Why use Schoolzone

Schoolzone is a specialist provider of market research in the UK education sector.

Our research panel of teachers is over 70,000 strong.

Since 1998, we have established ourselves as providers of knowledge, information and advice to educationalists and those in the education sector via our website, one of the UK’s largest online education communities.

Positioned at the interface between end users and providers, Schoolzone delivers integrated research, evaluation and marketing services to tight budgets and short turnaround times.

Underpinning our business ethos is a genuine commitment to supporting teachers in the classroom: we constantly develop our free services and offerings to teachers, providing information, advice and support to them.

But don’t just listen to us – this is what just a few of our Schoolzone registered teachers say about us:

Time after time I am drawn to the website to get valuable professional insights into new resources and to also participate in the interesting research that is coordinated through Schoolzone.

I think a real strength of Schoolzone is the drive to tap into the opinions, experiences and insights of teachers who are still working in the classroom and are at the forefront of educational innovation.

Schoolzone’s directors have many years’ experience as senior leaders in education, publishing and e-commerce. We use our combination of expertise, reach and experience to provide clients with real insight and understanding of their target market.

A brief summary of some projects conducted recently

• Concept testing of a new resource for primary schools.
• A survey of teachers who had downloaded a client's resources.
• Interviews with maths teachers about statistics.
• Series of focus groups with primary teachers and heads relating to CPD.
• Survey of 1,000 teachers concerning their preferences for published resources.
• Interviews with HoDs regarding their preferences for curriculum support material.
• Concept testing of a new qualification with teachers and employers.
• A survey of teachers to obtain feedback on this year's GCSE exam papers.
• A survey and series of focus groups investigating teachers' requirements for financial services.
• Five focus groups looking at the way secondary school teachers use dictionaries to support teaching and learning.
• Interviews and focus groups examining the success of the STEM agenda in secondary schools.
• Two online focus groups and secret shopper activities looking at school travel.
• A panel of primary and secondary teachers testing a publisher’s new website.
• Due diligence consultations via survey and 40 telephone interviews to establish the competition and a full market analysis prior to acquisition.
• Secret shopper and telephone interviews to establish the feasibility for an American supplier to engage with the UK market.
• A large scale survey of parents to establish the size and shape of the market for products aimed at aspirational parents.
• An online survey of teachers and a functionality test group for an online tuition service.
• Online focus groups with English schools in the UAE to test the suitability of a new product for their particular market.
• Research forums (asynchronous discussion) with American schools testing a product for both US and UK markets.
• A series of online focus groups, in which a group of Key Stage 3 English teachers debated, deconstructed and reconstructed the ideal set of resources for engaging, inspiring and supporting pupils.
• A survey of early years and nursery professionals to get a better understanding of their needs for training, resources and information networks.
• A survey, primary headteacher telephone interviews and school visits to find out how schools use/could use Multi-Sensory Environments to support pupils’ learning.
• Three focus groups (online or face to face) to find out about the ways in which schools choose, and advise students on, which are the best GCSE courses.
• A survey for teachers, subject leaders, SLT members or head teachers across all key stages who have an interest in sustainability, or who are concerned about weather-related disasters and emergencies.
• Telephone interviews with teachers of GCSE science, geography and maths with ongoing comments via an online discussion board.
• Face to face focus group considering a new concept for science teaching.
• A survey and telephone interviews exploring the ways in which teachers use educational technology.
• An online focus group of Key Stage 3 science teachers to consider an idea proposed by a major international publisher aimed at helping students overcome some common misunderstandings in science.
• A study of the ways in which teachers plan science lessons: short, medium and long term by submitting schemes and plans with accompanying commentary.
• A panel of geography and history teachers compared IGCSE offerings and gave feedback via two online focus group reports.
• Feedback from a panel of teachers on a proposed new science scheme of work, followed by a series of face-to-face focus groups.
• A series of surveys examining ways maths, geography and science teachers use resources for teaching and learning at KS3, followed by online concept testing.
• A survey examining the teaching of geography in primary schools.
• A survey among educationalists in Early Years Centres or FE colleges in the Greater London area exploring perceptions of a free education magazine produced by one of the top academic institutions in the UK.
• An online focus group to find out about teachers' favourite resources for teaching maths, geography and science.
• A prelaunch trial of a new education resource produced by one of the country's leading theatre organisations.
• An online focus group of Key Stage 3 maths teachers in high performing schools to find out about teachers' favourite resources for teaching maths.
• An online focus group to find out what teachers want from exams, the people who set them and the support materials they use.
• Five surveys looking a range of issues relating to an awarding body's provision in five GCSE subject areas.
• A focus group of KS3 geography teachers exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the schemes they use.
  A survey looking at why some people find science difficult.
• An online focus group with teachers of creative subjects about a potential new GCSE course.
• A survey asking psychology and sociology teachers what they think of the courses they use at GCSE and A-level.
• A survey on how schools and departments are being affected by funding changes, the Academies programme, and changes to school policy.
• Focus groups and interviews asking exam officers what awarding bodies could do for them to make life easier.
• Geography teachers in telephone interviews looking into the potential for new resources to support GCSE OCR B Geography.
• A survey of what teachers think of some ideas for earning extra on top of their salary.
• Three Key Stage 3 Maths teachers' face-to-face focus groups to get their feedback about a new concept hoping to launch in 2013.
• A series of focus groups to understand the issues and concerns facing schools offering educational trips abroad for students.
  

Schoolzone research terms and conditions