Education Survey & Research Service

The Support Staff Survey

This survey is designed to explore the views of a wide range of support staff (including administrative, technical, domestic, and classroom support staff). The survey looks at what support staff have to say about their working environment, the school organisation and their relationships with pupils and teachers.    They are asked about the extent to which their work is valued, their professional development and support and their level of job satisfaction. 

Outcomes

.

Participant schools are provided with a full feedback report containing:

  • an executive summary
  • a discussion of the analysis findings which compares a school's findings to either the Keele EdSRS database averages or a school's previous findings
  • an analysis of individual questions
  • comparative data in diagrammatic form
  • an edited transcript of free text comments made by support staff. (Note: comments may be amended to maintain confidentiality and protect individuals from identification.)
  • a summary of findings tabulated (where available) with findings of previous Keele surveys at the school.

.

As with all stakeholders, follow-up surveys conducted with support staff can yield longitudinal data, highlighting changes over time. 

Methodology

.

All members of the support staff are invited to contribute confidentially to the support staff survey, which is usually completed online (but if preferred can be provided in paper format). The questionnaire covers the following aspects of school life which influence the quality of support staff’s work experience:
.
School quality

  • The school’s reputation in the community
  • Staff morale

.

School environment, resources and ethos

  • Safety and security
  • Resources

.

The work and working arrangements of the support staff

  • Induction process

.

The teachers and working relationships between teaching and non-teaching staff

  • Teaching colleagues’ attitudes to support staff
  • Status of support staff

.

The pupils

  • Pupils’ attitudes to support staff
  • Pupil/pupil relationships

.

Professional development and support

  • Access to training and skills acquisition
  • Appraisal of job performance

.

Leadership and management

  • Information dissemination and communication in the school
  • Support staff involvement in school development