School Opinion Survey FAQs

What is the School Opinion Survey?

School Opinion Surveys canvass the views of parents/caregivers, students and school staff from every state school on what our schools do well and how they can improve.

There are 4 different confidential surveys:

• parents/caregivers
• students
• students in special schools
• school staff.

Opinions on the school, student learning and student wellbeing are sought from a parent/caregiver in all families and students in selected year levels from each state school.

Opinions on the school as a workplace are sought from all state school staff and principals with additional questions for teaching staff on their confidence to teach and improve student outcomes. Principals are also asked for their perceptions about how well the department supports them to lead their school and manage their health and wellbeing.

Who is surveyed?

Respondents include:

• Parents/caregivers—every family in the school with a child enrolled in kindy to Year 12.
• Students—all students from Years 5, 6, 8 and 11 will be invited to participate in survey. However, in some smaller schools, students in Years 4, 7, 9 or 10 may also be invited to participate.
• Students in special schools—the survey is administered to students at the principal's discretion.
• Staff—all principals, teaching and non-teaching school staff employed during the survey period. This survey includes permanent, temporary, casual, part-time and full-time staff and excludes staff on leave during the survey period.

When is the survey conducted?

The survey is conducted in Term 3 so that most respondents have had sufficient experience of the school to provide considered opinions and so that all parents/caregivers have had the opportunity to experience school-based reporting. This also gives sufficient time for schools to respond to the survey results during the current school year.

When should the survey be completed?

Ideally, all surveys should be completed during the first survey week. The online surveys remain open slightly longer to increase response rates.

Completed parent/caregiver survey paper forms should be returned to the school as early as possible to ensure that responses contribute to the results provided back to the school.

Who administers the survey?

The survey is processed by the Queensland Department of Education (the department). This includes administration of the online surveys, processing and reporting. Invitation emails are distributed by the Surveys Team in the central office of the department.

Is it compulsory to do the survey?

Participation in the survey is voluntary. Respondents are strongly encouraged to provide their opinions so the survey results are representative of the opinions at each school.

How will individual responses make a difference?

Survey results are used to assess and investigate how well schools are doing and to identify areas for improvement. If you are a parent/caregiver or student, your responses can shape better learning environments. If you are a staff member, your responses can be used to make a better workplace.

Who will see the survey responses?

Personal details such as email address are used for the distribution of invitations and identification of duplicate responses. All personal details are removed and deleted from your responses prior to data storage and reporting.

Will feedback remain confidential?

Your responses will be strictly confidential and the information is used in ways which protect individual responses. All responses are protected by the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). The department is legally bound to ensure that no identifying information is published or released. Personal details such as email address are used for the distribution of invitations and identification of duplicates. All personal details are removed and deleted from your responses prior to data storage and reporting.

Why does the survey ask for personal information?

The survey collects general background information to analyse the survey results in different ways, such as differences in responses between groups, like teaching and non-teaching school staff or students in different year levels. Strict confidentiality rules are applied to any reporting of these groups, so that even in very small schools, confidentiality is maintained. Data is not reported if an individual's responses can be identified.

What happens to the paper forms?

A small number of remote schools have access to paper forms for the parent survey. All completed paper forms are forwarded by schools to central office for processing.

Where is the survey data stored?

All survey responses are treated confidentially and stored securely. As part of the department's adherence to record keeping requirements:

• paper forms are archived and stored for a period of 5 years before they are securely destroyed
• online responses are stored securely on departmental servers with access restricted to a small number of central office staff.

When are the survey results available?

Survey results are scheduled for release in Term 4 each year.

Reports for individual schools are distributed in early Term 4 and may be requested directly from your school.

How will the results be used?

Towards the end of the school year, each school receives a summary report for their school. Schools can share their results in different ways, including in the school annual report.

The department also reports system level data (for example, for all schools) in the department's annual report as stakeholder satisfaction is a key performance indicator.

How long does it take to complete the survey?

This varies, however it usually takes less than 10 minutes.

How can the survey be accessed?

• Parents/caregivers—an invitation to complete the parent/caregiver survey is emailed to 1 parent/caregiver per family in the week before the survey opens. The invitation is sent from the department, not the school. If a family has more than 1 parent/caregiver, check that your child’s other parent/s haven’t received the invitation and/or check your junk email folder. Some parents (in remote areas) receive a paper form but have the option to complete the paper form or complete the survey online.
• Students—students in Years 5, 6, 8 and 11 receive an invitation email with a unique link to complete the online survey. In very small schools, students in Years 4, 7, 9 and 10 may also be invited to participate.
• Students in special schools—special schools receive an email containing a generic link for their students to access the online survey.
• Staff—staff receive an invitation email with a unique link to complete the online survey.

What if it is difficult to respond to a survey statement?

Each survey is made up of a series of statements. It is understood that it may be difficult to select a single response for some statements when an opinion is not clearly one way or the other. Respondents are encouraged to select a single response that best represents their views most of the time. A response that is close to what a respondent thinks is more useful than no response at all.

If a respondent cannot respond to a statement or feels that a statement is not relevant, they are asked to select the 'unable to comment' response and move to the next statement.

Parents/caregivers with more than 1 child enrolled at the respective school should answer the survey with their eldest child in mind.

Can the survey be completed without internet access?

Online access to the survey is only available with a valid survey link and access to the internet (e.g. at home, at work, at school, etc.). The survey can be completed on any computer, tablet or smart phone with internet access. Schools are encouraged to make computer and internet facilities available for parents/caregivers who do not have ready access to the internet at home. Contact the Survey Team on free call 1800 067 971 if you require assistance with completing the survey over the phone.

Can the survey be viewed before filling it in?

It is not possible to browse through the online survey before filling it in. However, it is possible to go back and forth between the online pages. Once the 'submit' button has been selected, it is not possible to review or change responses.

Can the online survey be accessed multiple times?

It is possible to go in and out of the online survey using the provided survey link so long as the 'submit' button has not been selected at the end of the survey. After the 'submit' button has been selected, it is no longer possible to review or change survey responses.

What happens if a parent/caregiver completes both a paper survey and an online survey?

If a parent/caregiver submits a paper survey and an online survey, the responses from the online survey will be used for analysis and reporting purposes.

Who is the survey contact?

If you have any questions or concerns about the School Opinion Survey that cannot be resolved by your school, please email SchoolOpinionSurvey@qed.qld.gov.au.

Can additional feedback be provided on the survey?

The School Opinion Survey gathers feedback on targeted focus areas to inform continuous improvement at the school and system level. The survey is not designed to collect information of a specific nature through open text fields.

Should you have more specific feedback or concerns about your school or the schooling system, we recommend the following approach.

1. Contact your school—school contact details are available by phoning 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or searching the Schools Directory.
2. Contact your school’s regional office if you feel uncomfortable raising your concerns directly with your school. You can find your school’s regional office on the Schools Directory.
3. If you have a specific complaint (PDF, 1.4MB) and all other avenues of enquiry have been exhausted, the department’s complaints process can be followed.