days. This is a similar proportion compared to March 2024 (82%) and May 2023 (86%).

A large majority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (88%) said staff had been respectful towards each other every day or most days. This is a similar proportion when compared to March 2024 (87%) and May 2023 (85%).

Interruptions to learning

A large majority of pupils in years 7 to 11 (76%) and a small minority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (32%) said that the misbehaviour of other pupils had interrupted the lesson or their work in all, most or some lessons over the previous week.

Very few pupils in years 7 to 11 (3%) said that the misbehaviour of other pupils had never interrupted the lesson, while a small minority of pupils in years 12 and 13 (31%) said this.

We looked at responses to this question over time (Figure 28).

A similar proportion of pupils in years 7 to 11 said that the misbehaviour of other pupils had interrupted the lesson or their work in all, most or some lessons compared to March 2024 (72%), and May 2023 (74%).

A similar proportion of year 12 and 13 pupils said that the misbehaviour of other pupils had interrupted the lesson or their work in all, most or some lessons compared to March 2024 (33%) and May 2023 (31%).

The majority of pupils (65%) said teachers had dealt with interruptions very quickly or fairly quickly, while a small minority (28%) said this happened not very quickly or not quickly at all.

We looked at responses to this question over time (Figure 29).

A similar proportion of pupils in years 7 to 13 said that teachers had dealt with interruptions to learning very quickly or fairly quickly compared to March 2024 (61%), and May 2023 (67%).

Parental concern and communication of pupil behaviour

We asked parents how easy their child finds school rules on behaviour to follow (Figure 30).

Almost all parents of primary school pupils (92%) said their child finds it very or fairly easy to follow their school’s behaviour rules. A large majority of parents of secondary school pupils (84%) and the majority of parents of special school pupils (66%) said the same.

Almost all parents of special school pupils (93%) said the school communicates with them about their child’s behaviour, while a large majority of parents of secondary school pupils (87%) and parents of primary school pupils (80%) said the same.

Almost all parents of primary school pupils (94%) and parents of special school pupils (93%) said they knew how to raise a concern regarding their child’s behaviour at their school, while a large majority of parents of secondary school pupils (89%) said the same.

We asked parents to what extend they agree or disagree with a set of statements regarding their child’s behaviour at school. Almost all parents (91%) agreed or strongly agreed that their child understands what will happen if they don’t meet the expected standards of behaviour.

A large majority of parents (83%) agreed or strongly agreed that they are supportive of the school’s behaviour rules. Similarly, a large majority of parents (74%) agreed or strongly agreed that they are supportive of how the school’s behaviour rules are implemented.

We also asked parents to what extent they agreed that they work in a partnership with their child’s school to support their child’s behaviour (Figure 31).

A majority of parents (57%) agreed or strongly agreed that they work in a partnership with their child’s school to support their child’s behaviour.

Pupil and learner wellbeing

We asked parents and pupils a series of ONS-validated questions about personal wellbeing. These questions are known as the ‘ONS-4’ measures and are answered using a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest (e.g. most happy) and 0 being the lowest (e.g. least happy).

Happiness

Firstly, we asked pupils how happy they felt yesterday on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the happiest.

The average happiness score was 6.5 for pupils in years 7 to 11 and 6.1 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners.

These results are similar to March 2024, when the average scores were 6.6 for pupils in years 7 to 11 and 6.0 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners. Compared to May 2023, the average score was similar for pupils in years 7 to 11 (6.3) but higher for pupils in years 12 and 13 (5.6).

We also asked parents how happy their child appeared yesterday.

The average parent-reported child happiness score was 8.3 for parents of primary school pupils, 7.4 for parents of secondary school pupils, and 7.4 for parents of special school pupils.

When compared to March 2024, average parent-reported child happiness scores were similar for parents of primary school pupils (8.3), higher for parents of secondary school pupils (7.3) and lower for parents of special school pupils (7.6).

Life satisfaction

We asked pupils to what extent they are satisfied with their life, on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most satisfied.

The average satisfaction score was 6.9 for year 7 to 11 pupils, and 6.0 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners.

Average satisfaction scores were similar to March 2024, when the average score was 6.7 for year 7 to 11 pupils and 5.8 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners. They were also similar to May 2023, when the average score was 6.6 for year 7 to 11 pupils and 5.7 for year 12 and 13 pupils.

Worthwhileness

We asked pupils to what extent they feel that the things they do in their life are worthwhile, on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most worthwhile.

The average score for feeling that the things they do in their life was worthwhile was 6.9 for year 7 to 11 pupils and 6.3 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners.

Average scores for feeling that the things they do in their life are worthwhile were similar to March 2024, when the average score was 6.8 for year 7 to 11 pupils and 6.1 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners. The average score for pupils in years 7 to 11 was also similar compared to May 2023 (6.6), while the average score for pupils in years 12 and 13 was higher compared to May 2023 (5.8).

Anxiousness

We asked pupils and learners how anxious they felt yesterday on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most anxious.

The average anxiousness score was 4.2 for year 7 to 11 pupils and 5.0 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners.

The average anxiousness scores were similar to March 2024, when the average score was 4.2 for year 7 to 11 pupils and 4.7 for year 12 and 13 pupils and learners. They were also similar to May 2023, when the average score was 4.6 for pupils in years 7 to 11 and 5.3 for pupils in years 12 and 13.

We also asked parents how anxious their child appeared yesterday.

The average parent-reported child anxiousness score was 2.4 for parents of primary school pupils, 3.2 for parents of secondary school pupils, and 3.8 for parents of special school pupils.

Parent-reported child anxiousness scores were similar to March 2024, when the average scores were 2.4 for parents of primary school pupils, 3.0for parents of secondary school pupils and 3.7 for parents of special school pupils.

Loneliness

We asked pupils how often they felt lonely.

A majority of pupils in years 7 to 11 said they feel lonely some of the time or often (56%), while a large majority of pupils and learners in years 12 and 13 (68%) said the same.

The proportion of pupils in years 7 to 11 who said they feel lonely some of the time or often was similar to when last asked in March 2024 (56%) and when asked in May 2023 (57%). The proportion of pupils in years 12 and 13 who said they feel lonely some of the time or often was similar to when last asked in March 2024 (70%) and when asked in May 2023 (73%).

Glossary of terms

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

• have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
• have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions

Many children and young people who have SEND may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is ‘…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision, they will also be covered by the SEND definition. For more detail, please see the SEND Code of Practice.

Special schools

Special schools are those that provide an education for children with a special educational need or disability. Special schools with pupils aged 11 and older can specialise in 1 of the 4 areas of special educational needs:

• communication and interaction
• cognition and learning
• social, emotional and mental health
• sensory and physical needs

Schools can further specialise within these categories to reflect the special needs they help with, for example:

• autistic spectrum disorders
• visual impairment
• speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)