FAQs - School and College Voice

Frequently Asked Questions

About the survey

Why is this survey taking place?

School and College Voice (SCV), formerly the School and College Panel, is a research survey designed to collect robust evidence to help the Department for Education make more effective policy. The findings from the surveys give the department invaluable insight on design, delivery, and impact of policy, as well as a better understanding of behaviours and perspectives in the sector.

To see last year’s results, please click here.

What policies did the School and College Panel inform?

All survey questions are sponsored by teams working directly on the issues at the Department for Education and the findings make a real contribution to the Department’s policymaking. For example:

"Data provided by the School and College survey made a substantial contribution to the Department for Education's business case to fund the new Wraparound Childcare Programme. The Chancellor even referenced findings from the survey in his Budget speech in the House of Commons."
Head of Wraparound Childcare Unit, Department for Education

“Last year panel members of the School and College survey helped the Department for Education build a baseline understanding of the level of awareness and uptake of technologies like ChatGPT in a representative way across the education system.”
Head of Emerging Technology, Department for Education

Who is conducting the survey?

The Department for Education has commissioned Verian to carry out this survey on their behalf. Verian is an independent research organisation and is a full member of the Market Research Society with a strong track record of conducting high quality research. To find out more about Verian, please visit www.veriangroup.com.

How are the Department for Education researchers working to reduce burden on schools and colleges?

We are mindful of the pressures schools and colleges are experiencing and, in line with the Department for Education's commitment to reduce the burden on schools, the research panel will only cover essential information that will be used to inform policy decisions. Running a regular multi-topic survey like School and College Voice helps to reduce the need for other, separate research surveys.

Taking part

Why were you selected to take part?

You have been invited to take part in this important research as you currently teach in, or are a senior leader in a school or college in England. If you are a school teacher or leader, your details were randomly selected from the School Workforce Census. This database is maintained by the Department for Education. Verian have been given permission to use the contact details for research.

Leaders from all Further Education colleges (including Sixth Form Colleges) have been invited to participate and asked to forward the survey information on to their teaching staff.

You may have been part of a former panel run by the Department for Education – the School and College Panel (SCP). The SCP has now ended, and we would very much like you to join this new panel, School and College Voice. To see last year’s results, please click here

I have taken part in the panel before, can I take part again?

Yes, we are happy for you take part in this year’s panel regardless of whether you have taken part in previous years.

It is possible you will have been asked to take part previously when the panel was called the School and College Panel (SCP).

How do I complete the survey

What do I need to do?

If you received an email or letter from us, you can complete the survey online by following the instructions provided in the email or letter you have received.

If you received an email, you can simply click on the link provided and it will take you directly to your survey.

If you received a letter, you can go to the School and College Voice survey website and enter your username and passcode from the letter we sent you in the spaces provided.

If you were sent a web link by a senior leader at your college, or received a link through another communication channel, simply click on the link and follow the instructions from there.

I don’t have a username and passcode to get into the questionnaire

All teachers and leaders in FE and sixth form colleges and heads of school sixth forms are invited to participate. If you are a teacher or leader in an FE or sixth form college, or a head of a school sixth form, please click here to take part.

Participation for teachers and leaders in primary, secondary and special schools is via invite only. If you have received an invite letter or email, and have lost your log-in details, you can call the freephone helpline on 0800 008 3249 or email us at scvoice@veriangroup.com and we will be able to give you your log in details.

How long is the questionnaire?

The questionnaire length will vary depending on what answers you give. The initial registration survey will take around 10 minutes to complete. Once you’ve signed up to the panel, the other surveys will be shorter, around 5 to 7 minutes depending on your answers.

Do I have to answer every question?

We would like you to complete as many questions as you can. However, if there is any question that you don’t know the answer to, or that you don’t feel comfortable answering, you can move on to the next question by selecting either the ‘Don’t know’ or ‘Prefer not to say’ answer option.

Your answers will be reported anonymously, meaning that it will not be possible to identify you in any published reports.

I don’t understand a question

For some questions, we have included buttons that you can click on that bring up additional information to help you. If you still don’t understand a question, please get in touch with us by calling our freephone helpline on 0800 008 3249 or emailing scvoice@veriangroup.com and we will try and help you.

I think I’ve made a mistake and answered a question incorrectly, can I go back and change my answer?

Yes, you can go back and change your answer at any question simply by clicking the back button. Please only use the next and back buttons at the bottom of the survey - do not use the forward and back buttons on your internet browser. To see what these buttons look like, please click here.

Please note that once you have completed the survey you will not be able to go back and change your answers.

Do I have to complete it all in one go?

If you were given log-in details or received a unique link via email then no, you can complete it in stages if you want to. The questionnaire will be saved automatically, so just close down your browser to leave. To come back to it, you can go to www.scvoice.co.uk and enter your username and passcode again and you will be returned to the point you left off.

However, if you are an FE or sixth form teacher or leader completing through a link sent to you by your college or sixth form leader or someone else, you will need to complete the registration survey all in one go. You will be able to complete later surveys in stages.

The questionnaire timed out

To protect the confidentiality of your answers, the questionnaire is logged out if it is left for a period of time.

If you were given login details or received a unique link via email then your answers will have been saved, so you can just log back in by going to www.scvoice.co.uk and entering your username and passcode again or by clicking on the link in the email as before and you will be returned to the point you left off.

If you are an FE teacher or leader completing through a link sent to you by your college leader or someone else, you will need to start the questionnaire again. This is because you need to complete the questionnaire all in one go.

I have entered the username and passcode, but get this message: “Our records show that you have already completed the questionnaire. Thank you for your time!”

Once you have completed the questionnaire, the survey becomes locked and it is not possible to go back in and change the answers. If you are seeing this message and don’t think you have completed the questionnaire, please contact us and we will try to help.

Can I complete the survey on my smartphone?

Yes, you can complete the survey on your smartphone or any other device, including a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

I have completed my survey, but you still sent me a reminder

It might be that you completed the survey after we checked our records and sent out the reminder. Our apologies - if you completed the survey online we will have safely received your answers.

Confidentiality and data protection

Is the information I provide safe online?

We take our responsibilities to keep your personal information secure very seriously. As such we take every reasonable precaution to ensure your information is protected from loss, theft, or misuse. We use a secure Website (HTTPS) to ensure that your data is protected. This is the same type of website that you would generally see when shopping online.

As part of our commitment to the security of your information, Verian has regular internal and external audits of its information security and is accredited to the International Standard for Information Security, ISO 27001.

Will anyone at my school or college know that I have taken part?

No. Only researchers at Verian and the Department for Education will know that you have taken part in the survey.

What about cookies?

This web questionnaire detects your device’s operating system, screen resolution and the browser you are using in order to adjust the questionnaire to best suit your system. This is done by the use of a cookie created on your computer. This information is returned to us and stored for statistical purposes only. We do not collect or store any personal information through cookies. It is possible for you to delete cookies or to prevent their use by adjusting the browser settings on your computer.

Is this survey confidential?

Yes. Your answers and personal details will be kept in the strictest confidence and stored electronically on a secure server. Your answers to the questionnaire will be used for research purposes only. Only researchers at Verian and the Department for Education will know what you have said. All statistics will be reported anonymously, meaning that it will not be possible to identify you in any published reports. You will not receive any ‘junk mail’ as a result of taking part. Verian comply with a range of security policy requirements, including those set by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct, the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What if I disclose sensitive information?

We take our responsibility to keep your survey answers confidential very seriously. However, if we believe you or anyone around you is in direct threat of harm as a result of something you’ve disclosed, we may email you to advise you on where you could go for support. In the most serious cases, where a safeguarding issue concerning a child or young person has been raised, we may contact the designated safeguarding lead at your organisation. This will only happen in the most serious circumstances, and Verian will always contact the Department for Education before doing so.

Data Protection

Taking part is voluntary and any information you give us will be used only with your consent. Your answers will be processed in compliance with the Data Protection Action 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation.

For more information about how we keep your data safe, click here.

What will happen to the results of the surveys?

Your answers will be grouped with all the answers from thousands of others who take part in the research. The results will be written up in published reports in which it will be impossible to identify you or your individual answers. Quotes from individual written survey responses may be published, however these will be fully anonymous, with any personal identifiers removed. For more information on your privacy, please visit www.scvoice.co.uk/privacypolicy.html. To see last year’s results, please click here.

Contact us

If you would like any further details about the survey or have any issues completing the survey you can email us at scvoice@veriangroup.com or call our dedicated helpline team between 9am and 5pm on Monday to Friday on 0800 008 3249.

Please have your reference number to hand. You will be able to find your reference number on the letter or email we sent to you. If you no longer have the letter or email, please contact us on the above details and we will try to help you.

If a member of the team is not available to take your call, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Please leave your telephone number, full name and the reference number from the top of your invitation email or letter.