Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The overall objective of the research was to help explain the take-up of Grant Maintained Status by Church of England and Roman Catholic secondary schools and the dramatic variations in take-up between different local education authorities (LEAs). The investigators were keen to document the evolution of Grant Maintained Status from its inception and particularly in terms of its impact on church schools. To understand how secondary schools made decisions about seeking to 'opt out' of their LEA it was felt essential to be able to place this process within the local LEA area context. The research strove to understand the different parts played by the key stakeholders in the school including parents, LEA officers, parish, diocesan and episcopal representatives, teachers and headteachers. This approach allowed the exploration of the particular control, financial and ethical issues that impacted on the arguments for and against pursuing Grant Maintained Status. The final key aim of the research was to inform users and stakeholders at both local and national levels of the issues raised in the debates within different types of schools around seeking Grant Maintained Status.
Main Topics:
The questionnaire includes a 23-question battery of Likert-scaled attitudinal questions followed by a short section on the nature of the parental ballot. The middle section provides a series of 15 open-ended questions exploring the nature of and participation in, the decision-making process and the impact of Grant Maintained Status on the school. The Roman Catholic and Church of England questionnaires were printed on different coloured paper to ensure ready differentiation and administered together with an appropriate cover letter. Standard Measures As stated above, Likert scales were used as response categories on a battery of questions. However, these questions were not based on any previous research instruments.
The sample was defined based on Department for Education and Employment printout of the names and addresses of all secondary schools that had been Voluntary-Aided or Voluntary-Controlled prior to gaining Grant Maintained Status (6 June 1996). The sample was composed of 89 Roman Catholic and 28 Church of England secondary Grant Maintained schools.
Postal survey
