Staff Opinion Survey FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do all schools participate in the survey?

All government schools are invited to participate in the survey.

2. Who should participate in this survey?

Staff members who have worked at the school on a day-to-day basis (including part-time staff) during the month preceding the survey are invited to participate.

3. Why are we being asked to do the survey?

The main aim of the survey is to identify those factors that contribute to the organisational health of your school. The results will benefit everyone within your school by providing valuable information about the ways in which the school's organisational health can be improved.

4. How long will it take to complete the survey?

The survey should take about 30 minutes to complete. If your school Principal has chosen to include the leadership questions, this will extend the survey by about 10 minutes.

5. Are my responses confidential?

Your responses will remain entirely confidential.

Will I be identifiable in the report?

The reports will be based on the collective responses of all people who participate in the survey in your school. It will not be possible to identify individuals. A description of the type of report that will be available to schools based on the number of respondents is shown in Question 7.

6. When can I complete the survey?

The survey can be completed by all school staff across all regions at any time between Monday 23-May 2011 and Friday 3-June 2011.

7. I work for a very small school. If I fill out the survey, can I be identified?

No. Reports back to schools fall into the following categories:
1 respondent: a report will not be generated,
2 or 3 respondents: a report in graphic form (no tables) will be generated only if a confirmation email has been received from each of the two or three respondents, otherwise a 'word-picture' report will be generated,
4 to 6 respondents: a report in graphic form (no tables) will be automatically generated,
7 or more respondents: a report containing both graphs and tables will be automatically generated.

8. Will staff members be given any feedback on the results?

Schools will receive a staff opinion survey report in the second semester of 2011. Principals will be encouraged to present the results to staff.

9. How do I log into the online survey system to complete the Staff Opinion Survey?

Between Monday 23-May and Friday 3-June 2011, follow these instructions:

1. With your sealed envelope containing your staff survey access code (if you don’t have an access code, please consult your Survey Contact), go to a computer and open Internet Explorer to access the Internet (or whatever web browser you use)
2. Follow the instructions contained in your envelope 

10. I'm having problems logging onto the online survey system with my account details. What can I do?

Please consult your Survey Contact (a staff member nominated by your Principal).

11. I haven’t been given an envelope with an access code / I have lost my envelope containing my access code. Does this mean I can't do the survey?

If you don't have an envelope with an access code please see your Survey Contact.  Your Survey Contact is a staff member nominated by your Principal.

12. Who is my Survey Contact?

Your Principal should have nominated a staff member (or themselves) to be your Survey Contact.

13. I work at a multi-campus school, how do I complete the survey?

When you log into the survey, a list of all the appropriate campuses will be displayed. You choose the main campus at which you work and fill in the survey for that campus.

14. I work at more than one school, how do I complete the survey?

If you satisfy the criteria for participating in the survey at each school (ie. you work at each school on a day-to-day basis, including part-time, during the month preceding the survey), you should complete the survey for each of the schools at which you work. Please see your Survey Contact at each school for an access code to the survey system.

15. I only work at school occasionally, do I need to do the survey?

To effectively analyse the organisational health of your school, opinions from all members of staff are important. Staff members who have worked at the school on a day-to-day basis (including part-time staff) during the month preceding the survey are invited to participate.

16. I'm not a teacher at school, do I need to do the survey?

There is a non-teacher version of the survey. To effectively analyse the organisational health of your school, opinions from all members of staff are important. Staff members who have worked at the school on a day-to-day basis (including part-time staff) during the month preceding the survey are invited to participate.

17. My role at school is both teaching and non-teaching. Which version of the Staff Opinion Survey should I complete?

Only complete one version of the survey. If your role during the month preceding the survey involved working in a classroom, complete the teaching version, otherwise complete the non-teaching version.

18. Is the survey available in languages other than English?

No. If a staff member has difficulty interpreting the survey, they should consult a fellow staff member for assistance.

19. Principals: Are there any guidelines on who should or should not have access to the survey?

Examples of staff members who may not fit the criterion for survey access (see Question 2) are: School Council Presidents, School Council Vice Presidents, staff members on long service leave / maternity leave / long-term WorkCover (depending on when this leave commenced), staff members on long-term sick leave / holiday / full-time study leave, casual relief teachers (where appropriate) and visiting specialists who spend very limited time at school.

Examples of staff members who probably fit the criterion for survey access (see Question 2) are: SSO's, integration aides, librarians, lab technicians and staff on disciplinary review.

Please note that if a staff member queries his or her exclusion from the survey, the Principal must be able to justify his or her decision.

20. Survey Contacts and Principals: How is the survey being implemented this year?

•  In the two weeks leading to the commencement of the survey (on Monday 23-May), each school will receive a Survey Pack in the mail.
•  The Survey Pack will contain a letter to the Principal, a letter to the Survey Contact, and a batch of sealed envelopes containing access codes to the online staff survey system
•  Staff do not access the survey using their EduMail or EduWeb account details (as in previous years).
• On Monday 23-May, the Survey Contact should distribute the sealed envelopes to participating staff members as per the instructions in their letter in the Survey Pack.

21. Survey Contacts and Principals: A staff member has lost their envelope containing their access code. What do I do?

If a staff member has lost their envelope containing their access code, please provide them with any spare sealed envelopes available.  Should you not have any spare envelopes, please follow the instructions in the letter to the Survey Contact provided in the Survey Pack.

22. Survey Contacts and Principals: How do I include / exclude the leadership questions to / from the survey?

By Friday 13-May 2011, the Principal should have decided whether to include the optional leadership questions in the school's Staff Opinion Survey. The default setting for all schools is that leadership questions are excluded. The Survey Contact or Principal can include the leadership questions (and subsequently exclude them if need be), by following these instructions:

1. Go to the Surveys page.
2. Under the heading 'Staff Opinion Survey', click Login (User name and Password required)
3. Enter the Principal's EduMail User Name and Password
4. Under the heading 'Optional Leadership Questions for the Staff Opinion Survey,' note whether the 'Current setting' for the leadership questions is INCLUDE or EXCLUDE. If you wish to change the current setting, click Include Leadership questions (you can toggle back and forth by clicking this button)
5. Click Exit Online Opinion Survey System (located at the top of the screen)

NOTE: AFTER FRIDAY 13-MAY 2011, THE OPTION TO INCLUDE/EXCLUDE THE LEADERSHIP MODULE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE.

THIS YEAR, DEECD CORPORATE STAFF WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OPT IN OR OUT OF THE LEADERSHIP MODULE ON THE PRINCIPAL’S BEHALF AFTER FRIDAY 13-MAY. 

23. Survey Contacts and Principals: How can I see the number of respondents that have completed the survey for my school?

During the survey period, Survey Contacts and Principals can view the number of survey respondents by logging into the staff opinion survey system with a separate access code (the response rate access code).  Details of the response rate access code will be emailed to the School Principal early in the first week of the survey period.

24. Survey Contacts and Principals: I can see the response rate but it’s not accurate.

The different survey methodology adopted in 2011 means the exact number of staff being invited to participate in the survey is not known. As a result, a true response rate cannot be determined by the staff survey system. An estimate is calculated and displayed based on the number of sealed envelopes that were delivered to the school.  Please disregard this estimate and only refer to the number of respondents. In the school report, only the number of respondents will be reported.

The Survey Contact and/or Principal can determine their true response rate by dividing the number of respondents (see question 23 above) with the number of sealed envelopes that were distributed to staff.

25. Survey Contacts and Principals: I can accurately determine my true Response Rate. What is a good Response Rate?

Ideally, schools should aim to achieve a response rate of at least 75%. The Survey Contact and/or Principal can determine their response rate by dividing the number of respondents (see question 23 above) with the number of sealed envelopes that were distributed to staff.

26. Survey Contacts and Principals: When the survey is over, will the report contain results split by teaching and non-teaching staff?

No. Responses from all participants, regardless of their role in the school, will be aggregated. There are two reasons for this:

• non-teaching staff are not asked teaching related questions (such as Curriculum Co-ordination). That is, they are only asked about management related issues.
• management issues should be addressed across the entire school. If there are issues with particular sub-groups of staff, this should emerge from discussions with staff members about the results.

27. Acting Principals: If I choose to include the leadership questions, do these questions refer to me as Acting Principal, or the Principal?

You, as the Acting Principal, should make this decision. If you choose to include the leadership questions, ensure staff are aware of who these questions refer to.

28. Part-time Principals: Our school operates with two part-time Principals (e.g. one Principal for 3 days per week, another for 2 days per week). If we choose to include the leadership questions, how will this work?

Should you decide to choose the leadership questions, you can consult with staff and decide which Principal these questions refer to, noting that they can only refer to one Principal. Otherwise, you can choose not to add the leadership questions.