82% against 71%: how happy parents are with school depends on how they vote
What happened
A survey of more than 6,000 parents in England has found that satisfaction with schools splits along an unexpected line. The research was carried out by the polling company Public First as part of its Parent Voice Project, founded by Fiona Forbes, and was reported on 22 September 2026. Most parents are happy with their child's school. That is the headline finding and it is worth stating first. But the level of happiness varied by how parents said they would vote. Among Labour-voting parents, 82% said they were happy or very happy with their child's school. Among Conservative voters, 81%. Among Green voters, 73%. Among Reform voters, 71%. A similar pattern appeared on the quality of education. Labour 77%, Conservative 73%, Green 62%, Reform 59%. Contact with school differed too. Half of Labour-voting parents had been in touch with their child's school in the past year, compared with 33% of Green voters and 29% of Reform voters. On children's mental health, the split reversed in a different way. Asked whether children's mental health is getting worse, 36% of both Labour and Conservative parents agreed, against 49% of Reform and Liberal Democrat parents and 55% of Green parents. Parents also disagreed about what school is for. Among Reform-voting parents, 39% said school prepares children for work. Among Green voters, 23%. "I expected the clearest differences to fall between left and right," said Fiona Forbes. "Instead, one of the most consistent patterns in our survey cuts across that divide."
Why this matters
The pattern here is not left against right. It is parties of government against parties of protest. Labour and Conservative voters, whose parties have run the education system between them for decades, gave similar and relatively positive answers. Green and Reform voters, whose parties have not, were consistently more negative, despite disagreeing with each other about almost everything else. That is a meaningful finding for anyone trying to understand public trust in schools. It suggests that satisfaction with education is bound up with broader feelings about whether institutions work, rather than with a particular view about phonics or uniforms. The contact figures are the most practically useful part. Half of Labour-voting parents had contacted their child's school in the past year, against under a third of Reform voters. That gap matters because contact is how problems get solved. A parent who rings the school when something goes wrong usually gets something done. A parent who does not may end up with the same problem and a growing sense that nobody is listening. Which raises an uncomfortable question for schools: is lower satisfaction among some groups partly a communication failure rather than a difference of opinion?
What the evidence actually says
This is a large survey, and size is a real strength. More than 6,000 parents is well beyond what most education polling manages, which means the subgroup breakdowns are more reliable than usual. Several cautions apply. This is polling, not measurement. It records what parents said about their satisfaction, not how good the schools actually are. A parent can be delighted with a struggling school or unhappy with an excellent one. Correlation is not explanation. Voting intention is tangled up with age, income, region, ethnicity and the type of school a child attends. Reform and Green voters differ from Labour and Conservative voters in many ways besides how they vote, and any of those could be doing the work. The survey shows the pattern; it does not explain it. Some of the gaps are modest. The difference between 82% and 71% is real, but both figures describe a clear majority of parents who are happy. It would be wrong to read this as one group being satisfied and another dissatisfied. Public First is a commercial research and consultancy firm. The Parent Voice Project appears to be a continuing series rather than a one-off, which is a strength for tracking change over time. And on mental health, the question asked whether parents believe children's mental health is getting worse. That measures belief, not children's mental health.
Practical advice
The most actionable finding here is about contact, so that is where to start. - If something is wrong, contact the school early. Waiting rarely helps, and small problems are easier to fix than large ones. - Ask the school how it prefers to be contacted and who the right person is. The class teacher, form tutor or head of year is usually the right first step, not the head. - Put it in writing if it matters. An email creates a record and is easier for staff to act on than a conversation at the gate. - If you feel you are not being heard, ask what the school's complaints procedure is. Every school must have one. - Go to parents' evenings even when things are going well. It is much easier to raise a concern with somebody you have already met. - If you find school communication difficult, say so. Many schools will arrange a phone call or a different format if asked. - Governing bodies include parent governors. If you want influence beyond your own child, that is the route.
What to know
A Public First survey of more than 6,000 parents in England, part of the Parent Voice Project, found most parents are happy with their child's school, but with a clear split by voting intention: 82% of Labour voters and 81% of Conservative voters were happy or very happy, against 73% of Green voters and 71% of Reform voters. The same pattern appeared on education quality, and on contact with school: 50% of Labour-voting parents had contacted the school in the past year, against 33% of Green and 29% of Reform voters. On whether children's mental health is worsening, the ordering changed: 55% of Green parents and 49% of Reform and Liberal Democrat parents agreed, against 36% of Labour and Conservative parents. The survey shows a pattern rather than explaining it, and voting intention overlaps with many other factors. The clearest practical lesson is that contacting your child's school early is how most problems get resolved. Sources: Schools Week, "Reform and Green voters less likely to be satisfied with child's school", 22 September 2026, https://schoolsweek.co.uk/reform-and-green-voters-less-likely-to-be-satisfied-with-childs-school/; Public First, Parent Voice Project, https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/parentvoice1 This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist, teacher or other qualified professional.
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