What’s top of your school’s Christmas list?

Traditionally the run up to Christmas is a quiet time of year for us at MTM – schools are so busy getting into the festive spirit, priorities for development are often delayed until the new year but this year there is a definite momentum building and it is great to see so many inspiring leaders passionate about delivering results.

We’ve had lots of meetings and appointments this last couple of weeks and it is great to see so many schools focussed on achieving their objectives, albeit with a festive hat on. I always think it must be great to work in schools – Christmas spans a whole month if not longer and it is wonderful to visit at this time of year.

So looking ahead, what are your school’s current priorities and what are you focussing on?
The theme we are seeing is around parental satisfaction and schools are incredibly keen to ensure they are meeting parents’ expectations. By now, your new starters have had almost a term in the school. You are most definitely wowing them with nativity performances and music concerts and have them feeling thoroughly festive and willing to help by filling out a survey.

We recommend running parent surveys every two years to allow you to understand the factors that your current parents enjoy about your school, and therefore factors that would influence a new parent to join your school. A survey questionnaire must be carefully tailored to give a fully rounded understanding of your parents. They’re an excellent way to explore:
– Parents’ reasons for choosing your school
– How parents heard about your school, and other schools that they considered
– Overall perceptions of your school and whether parents would recommend it
– How satisfied they are with your provision

The best surveys will be benchmarked against other schools and differences in feedback should be assessed at various ages and various markets.

If parent surveys are top of your Christmas list, no doubt, your parents will have the opportunity to realise their Christmas wishes too!