Fairfield Prep School Celebrates Exceptional Pupil Voice Survey Results

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95%

of pupils said they were happy at school.

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95%

of pupils said they enjoyed lessons at school.

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98%

of pupils said their teachers explained their lessons clearly.

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93%

of pupils said they were encouraged to try new things at school.

Fairfield Prep School is celebrating outstanding results following a recent pupil voice survey led by the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS).

Determined to gain a truly whole-school perspective, Fairfield went a step further. Using the IAPS survey as a basis, Deputy Head Academic, Jamie Moseley-Sarsfield, adapted the questions to make them accessible for younger pupils in Years 1 and 2.

An impressive 339 Fairfield pupils from Years 1 to 6 completed the survey, achieving a remarkable 95% response rate. The results speak for themselves:

95% of pupils said they feel happy at school.
95% said they enjoy their lessons.
98% said their teachers explain their learning clearly.
93% said they are encouraged to try new things.

Fairfield scored consistently higher than the benchmark comparison in several areas, including an exceptional result in reading, where the school achieved a 20% higher score than the comparative benchmark.

Mr Moseley-Sarsfield said: “Pupil voice is incredibly important to us at Fairfield. While we were thrilled with the results from Years 3 to 6, we felt strongly that we wanted a complete picture of the pupil experience and that meant including our youngest learners.”

Adapting the survey for Years 1 and 2 allowed us to retain meaningful comparison while making it accessible and engaging. The results are hugely affirming for our staff, but they also give us valuable insight into areas such as reading and patterns in responses between boys and girls. That’s where the real power of pupil voice lies, not just celebrating what we do well, but continually asking how we can be even better for our children.

The findings have already prompted further reflection, particularly around reading; a timely focus given the spotlight on literacy, with this year being the national year of reading. The survey has also sparked discussion around emerging gender patterns in responses.

IAPS has since followed up with Fairfield to learn how the school successfully adapted the survey for younger pupils and to explore how the insights gathered will inform future strategic school development.

For Fairfield, the message is clear: listening to pupils is not a one-off exercise, but an ongoing commitment to strengthening the experience of every child.