Methodology
How we carried out the research
The Parent Voice Project combines large-scale polling with in-depth focus groups to build a clear, representative picture of what parents think about education in England, and to track how their views change over time.
All research was conducted by Public First, following the professional standards of the British Polling Council (BPC) and the Market Research Society (MRS).
Polling
The Parent Voice Project is based on two nationally representative online surveys of parents of school-aged children in England.
The first survey was conducted between 6 and 24 June 2025 with 6,199 respondents. The second survey was conducted between 2 and 23 July 2026 with 6,016 respondents.1
Both surveys polled a nationally representative sample of parents of children aged 4 to 19 in full-time education in England. The 2026 survey repeated 28 questions from the 2025 survey, allowing us to track changes in parents’ experiences and attitudes year-on-year towards areas such as:
- Their experiences of school life;
- Perceptions of school quality and purpose;
- Views on behaviour, wellbeing and mental health;
- Costs, trips and wraparound care;
- Extracurricular activities and enrichment; and
- Communication and school choice.
The 2026 poll also included new questions on areas including parents’ evenings, admissions and destinations.
To ensure results were representative:
- Results were weighted by gender, region, ethnicity and education level;
- All participants were verified as parents or carers of school-aged children;
- Respondents completed attention and quality checks.
As with all opinion polling, findings carry a margin of error, which becomes larger for smaller sub-groups.
Full polling tables for this research are available on Public First’s website.
Focus groups
Alongside the survey, Public First conducted a series of online focus groups for each report in the project. Each round includes groups with parents of school-aged children (4-19), recruited independently to include a mix of demographic characteristics. Sessions are led by trained moderators, recorded and transcribed with consent.
Quotations used in reports come directly from these transcripts and are anonymised. Where demographics are included, they are described in broad terms only.
All research is conducted in line with Public First’s ethical research framework and Market Research Society guidelines.