Parent survey: 10 questionnaires with every question written out
For teachers, preschool staff, school leaders and PTAs. Each survey lists its full questions, when to send it and how to read the answers. Copy the text, or build the online version in Askyo in five minutes.
A good parent survey does one job: get to know a family, check how a child is settling in, or measure how the school is doing. Keep it to 8–12 questions, most of them closed, with one or two open questions at the end. That fits into five to seven minutes, which is about as long as a parent on a phone will give you.
An online form beats paper for two reasons. The answers tally themselves, so nobody types them into a spreadsheet. And parents fill it in the evening they get the link, instead of losing the sheet at the bottom of a backpack.
Ready-made surveys
Parent survey questions, in full
Ten surveys for the situations schools and preschools run into most. Adapt them freely: drop what you do not need, add your own.
01
Back-to-school “get to know your child” questionnaire
Who it is for
Class teachers at the start of the school year, especially in the early grades.
When to send it
The week before school starts or the first week of term. Five to seven minutes.
Questions
1What name does your child like to be called at school?short text
2How does your child feel about starting this school year?scale 1–5, from “nervous” to “can’t wait”
3Which subjects or activities does your child enjoy most?short text
4Where does your child usually find school harder?multiple choice: reading, writing, math, sitting still, making friends, none
5Who usually picks your child up after school?single choice: parent, grandparent, carpool, walks home, after-school program
6What helps your child when they are upset or frustrated?long text
7What activities does your child do outside school?short text
8Is there anything you would like to discuss with the teacher privately?yes or no
9How do you prefer to hear from the teacher?multiple choice: email, school app, text message, phone call
10What is one goal you have for your child this year?long text
How to read the results
Read questions 2 and 4 together: a child who is nervous and finds reading hard needs a different first week from one who can’t wait to start. Every “yes” in question 8 goes straight onto your list of September conversations. Question 10 is the one parents remember you asked, so bring it back up at the first parent-teacher conference.
Preschool, pre-K and daycare staff enrolling a new child.
When to send it
Before the first day, or during the first week. Seven to ten minutes.
Questions
1What does your child like to be called?short text
2Who lives at home with your child?multiple choice: parents, siblings, grandparents, other
3How does your child nap?single choice: falls asleep easily, needs help, no longer naps
4Is your child toilet trained?single choice: yes, mostly, not yet
5Does your child feed themselves?single choice: yes, partly, not yet
6How does your child react to new adults and children?single choice: jumps right in, watches first, is shy, gets upset
7Favorite toys, games or songs?short text
8What comforts your child when they are upset?long text
9Is there anything about food or health we should talk about in person?yes or no, details in person
10What are you hoping for from the first month?long text
How to read the results
Questions 3, 4, 5 and 8 are a cheat sheet for the first two weeks: which nap routine to keep, who needs help at lunch, what calms each child. Put the whole group on a single page and keep it in the classroom. Question 10 shows which families expect something your routine does not do, and those are conversations worth having early.
03
Settling-in check: how is your child adjusting?
Who it is for
Preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers.
When to send it
Three to four weeks after the start, while the routine can still change.
Questions
1How does your child feel about coming in the morning?scale 1–5
2How does drop-off usually go?single choice: calmly, a few tears, a lot of tears, refuses to go
3Has your child’s appetite at home changed?single choice: better, the same, worse
4Has your child’s sleep changed?single choice: the same, more restless, sleeping longer
5Does your child talk about teachers or classmates at home?single choice: often, sometimes, rarely
6Can your child name any classmates?yes or no
7How supported do you feel by the staff during this period?scale 1–5
8What would help your child settle in faster?long text
How to read the results
If questions 1–4 are still mostly at the worst end after a month, talk to the family about the routine: a shorter day, a different drop-off time, a comfort object from home. Question 7 is feedback on your team, not on the child, so read it separately.
Principals, school leadership teams and district staff.
When to send it
Once a year, usually in spring. Anonymous.
Questions
1How satisfied are you with the quality of teaching?scale 1–5
2How fairly do you think your child’s work is graded?scale 1–5
3How would you describe the homework load?single choice: too much, about right, too little
4Does your child feel safe at school?scale 1–5
5How well does the school keep you informed?scale 1–5
6How welcome do you feel when you visit the school?scale 1–5
7How willing are teachers to talk through problems with you?scale 1–5
8How likely are you to recommend this school to a friend?scale 0–10
9What is the one thing the school should change first?long text
10Which grade band is your child in?dropdown: K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12
How to read the results
Report the share of 4s and 5s rather than an average: “78% are satisfied with teaching” lands better at a board meeting than “4.1”. Question 8 gives you a Net Promoter Score: the share of 9s and 10s minus the share of 0–6. Only compare grade bands that have at least ten responses each, or a single parent can swing the number.
Once a year, or after a policy change on phones, discipline or bullying.
Questions
1Does your child feel they belong at this school?scale 1–5
2Has your child told you about bullying this year?single choice: no, once, more than once
3If yes, how well did the school handle it?scale 1–5, shown only after a “once” or “more than once” answer
4Does your child have at least one adult at school they trust?single choice: yes, no, not sure
5How clear are the school’s rules on behavior?scale 1–5
6How do you feel about the school’s phone policy?single choice: too strict, about right, too loose, not sure
7What would make your child feel safer at school?long text
How to read the results
Question 3 is conditional, so it only reaches families who have something to report, and its answers carry more weight than the overall safety score. Watch question 4 closely: a “no” is a concrete case for a counselor, not a statistic.
06
School lunch and cafeteria survey
Who it is for
Schools, nutrition services and parent committees.
When to send it
Once or twice a year, and after a menu or vendor change.
Questions
1How often does your child eat school lunch?single choice: every day, sometimes, never
2Why does your child skip school lunch?multiple choice: does not like the food, brings lunch, not enough time, cost, other. Shown only after “sometimes” or “never”
3Does your child get enough to eat at lunch?single choice: yes, not always, no
4How much does your child like the food?scale 1–5
5Is the lunch period long enough to eat?yes or no
6What would you like to see on the menu?long text
7Would you join a parent group that reviews the menu?yes or no
How to read the results
A high share of “not enough time” is a scheduling problem, not a kitchen one. If parents say yes to question 7, collect their contact details through a separate short form so the main survey stays anonymous.
Teachers who want honest feedback, or school leaders collecting it.
When to send it
End of a semester or school year. Anonymous only.
Questions
1How easy is it to reach your child’s teacher?scale 1–5
2How quickly do you usually get a reply?single choice: same day, within 2–3 days, longer, no reply
3How well does the teacher know your child?scale 1–5
4How clear is the feedback on your child’s progress?scale 1–5
5How engaged is your child in this class?scale 1–5
6What should the teacher keep doing?long text
7What should the teacher change?long text
How to read the results
Leave out any question about the child’s gender or family: in a class of 25 that detail identifies the parent, and you lose the honesty. With 15–20 responses the averages move a lot on a single answer, so the value is in questions 6 and 7. Read every one.
Teachers and school leaders who run conferences each term.
When to send it
Within a day or two of the conference, while it is fresh.
Questions
1How useful was the conference?scale 1–5
2Did you get a clear picture of your child’s progress?yes, partly, no
3Was the time slot long enough?single choice: too short, about right, too long
4Which format do you prefer?single choice: in person, video call, phone
5What would you like to discuss next time?long text
How to read the results
If “too short” leads question 3, plan longer slots or split conferences across two evenings. Question 4 settles the in-person or video debate with data instead of opinion.
09
After-school activities and clubs interest survey
Who it is for
Schools, PTAs and after-school program coordinators.
When to send it
Spring, before registration for next year.
Questions
1Does your child attend any clubs or programs now?yes or no
2Which ones?short text, shown after a “yes”
3Which areas interest your child?multiple choice: sports, art, music, coding and robotics, languages, science, drama, other
4How many days a week could your child attend?single choice: 1, 2, 3 or more
5Which times work for you?multiple choice: right after school, evenings, weekends
6Would you consider paid programs?single choice: yes, free only, depends on price
7What club is missing at our school?short text
How to read the results
Cross questions 3 and 5: a club many families want, but only on weekends, belongs on Saturday. If fewer than eight to ten families pick an area, the group may not fill.
Teachers and grade-level teams reviewing homework policy.
When to send it
Mid-year, when routines have settled.
Questions
1How long does homework take on a typical school night?single choice: under 30 minutes, 30–60 minutes, 1–2 hours, more than 2 hours
2How often does your child need adult help with homework?single choice: rarely, sometimes, most nights
3How clear are the instructions your child brings home?scale 1–5
4How stressful is homework for your child?scale 1–5
5Which subject takes the most time?dropdown of subjects
6What would make homework work better for your family?long text
How to read the results
Compare question 1 with your own estimate of how long the homework should take. A big gap is the finding. Question 5 tells you which teacher to talk to first.
How to build a parent survey in Askyo in five minutes
From an empty survey to a link in the class group chat. Signing up is free and needs no card.
01
Create a survey
Open the builder at app.askyo.ru/build. The free plan covers 5 surveys and up to 150 responses, enough for one class.
02
Bring the questions over
Copy a survey from this page and ask Yo, the AI assistant in the builder, to build it. Yo picks the answer types and shows every change before applying it. You can also add questions by hand from the palette.
03
Set required questions and conditions
Make the rating questions required. Show follow-ups, such as why a child skips lunch, only to the families they apply to: that is a condition on the logic graph.
04
Add a consent block if you collect names
If the survey asks for a child’s name or a parent’s contact details, add a Consent block with your school’s privacy notice linked.
05
Publish and share
Send the link to parents or put the QR code on a slide at back-to-school night. Turn on single response so one family does not answer twice from the same phone.
06
Read the results
A summary for every question builds up in your dashboard as answers arrive. CSV export is on the Pro plan and up, Excel (XLSX) on Team and up.
How to read parent survey results
Start with the response rate. If 9 of 28 families answered, you are hearing from the most engaged parents, not the class. A reminder two or three days later usually brings in a real share of the rest.
Report scales as the share of 4s and 5s, not the mean. Compare a class with itself (the same survey in fall and spring) rather than with a different teacher’s class.
Read every open answer if there are fewer than a hundred, sort them into four or five themes and count each. Then close the loop: tell parents two numbers and one change the school will make. It is the best reason they have to answer the next one.
More for schools and preschools
Knowledge checks with points and automatic grading belong in the test maker. Lessons that mix video and material with questions are covered on the online courses page. For an anonymous staff pulse on workload and morale, see the employee survey page.
To pick a meeting date or a fundraiser theme, run a quick online vote. Field validation, required answers and exports are covered on the questionnaire builder page, and ready-made templates live in the template library.
Next
Ready-made templates
Open a template, adjust the wording and publish. Questions, logic and settings come with it.
Pick a survey on this page, build it in Askyo and share the link with parents by email, text or the school app, or show a QR code at a meeting. Parents answer on their phones without signing up, and a summary for each question builds up in your dashboard. Send one reminder two or three days later.
Can a parent survey be anonymous?
Yes. Parents answer without an account, and a name appears only if you ask for one. For real anonymity, also drop questions about the child’s gender, family makeup or class number in a small school, because those details identify the parent.
How many questions should a parent survey have?
Between 8 and 12 for most purposes, mostly closed questions, with one or two open ones at the end. That takes five to seven minutes on a phone. A satisfaction survey can go longer if it is once a year, but every extra question lowers the completion rate.
How much does it cost?
The free plan covers 5 surveys and up to 150 responses, enough for one class. A whole school usually needs Pro at 1,490 ₽ a month. Accredited educational institutions get 50% off any plan.
How do I stop a family answering twice?
Turn on single response in the survey settings. A second visit from the same browser shows a message that the survey is already done. It stops accidental repeats, not determined ones: a different browser or a private window counts as a new respondent.
Can I print these questionnaires?
Yes, every question is written out on this page, so you can paste it into a document and print it. You will then have to tally the paper answers by hand. The online version counts them for you, and families without a smartphone can fill it in on a school computer.
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Send your parent survey today
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