undertaken in March 2005

by

© THE SCHOOLS MARKETING PARTNERSHIP MMV
The Old Rectory, Trull TA3 7JT www.schoolsmarketing.com

The sense of school community and lack of pretence creates

a good atmosphere and environment for learning

We are delighted with our son’s level of enthusiasm for everything;

the teachers have really ‘engaged’ his interest

Unlike local schools, pupils are not made to feel it is ‘uncool’ to learn and try hard

Strong, dynamic, enthusiastic, committed leadership from the Headmaster

The ambience is welcoming, there is a family atmosphere,

yet the school is demanding but not elitist

I would have no hesitation in recommending Dauntsey’s. It is friendly, relaxed - and

a dynamic school. We like its easy-going yet organized style.

It seems to have clear and visionary leadership and approachable staff

There is a culture of achievement and encouragement of individual strengths

The children are happy, enthusiastic and enjoy going to school

I would recommend the school in terms of finding the

individual’s strengths rather than being a solely academic establishment

My child is very enthusiastic about all aspects of the school

It is a good all round school and produces really well balanced young adults

(C) THE SCHOOLS MARKETING PARTNERSHIP MMII
PO Box 300, Taunton TA3 7YX
info@goodmarketing.co.uk

INTRODUCTION

Dauntsey’s School has always regarded parental views as important and from the results

of similar research undertaken in February 2002 the School was confident that it was

meeting the expectations of its parent body in providing academic excellence in a caring

supportive community. Nevertheless, the School’s Governors, its Headmaster and his

senior management felt that it would be both valuable and responsible to once again give

parents the opportunity to express their opinions in a formal, and independently assessed

way. They felt such research should not look solely at the school’s academic provision

but also at all the other key ‘non tangible’ aspects that are essential in providing an allround

education to the boys and girls within the school.

Accordingly, it commissioned THE SCHOOLS MARKETING PARTNERSHIP (SMP), a well-respected

consultancy specialising in the independent sector of education, to undertake postal

research in early 2005. A total of 42% of parents responded which is about the level of

response SMP would expect. Some verbatim quotes from parents responding to the

survey can be found on the front of this synopsis.

THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH

The following represents a condensed version of the document provided by THE SCHOOLS

MARKETING PARTNERSHIP to the School’s Senior Management, which summarised the

consultancy’s conclusions. This summary has been provided by SMP and is shown here

unedited.

1. Dauntsey’s is clearly seen as a school providing an excellent all-round education in

a family-friendly, caring environment that contributes to the high academic

achievement the School secures.

2. Parents see the main strength of the School as the provision of an all-round

education, followed by its high academic standards and caring atmosphere.

3. Further strengths cited by respondents were the wide range of extra-curricular

activities, the sports and recreational facilities, highly motivated and committed

teaching staff and the drama and music departments.

4. Very few weaknesses were identified by parents. The standard of teaching, in

certain subject areas, the lack of opportunities for sport for all and high school fees

were mentioned by 11%, 9% and 6% of respondents respectively.

5. Overall parents are very happy with the quality of teaching with 53% of

respondents giving a ‘very good’ rating which is well above SMP’s average score of

48% amongst other independent schools. Teachers were praised for their

dedication and for the enthusiasm for learning they instil in the pupils. As

individual subjects however, Art, IT, French and Physics did receive some negative

comments.

6. Encouraging for the School is the fact that 82% of respondents felt their child’s

ability to learn had increased since joining Dauntsey’s and similarly 72% felt there

had been an increase in their child’s enthusiasm for learning. Overall parents seem

very satisfied with the breadth of the curriculum although 12% wished to see

Psychology offered and 10% felt Food Technology should be taught.

7. Parents seem very satisfied with the quality of the formal written reports they

receive about their child’s progress – 90% believing them to be either ‘excellent’ or

‘good’. 76% felt the quality of Parent/Teacher meetings was either ‘excellent’ or

‘good’ but there does seem to be some dissatisfaction with the frequency and

organisation of the meetings with 17% of respondents complaining about lengthy

queuing times and the lack of an appointment system.

8. Pastoral care is a major strength of the School, with 84% of respondents judging

this aspect to be either ‘very well’ or ‘well’ handled and of these, 57% gave a rating

of ‘very well’ handled which is higher than SMP’s average of 48% amongst its other

independent school clients.

9. The wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer seems to be appreciated by

parents with 93% rating the provision as ‘very good’ or ‘good’. Of these 58% gave a

rating of ‘very good’ which is significantly higher than SMP’s average of 40%. Parents

are full of praise for ‘Moonrakers’ and the School’s tall ship the ‘Jolie Brise’. There

were, however, some negative comments on the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme

as run by the School.

10. 92% of respondents felt the Sixth Form facilities and provision were either ‘very good’

or ‘good’ although only 29% of respondents felt the Sixth Form options had been

‘very well’ explained. Just under two-thirds of parents (65%) felt the standard of

careers and Higher Education advice to be either ‘very good’ or ‘good’ with 32% of

these giving a rating of ‘very good’, significantly higher than SMP’s average of 23%.

11. There was a mixed response to the School’s website with some parents finding it

very informative and useful whilst others felt it was not easy to navigate and was not

kept up-to-date.

12. The School is undoubtedly keeping its fee-paying parents happy, with a high 99% of

respondents being satisfied with their child’s overall development and of these 78%

were ‘very satisfied’ which is the highest score ever recorded by SMP, the average

amongst other schools being 49%. 96% of parents also believed Dauntsey’s offers

good value for money although there were some comments from 11% about school

fees being expensive.

13. The School’s friendly atmosphere is the over-riding reason why parents seem to have

finally chosen Dauntsey’s. This does not come as a surprise given the numerous

references to this throughout the research.

14. Encouraging for the School is the overwhelming confirmation by parents (97%) that

they would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ recommend Dauntsey’s to other parents.

Indeed, 83% of these parents would ‘definitely’ recommend the School which is the

second highest score, on this aspect that SMP has ever recorded.

THE SCHOOLS MARKETING PARTNERSHIP May 2005

About the School

Further Highlights

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