Overcoming barriers

Half the pupil recruitment battle is already won if target parents are receptive to the idea of private education. Although this is a statement of the obvious, as parents who send or consider send their children to an independent school are self-selecting and clearly already open to the idea of a private education for their children, there are other parents the independent sector misses.

It is clear that there are many untapped parents across the country, who often come from the same backgrounds as those who already send their children, who are resistant to the idea of a private education.

It is therefore in independent schools’ interest to find out the reasons why this is so, and our telephone and online surveys are a good way of feeling the pulse of parents in a catchment area.

Here are some of the reasons our surveys have highlighted:

• Habit/family tradition: One reason why some families send their children to independent schools is because the parents and generations before them went to the same or similar schools. Conversely, there are parents who can afford the fees or are not anti private education per se who have simply never considered it because they and no one in their family has ever been in private education.

• Class: Linked to this is the idea that it is ‘not for the likes of us’. Parents’ idea of who they are and where they come from can be at variance with their idea of who private education is for (often derived from popular fiction, newspapers, television and films), which can put them off independent schools, often unfairly.

• Ideological: Related to this, some parents reject private education on ideological grounds, often related to their political beliefs. They can feel that private education has no place in the modern world, is old-fashioned and backward, and is ‘unfair’ or elitist. This sometimes merges into the previous point as many parents get their picture of private education solely from often misleading media sources like Harry Potter.

• Ignorance: Some parents are simply unaware a private-sector alternative exists in their area. Others are sometimes not aware of what a private education can offer their child above the state-sector alternative or have a very misleading idea of what is on offer, again from popular stereotypes.

• The alternatives: Often, the state sector is of a sufficiently high standard or well regarded in an area. Many parents do not see why they should pay extra when there is a good, free alternative.

• Factors specific to an area: Finally, there are sometimes very local factors at play affecting only that area that only a local survey will reveal. For instance, in one area religious affiliation was important and parents wanted to send their children to schools of those denominations (although reputation was also a factor).

It is clear that schools in the independent sector have to find better ways of overcoming these barriers. Better publicity and more thought about how to sell education that has to be paid for are clearly two avenues to consider. This is where mtmconsulting can help.

To find out more about what our research and marketing teams can do to help you get to those difficult-to-reach parents, call James on 01502 722787 or email james@emrsolutions.co.uk.

mtmconsulting is a brand of Education Market Research Solutions Ltd.