THOUSANDS of York parents will get the chance to have their say on their child's school.

In a massive city-wide consultation, City of York Council's education chiefs and schools have prepared a questionnaire which will go out to parents with children aged between four and 18.

The majority of schools - 60 out of 69 in the city - have said they will take part in the survey, with the remainder not taking part being secondary schools which had already commissioned their own independent surveys.

Conducting the survey will cost the council £15,000 - compared with £45,000 if it was conducted by a private company.

The results from the questionnaire will be used to see what parents think about their child's education and school life in general.

Schools will also be able to use the information when they are inspected by Ofsted to show that they have taken account of parents' views, and the council will be able to get a more comprehensive picture of parents' views.

Head teachers have urged all parents to answer and return the questionnaires.

Parents are being asked to tick boxes ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" on a variety of statements including "my child is not bullied or harassed at school", "teaching is good" and "staff treat my child fairly".

The consultation will be taking place over a month beginning on the October 13.

Questionnaires will be given out to each pupil directly by schools and parents will be able to return them to their school or council office. The deadline for the returning of the questionnaires will be 11 November.

All questionnaires will be analysed, and the results sent back to schools by December 12 for them to feed back to parents.

Mark Barnett, head teacher at Westfield primary in Acomb, said: "I would urge all parents to take part as this process is all about analysing data so schools can use it to best effect.

"It can help us gather information on a whole range of issues, from whether parents think their child is getting enough homework to areas where they think schools can improve.

Patrick Scott, director of children's services, said: "This is one of the biggest consultation exercises we have ever undertaken in York schools.

"The views of parents are vitally important to schools and will help them to meet the needs of children and young people now and in the future. It is important that parents make their voices heard by returning their questionnaires."

:: Pupils celebrate record success

PUPILS and teachers at York schools are celebrating after getting their best set of Key Stage 3 results.

The Department for Education and Skills has published provisional LEA results for the tests taken by 14-year-olds. They show that:

79 per cent of pupils achieved the expected level for 14-year-olds in English. This was four per cent higher than last year and five per cent above the national average

In maths, 80 per cent of pupils achieved the expected level, which is three per cent higher than last year and six per cent above the national average.

In science, 76 per cent achieved this level, three per cent higher than last year and six per cent above the national average.

Patrick Scott, said: "York schools have produced the best ever set of results in all three subjects.

"It shows just what is possible when teachers, pupils and staff work together."

Updated: 10:05 Friday, September 09, 2005