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.
All research was conducted by Public First, following the professional standards of the British Polling Council (BPC) and the Market Research Society (MRS).
Polling
In June 2025, Public First ran a nationally representative online survey of 6,199 parents of children aged 4 to 19 in full-time education in England, conducted between 6th and 24th June 2025.1
Parents answered 102 questions covering:
- 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.
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 conducts 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.