SMR survey reveals the cost of education to average £1222 per child
The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) commissioned Social Market Research to undertake a survey of parents on the cost of education in Northern Ireland. The survey is based on a representative sample of 1006 parents. Parents were interviewed in the own home on a face-to-face basis using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). Fieldwork was undertaken between 7 March and 10 May 2017.
Key Findings
Total Cost of Education
On average parents spent £1222.30 per child on education in the previous year;
▪ Parents spent an average of £421.21on pre-school children, £1004.64 on primary school children and, £1611.31 on children attending post primary schools;
▪ Parents with children attending controlled schools spent an average of £1286.14 per child (maintained, £1131.55: integrated, £1292.71);
▪ Parents with children attending secondary schools spent an average of £1517.85 per child with the spend on a child attending a grammar school estimated at £1989.70;
▪ Parents in the legacy Western Education and Library Board area recorded the highest average annual cost per child (£1341.29), whereas parents in the Southern Education and Library Board area (£1073.50) recorded the lowest cost;
▪ On average households spent £1979.18 on education costs in the last year;
▪ Households in the WELB area recorded the highest average annual spend (£2390.47) on education, whereas households in the SELB area (£1679.23) recorded the lowest average annual spend (more…)
SSEN customers see reassurance to be the most important benefit for Priority Service Register
Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) commissioned Social Market Research to undertake a survey of customers on their Priority Services Register or PSR. The survey is based on telephone interviews with 600 PSR customers, with fieldwork undertaken between 18 February 2017 and 7 March 2017.
The survey revealed 56% listed ‘reassurance’ as the most important benefit of the PSR, with 27% saying registration makes them feel less anxious during a power cut.
Post Election Survey Reveals Changing Attitudes in Northern Ireland
In the wake of the 2015 general election Social Market Research conducted a survey on political and social attitudes in Northern Ireland which is due to be published soon.
Already some of the results of the survey have been published and these include:
- 53% of people in Northern Ireland support gay marriage.
- 43% of people in Northern Ireland support the legalisation of abortion.
- 25% of people in Northern Ireland wish to leave the EU, 36% to stay in.
The survey was conducted by Social Market Research and commissioned by the University of Liverpool.
N Ireland view on the EU: 25% leave; 36% stay; plenty of undecideds pic.twitter.com/Lfo6bz1uUl
— Jon Tonge (@JonTonge) July 2, 2015
SMR Support Irish Office of the Ombudsman’s Complaint Investigation
Social Market Research (SMR) have conducted a series of focus groups to provide research evidence into the handling of public hospital complaints in Ireland. The research was commissioned by the Office of the Ombudsman and published in the investigative report: “Learning to Get Better”.
An investigation by the ombudsman into how public hospitals handle complaints.
The research found that the complaints process in many public hospitals was often confusing with many people unaware of their right to escalate complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Further, the research also identified that some people were afraid to raise complaints due to “a fear of repercussions for their own or their relatives’ treatment”. Many also expressed “a lack of confidence that anything would change as a result of complaining”.
Donal McDade, Managing Director of Social Market Research said: “The research we carried out indicated a large sentiment of mistrust with the complaints procedures in public hospitals in Ireland. Only by talking to people with first hand experience as users of the public hospital system can we understand the challenges they face.We anticipate that the outcomes from this research will help support positive change within this sector”.
Learning to get Better HD from Office of the Ombudsman on Vimeo.
SMR Appointed to Conduct Post Election Survey in NI
Social Market Research have been appointed to conduct a survey in Northern Ireland assessing people’s opinions and feelings of engagement in the recent UK parliamentary elections.
SMR Conduct a Stakeholder Engagement Programme for Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution
Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD) appointed Social Market Research (SMR) to conduct a 
customer and stakeholder engagement programme to support and inform its RIO-ED1 Business Plan for the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2023. A total of 117 customers and stakeholders took part in focus groups and depth one-to-one interviews with those taking part reflective of all SSEPD’s customer and stakeholder segments. The engagement programme was conducted in November and December 2012.
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