Gauging opinion on the UK’s current educational system

Virgin Management and Big Change used the YouGov Children’s and Parents’ Omnibus services to understand opinions of secondary school children and their parents on the current state of education. The research gained grassroots media attention, gaining coverage of the issues around this whilst helping to highlight Virgin Management’s presence in this sector and their support for the charity behind the report.

In 2019, the charity Big Change released their ‘Reimagining Education Together’ report, which explores what it will take to make educational systems work for everyone in a changing world. Big Change wanted to increase awareness of the findings of this report, and support its findings, with some research of their own. They therefore chose to ask the question – what do UK students and parents themselves think of the current state of education in this country?

Virgin Management and Big Change worked with YouGov to reach a robust sample of secondary school children and their parents, using our Children’s and Parent’s Omnibus products. The project included a nationally representative sample of 950 school children aged 11-18, and 500 parents with children in this age group.

YouGov Recontacts was able to reach 1,000 GB parents (c.400 had children under the age of seven) before the campaign and then follow up with the same audience (but not the same people) two weeks later after the campaign had launched.

The research ultimately provided Big Change with valuable information around how secondary school children best enjoy learning, and what they wish today’s schools were better preparing them for. Similarly, they were able to learn what parents wished schools were prioritising, and who they believed would be most likely to have a positive impact on educational reform.

The study’s results were showcased in a number of press releases across the country, allowing the subject to gain a substantial amount of local-level media traction. This helped Big Change to increase awareness of their report and the work that they do.

About the brand

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Soltuon Delivered by: Children and Parents RealTime service