The small things in life…

The small things in life… featured image
25 February 2012

Parental satisfaction surveys are an excellent way of gauging how your school is perceived by your ‘customers’, revealing your strengths and also priorities for improvement. At mtmconsulting we have conducted such surveys in excess of 70 schools, and beyond the major provision issues (teaching quality, academic outcomes, pastoral care etc) we have discovered that it is often the small things which can make all the difference – and it may be that the things which really niggle parents are relatively easy to fix (and for zero cost!). When budgets are tighter than ever, it is essential to optimise your offering, especially as word of mouth recommendation is by far your best marketing tool; we have included some brief suggestions below to get you thinking about where you might be able to score a ‘quick win’.

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A Weathered Customer Parking Only Sign

Is parking an issue for your parents? Why not consider some simple steps to alleviate parental stress?

Parking – try a one way system, introduce designated drop off zones, consider staged entry / finish times (although this can cause its own problems with siblings in different years!). Tell parents you recognise the problems and are looking at possible solutions – even ask for suggestions.

Communication – allocate responsibility to a single member of staff to collect relevant details on sports fixture, music practice, up-coming events etc and create a weekly email to all parents. Make sure your website is always kept up to date. Create a designated ‘Head@’ email address if you haven’t already got one. Make sure you communicate any changes about school provision or staffing in an honest and timely manner.

Uniform – ask your ‘Friends’ or parental committee to organise a quality second hand sale or integrate it into an existing Fete. Make sure your supplier is providing excellent customer service, great quality and good value for money.

Visibility – ensure the head or a member of SMT is visible and accessible at drop off / pick up to greet and talk to parents. This is more important to parents than you may realise.

Food – have you been in to the kitchens and dining room lately? Make sure that your school is providing the very best you can for your budget and check you would be happy to eat the food yourself.

Some issues such as parking / site restrictions may have no real long term solution or money to pay for them, but the fact that they have been recognised and that some attempts to fix them have been seen, will go a long way to improve parental perceptions – the small things in life really do count.

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