PANELS
Let us know what headteachers really think
EdComs Guardian Heads who have already taken part say...
'This has been the most user friendly survey I've taken part in...'
'...It made me think. I will be interested to see how they compare with other Heads'
'I enjoyed so much being asked what I thought of things - this just doesn't happen enough!'
The Guardian and EdComs (a leading educational research consultancy) have launched a termly, nationwide, independent survey of 1000 headteachers and school leaders.
We want this survey to paint the real picture of what's going on in our schools, direct from the people that know and understand those schools the best. Findings will be shared with everyone who takes part - enabling you to understand what your colleagues are thinking and doing about a range of issues from the latest political initiative to dealing with the daily grind.
We'll also show the findings (but not your details) to a small number of organisations, with a view to influencing education policy. Where there are burning issues that need to be voiced on a national platform, we plan to take up the debate in the Guardian.
If you need more details about Headspace before registering, you can follow the FAQ links that appear after this registration section at the bottom of the page.
To take part, register your details here. All your details will remain secure, i.e. they will not be passed on to any other organisations. (Go to Will my information be used for anything else? for more information on data protection).
FAQs
For more details about Headspace follow these links.
- What's in it for me?
- What's involved in taking part?
- Who can take part?
- What types of questions will be asked?
- What will happen to the results?
- Why are the Guardian and EdComs doing this?
- Will my information be used for anything else?
What's in it for me?
We'll share the main survey findings with all headteachers and school leaders who respond to the survey. Having talked with a number of headteachers about what they would be looking for from a survey of this kind, we found that the main attraction would be to see what other schools were experiencing and how they were dealing with issues that everyone holds in common. So, we'll send you the results - in a comprehensible and easy to read format - approximately a month after each survey is completed. We want to keep the survey current, and alive, so we can debate the issues as they arise.
We want the survey to evolve into an informed, important and influential discussion about the issues school leaders are tackling. With this in mind, the headteachers' associations and the Guardian will be encouraging discussion about the questions that emerge. We think that the survey and the ensuing discussion can have a really important role to play in informing education policy. We'd welcome all school leaders to take part in that discussion.
We plan to host an end of year event where headteachers, unions, associations and policy makers will come together to share understanding and discuss the points that have arisen.
What's involved in taking part?
The survey is conducted online and takes place termly (just after half term. It will take a maximum of half an hour to complete online. You can save your results part way through and come back to them later.
Once the survey has launched, everyone who is registered will be sent an email, informing you that the survey is live. You will have approximately three weeks to complete the survey, and we will send you a couple of email reminders during this period. We know you are busy, so we have no intention of -spamming- you with emails.
Once you've completed the survey, you'll submit it online - and then we get to work analysing your results. Approximately a month later, we'll send you the findings in a comprehensible and concise report via email, and let you know how / where you can continue the discussion - if you so wish.
We will run waves of the survey termly. You are under no obligation whatsoever to take part in each wave of the survey over the course of the year but we hope that you will continue to take part. We'll send you an email when each wave of survey launches, around half term every term, to let you know it has gone live (provided you have not opted out of the survey altogether).
Who can take part?
People:
- Primary headteachers (or deputy heads who are involved in the management of the school)
- Secondary headteachers
- Secondary school leaders eg deputy heads and in some cases assistant heads (ie anyone on the school management team who can speak with authority on all aspects of the school)
School types / location:
- Any school within the UK and Northern Ireland can take part - including, special schools, state and independent schools. We don�t want to exclude any schools from taking part.
What types of questions will be asked?
We want to ask questions that school leaders want to answer, which address issues that you are interested in discussing. To ensure that we succeed in that aim, we have worked with headteachers to devise and review the questions.
Some questions will be asked on every survey, so that we can track leaders' views on key issues over long stretches of time. We will also pick out important themes to explore in greater depth. There might be hot political topics such as curriculum changes (e.g. the 14-19 reforms), or aspects of daily school life such as budget pressures and discipline problems. So some questions will remain the same from one term to the next while specific themes will change from one survey to the next. The way the online survey is set up will ensure that you don't answer questions that aren't relevant to your school type, ie primary heads will not answer questions on secondary schools, except in very special instances where we believe that a topic is fundamental - irrespective of school type.
What will happen to the results?
Those headteachers and school leaders who respond to the survey will be sent a copy of the main findings (see What's in it for me?). School leaders have told us that access to the results would be an important and valuable tool for them. Through sharing the results, we aim to generate a constructive debate amongst school leaders.
To help towards covering the costs of running a survey of this size and scope, a small number of sponsor organisations (both private and public sector) will have access to the results on the following basis:
- The survey adheres strictly to the Guardian's editorial policy, namely that it is editorially independent;
- We do not believe in the commercialisation of children - no organisations that we believe do this shall have access to the findings;
- We will not reveal to any organisations (including headteachers' associations) names of school leaders who have responded to the survey, and they will categorically not have access to your personal data;
- The number of organisations will remain limited, and they will only be able to use the findings for internal purposes.
Why are the Guardian and EdComs doing this?
This project is not about generating stories for the Guardian (although where there are important issues that need to be raised in a national context, we will not shy away from raising them in the paper).
We have launched this survey because we are concerned that there is at present no comprehensive, UK-wide and genuinely impartial research focusing on school leaders' views. Education sits at the heart of both the Guardian and EdComs' values. EdComs has a wealth of experience in working with education professionals. The Guardian prides itself on being an independent source for teaching professionals. This survey therefore seems a natural extension of the Guardian's commitment to an intelligent and well-informed debate. It also wants to take an independent lead in helping headteachers arrive at a common understanding of their priorities and concerns.
Will my information be used for anything else?
Your name and contact details will remain secure:
- the Guardian, EdComs and ICM (who are administering the online survey on behalf of the Guardian and EdComs) will not pass your details onto any other organisation;
- your name, or school name, will not be used in conjunction with any reporting on this survey, in any wave;
- your name, or school name, will not be used for any other purposes except:
- for emailing you the link to the survey, whether in the first wave or subsequent waves, unless you request otherwise;
- to carry out quality control checks, i.e. your name, or school name, will not be used in conjunction with any reporting on this survey, but you / your school may be telephoned as part of a random check to ensure that only headteachers and school leaders are registering;
- Other details you provide on the registration site will only be used to monitor the types of schools we have in our sample.
