DCSF Customer Perception Survey

BMG (commissioned by the DCSF) have undertaken this customer perception survey by interviewing 1000 respondents across the UK (a sample designed to be broadly representative of the general public). The survey is structured on the 6 Department Strategic Objectives which the DCSF have.

Key points:

- 65% believe it is very important that 3-4 year olds attend some form of pre-school.

- 80% believe that bullying is a problem in schools, to some degree. Females being more likely to assert this claim.

- The majority of respondents feel that all situations are safe for young people during the day, although opinion is divided when considering situations for young people at night.

- The majority of general public respondents feel that the current quality of publicly funded education is good, with a minority rating any stage as poor to any degree.

- Respondents were most likely to rate the current quality of university or higher education as good as almost nine in ten gave a positive rating here (87%). This is followed by the younger education stages as nurseries, pre-schools and early learning were rated positively by 85%, while 84% feel that the quality of primary education is good. 6th Form colleges or Further Education colleges were felt to provide good quality education by 81%. Secondary schools were most likely to be rated as very or quite poor, by a third of general public respondents (34%), although still the majority of respondents rate secondary schools as good (66%).

- The majority of respondents feel that pupil behaviour is generally good (30%) or acceptable (40%), while around a quarter (27%) feels that it is poor.

- Seven in ten respondents agree that England is a good country for children to grow up in, while just over a quarter disagree that this is the case.