Post-16 Provision Survey Pack

🔒 New for 2026 and fully aligned to the Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025

Gathering meaningful stakeholder feedback on post-16 provision requires a different frame from surveys elsewhere in the school. Post-16 students are well placed to reflect critically on whether their courses are stretching them, whether they received genuinely useful guidance when choosing their programme and whether provision is equipping them for life beyond school. Parents of post-16 students often feel less visible in the school community than they did lower down, and staff working in sixth form contexts bring specific expertise and perspectives that whole-school surveys rarely capture in enough depth.

This pack gives you everything you need to plan, administer, analyse and act on stakeholder feedback about post-16 provision, and because the core survey templates come pre-populated with carefully considered questions, you can move from planning to distribution with minimal preparation time.

You'll get:

☑️ Three ready-to-use surveys – a student survey using a Likert scale for independent completion, a parent survey and a staff survey – all aligned to the 2025 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 

☑️ A question and statement bank covering curriculum challenge and teaching quality, advice, guidance and course fit, inclusion and belonging, careers and future plans, work experience and wider opportunities, student voice, curriculum structure and assessment, intervention and academic support, and preparation for adulthood

☑️ A survey analysis template with tally tables, open question theme tables, a summary and next steps section, and an Overall Summary Triangulation table with RAG ratings

☑️ A pre-survey checklist to guide you through each stage of the process, and four survey letter templates for communicating with parents and staff before and after the survey

☑️ An 18-page PDF guidance document covering the full survey cycle, and a free worked example to help you interpret and act on your results

All documents are fully editable so you can adapt them for your school's specific context.

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Post-16 Provision Survey Pack

Post-16 Provision Survey Pack

£10.00 £7.50
£10.00 £7.50
CONTENTS
WHO IT'S FOR
HOW IT CAN HELP
WHAT ELSE?
REVIEWS (0)

What's in this Post-16 Provision Survey Pack?

This pack provides a complete, end-to-end system for gathering, analysing and acting on stakeholder feedback about post-16 provision. Every document is aligned to the 2025 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit, and the survey templates are pre-populated so your team can get started without having to build surveys from scratch.

You'll get:

☑️ Student Feedback Survey (Likert scale) – a single survey using a four-point Likert scale (Strongly agree to Strongly disagree), designed for independent completion by post-16 students. It includes ten closed questions and two open questions covering whether courses stretch and challenge students in a way that supports their learning and progress, whether staff explain things clearly and help deepen understanding, whether feedback on work is useful and developmental, whether students received good advice when choosing their post-16 subjects or courses, whether current subjects are a good fit for their interests, strengths and future goals, whether they know who to speak to if something is not working, whether they feel safe, included and respected as part of the post-16 community, whether there is an adult they can talk to if something is worrying them, whether they have had meaningful opportunities to learn about university, apprenticeships and other career routes, and whether post-16 provision is helping them become more independent, confident and ready for adult life. The survey avoids a neutral midpoint to encourage students to express a preference, and the guidance notes that honest and critical responses are genuinely valued.

☑️ Parent Feedback Survey – 12 closed questions and 2 open questions using a four-point Likert scale, covering communication and relationships, advice, guidance and transition into post-16, curriculum, support and inclusion, and careers, opportunities and next steps. Questions address whether parents feel well informed about their child's progress, whether they were involved in conversations about their child's post-16 programme, whether courses are appropriate and sufficiently challenging, whether their child feels safe, happy and included, whether they have been supported to explore a range of post-18 options including university, apprenticeships and employment, and whether post-16 provision is preparing their child well for adult life. Includes guidance on timing, distribution, anonymity and what to do with a small sample.

☑️ Staff Feedback Survey – 12 closed questions and 2 open questions using a four-point Likert scale, covering curriculum, planning and teaching, assessment, progress and intervention, advice, guidance and entry onto courses, inclusion and student support, wider opportunities and personal development, and careers, progression and preparation for adulthood. Questions address confidence in planning and delivering at post-16 level, whether the curriculum is well structured and sequenced, the effectiveness of systems to identify students who are falling behind, confidence in meeting the needs of students with SEND or other vulnerabilities, whether support is well coordinated between teaching and pastoral teams, whether students are given access to a wide range of post-18 options, whether students are offered meaningful opportunities beyond lessons such as enrichment, volunteering or leadership roles, and whether there is a shared understanding across the post-16 team of how provision supports students to prepare for adulthood. An optional role field allows responses to be grouped by teaching and support staff, which can reveal whether pastoral staff feel as well informed about academic progress and intervention plans as subject teachers, or whether staff who work most closely with students with SEND have a different view of the effectiveness of post-16 inclusion arrangements. Includes guidance on timing, distribution and target response rates.

☑️ Question and Statement Bank – a broad selection of additional prompts across all three stakeholder groups, for use in surveys, interviews or informal conversations. Student themes include: curriculum and challenge, advice, guidance and course fit, inclusion, respect and support, belonging and safety, careers and future plans, work experience and wider opportunities and real-world preparation, and student voice and feedback. Parent themes include: communication and relationships, advice, guidance and transition into post-16, curriculum, support and inclusion, and careers, opportunities and next steps. Staff themes include: curriculum, planning and teaching, assessment, progress and intervention, advice, guidance and entry onto courses, inclusion and student support, wider opportunities and personal development, careers, progression and preparation for adulthood, and leadership, culture and communication.

☑️ Survey Analysis Template – tally tables for recording closed responses question by question, open question theme tables for grouping qualitative feedback, a summary and next steps section for capturing key findings and actions, and an Overall Summary Triangulation table with RAG ratings to bring together responses from all three stakeholder groups in one place.

☑️ Pre-Survey Checklist – a step-by-step checklist taking you from clarifying the purpose of your survey through to distributing it, analysing results and updating your school improvement plan, so nothing gets missed at any stage of the process.

☑️ Survey Letter Templates – four editable letter templates: a notification letter and a feedback letter for parents, and a notification letter and a feedback letter for staff, ready to adapt for your school.

☑️ Guidance Document – an 18-page guide covering every stage of the survey cycle, from planning and design through to analysis, reporting and acting on difficult results, with practical advice for leaders at all stages of experience.

☑️ Worked Example – a PDF case study showing how the analysis template works in practice, using a scenario focused on achievement, progress and support for different groups of pupils. It can be read as a standalone guide or used alongside your own data, and is equally useful for new leaders approaching stakeholder surveys for the first time and experienced leaders looking to strengthen their approach.

All documents (except for the PDFs) are fully editable so you can adapt them for your school's specific context.

Who should use this Post-16 Provision Survey Pack?

This pack is designed for headteachers, deputy headteachers and heads of sixth form who want to gather structured, evidence-based feedback on the quality of post-16 provision from students, parents and staff. It is particularly valuable during a self-evaluation cycle, when preparing for an Ofsted inspection, when reviewing the breadth and coherence of the post-16 curriculum, or when leaders want to triangulate destination data and assessment outcomes with the direct experiences of students and their families.

Sixth form leaders and post-16 pastoral leads will find the staff survey especially useful for identifying where there are gaps in confidence or consistency, for example around supporting students with SEND or additional vulnerabilities, the coordination between teaching and pastoral teams, or the extent to which staff feel involved in decisions about student pathways and course suitability. The optional role field makes it straightforward to compare responses from subject teachers and pastoral staff, and this comparison often surfaces important differences in how the provision is experienced from different professional vantage points.

Trust executives and school improvement leads working across multiple schools or sixth form settings will find the consistent structure of the surveys makes it practical to gather comparable data across settings. The triangulation table in the analysis template supports cross-setting review conversations and can inform decisions about where additional support, CPD or curriculum development is most needed.

How can this pack help school leaders gather meaningful feedback on post-16 provision?

This pack helps you tackle the most common challenges leaders face when planning and running stakeholder surveys on post-16 provision.

"How do I find out whether students feel their courses are genuinely stretching them, or whether some are under-challenged or on the wrong programme?"
The student survey asks directly whether courses stretch and challenge students in a way that supports their learning and progress, whether staff help them deepen their understanding rather than just covering content, and whether feedback on their work is genuinely useful and developmental. The open question asking what the post-16 provision does well in supporting students to achieve their potential and prepare for their future frequently surfaces specific subject-level observations that leaders can act on. The Question and Statement Bank includes additional prompts on course fit and student voice for use in focus groups or follow-up conversations.

"How can I find out whether parents feel appropriately involved in their child's post-16 journey, particularly around course choices and next steps?"
The parent survey addresses this directly. Closed questions ask whether parents were involved, or given the opportunity to be involved, in conversations about their child's post-16 programme, whether they feel well informed about progress, and whether they have been kept informed about plans and deadlines related to their child's next steps. The open question asking what could be done differently to better support their child or keep them better informed is where parents tend to be most candid and the responses often reveal practical gaps in communication that are straightforward to address.

"How do I check whether systems for identifying and supporting students who are falling behind are working as intended?"
The staff survey includes specific questions on whether clear systems are in place to identify students who are falling behind or at risk of not achieving their potential, and whether staff feel confident in the school's approach to intervention and academic support for post-16 students. The student survey asks whether students know who to speak to if something is not working for them, and the parent survey asks whether any extra support their child has needed has been handled effectively. Triangulating these three perspectives often reveals whether an intervention system that looks robust on paper is actually reaching students and being communicated to their families.

"How can I gather evidence that post-16 provision is developing students' wider skills and preparing them for adult life, not just their academic results?"
The student survey asks whether post-16 provision is helping students become more independent, confident and ready for adult life, and whether they have had meaningful opportunities to learn about university, apprenticeships and other career routes. The staff survey asks whether students are offered meaningful opportunities beyond lessons such as enrichment, volunteering, leadership or mentoring roles, and whether there is a shared understanding across the post-16 team of how provision supports students to prepare for adulthood. The parent survey asks whether provision is helping their child grow in confidence, independence and important life skills. Together these provide a triangulated view of the breadth of provision beyond academic outcomes.

"How do I find out whether staff feel the post-16 team works together effectively, and whether there is a shared vision for what post-16 provision is trying to achieve?"
The staff survey includes a question specifically on whether support is well coordinated between teaching and pastoral teams, and whether there is a shared understanding of how provision supports students to prepare for adulthood. The Question and Statement Bank extends this with prompts on leadership, culture and communication within the post-16 team, covering whether staff views are considered in planning and decision-making, and whether there is a culture of high expectations and professional respect. These questions are particularly useful for sixth form leaders who want to understand how the team functions from the inside, not just how provision appears from the outside.

Want to build on your survey work?

Browse the full range of Honeyguide's stakeholder survey resources to find tools that support every stage of your self-evaluation and school improvement work in this area.

Take leadership further...

Post-16 Provision Audit Pack

The Post-16 Provision Audit Pack goes further than surveying stakeholder views, evaluating the systems, curriculum structures and leadership practices that underpin the quality of post-16 provision. Where surveys capture how students, parents and staff experience the sixth form, the audit examines the underlying frameworks, from the coherence and challenge of the post-16 curriculum, to the rigour of target-setting and tracking, the effectiveness of careers and destinations support and the quality of governance oversight of the sixth form. Strong survey data is a valuable component of a robust post-16 audit, and together they provide the rounded, evidence-informed self-evaluation that supports confident leadership of sixth form provision.

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