Independent schooling is widely debated, but rarely well understood. This series draws on research, data, and first-hand perspectives from parents, educators, academics, and industry experts. Together, we examine who independent school families are, why they make the choices they do, and where critical evidence is missing. By filling the gaps, we hope to improve the quality of public debate.
"What is the demographic profile of Independent Schooling Families, and why do they choose independent education?"
One of the two catalysts for the establishment of AFIS was the misrepresentation of our families in the media and in public discourse.
Our founder, Michelle Daniells, could not understand why stereotypes and false narratives, such as the idea that families in independent education are uniformly “posh, rich, and privileged”, continued to dominate public debate. As a newcomer to independent schooling, she found that when her son began at a local private school in Year 7, the reality she encountered bore little resemblance to these perceptions.
So she embarked on a mission to find robust data to challenge the stereotypes. After months of searching and asking "experts", she began to think the reason strong evidence-based challenges to the stereotypes were not to be found was that the evidence simply didn't exist.
She was convinced that a rigorous, national research study was essential and urgent, due to the huge challenges the independent schooling sector is facing and the dreadful impact on so many children and their families.
But Michelle is not a data analyst or a researcher. (Perhaps, if she'd gone to an independent secondary school herself, she'd have been encouraged to go to university where she could have learned proper research skills).
So, Michelle looked for an expert researcher to help.
The result of that search is AFIS Head of Research, Dr Seth Thomas. Seth holds a PhD in Marine Biogeochemistry and has taught at three UK universities, published in academic journals in multiple fields, and runs a successful data science consultancy which has exposed him to topics across the private, public, and charity sectors.
Seth has been tasked with the job of assessing Michelle's research work and testing her theory that there are data-gaps that need to be filled. The results of his work would not only determine whether or not we embarked on the national research project Michelle thought was needed, but would help to shape that research in a valuable way.
Several months on, we asked Seth what his key findings have been:
I’ve been really struck by the data landscape of the independent schools sector. I’ve worked across many fields and many projects and have always been confident that I can find answers to the research questions I am posed. When asked about my findings here, I’m faced with the lack of them. The independent schools sector data landscape is fragmented at best. As AFIS try to put together the puzzle of who independent school families are, what unites them, what similarities they share with their public sector counterparts - I can’t help but feel like some of the pieces are missing. This begs the question of what data is informing the large reforms the sector is facing.
Through this series of articles/blogs, he shares his insights as he begins to seek out the necessary data and call for the necessary research to fill in the gaps.
