Bullying At Secondary Schools Is A Top Concern For Parents
Ipsos's research conducted on behalf of Parentline Plus reveals what people think are some of the main factors parents and children consider when choosing a secondary school and the main concerns for parents once their children start secondary school.
Bullying is believed to be the top concern for parents when sending their children to secondary school (53%). Other important concerns are: whether the child will indulge in substance abuse i.e. drinking, drugs and smoking (20%), whether the child will be happy (17%), make friends (15%) and face peer pressure (13%).
The factors considered to be weighed up the most by parents and children when choosing a secondary school are: a school's academic performance (44%), reputation (35%), location (34%), distance from home (21%) and academic opportunities (17%). A number of other factors are considered as well - availability of good facilities, class size and the school's values.
Topline Results
- Results based on 2,117 face to face interviews conducted with adults aged 15+ in Great Britain.
- Fieldwork was conducted from 12th April - 19th April 2006.
- Results are based on all respondents (2,117) unless otherwise stated.
- Data weighted to the known profile of Great Britain.
- Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses or computer rounding.
- An asterisk (*) represents a value below 0.5%, but not zero.
Q1 What, if anything, do you think are the factors that parents and their children weigh up the most when choosing a secondary school for their child? And what else?
| % | |
|---|---|
| School's academic performance | 44 |
| Reputation | 35 |
| Location | 34 |
| Teaching standards | 27 |
| Distance from home | 21 |
| Academic Opportunities | 17 |
| Good facilities i.e. computers | 8 |
| Class size | 7 |
| The school's value | 7 |
| How easy/difficult it is for the child to get there (whether trains, tubes or buses need to be taken) | 5 |
| Where the child's friends are going | 5 |
| Provision for extra-curricular activities (dramatics, debates, sports, computer facilities) | 4 |
| Whether it's a faith school (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Islamic) | 3 |
| School's specialisms (i.e. arts or sciences) | 3 |
| Convenient school hours | 2 |
| That it's ethnically mixed | 2 |
| Whether the school selects pupils by ability/aptitude | 1 |
| Whether it's mixed sex | 1 |
| Vocational opportunities | 1 |
| Whether the child has to wear a school uniform | 1 |
| Whether it's single sex | * |
| That it's not ethnically mixed | * |
| Provision for breakfast clubs/after school clubs/school holiday clubs | * |
| Nothing | 1 |
| Other | 18 |
| Parents don't get a choice | 1 |
| Don't know | 8 |
Q2 What, if anything, do you think parents worry about most when their child starts secondary school?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Getting bullied | 53 |
| Drinking / drugs / smoking | 20 |
| Whether the child will be happy there | 17 |
| Making friends | 15 |
| Peer pressure | 13 |
| Getting in with the wrong crowd | 13 |
| Whether the child will do well academically | 11 |
| What they will learn at school | 8 |
| Whether the child will achieve to the best of their abilities | 8 |
| Coping with work pressure / work load / exams | 7 |
| Struggling academically | 6 |
| Coping with homework | 5 |
| Coping with new subjects | 5 |
| Whether the child will come out a well-rounded person | 3 |
| Coping with extra-curricular activities | 2 |
| Suffering from racism | 2 |
| Nothing | 2 |
| Other | 18 |
| Don't know | 7 |
