Including parents’ voices in the school’s planning, additional changes, supports, and activities is important because it helps to create buy-in to support positive health behaviours, among many other reasons. There are several ways to collect information on parents’ perspectives and needs, with surveys being a valuable and practical tool.

• Consider the demographic characteristics of your participants and whether they have access to the Internet and a device to complete the survey to help determine the preferred method of gathering information (e.g., online survey platform or paper and pen method).
• School communities should collaborate to determine where they need parent input (e.g., mental health, healthy eating, physical activity, school plans, educational quality, need for services, and rating of services).
• Consider the length of your survey. Long surveys may be overwhelming for parents to complete.
• Give parents a specific timeframe to fill out the survey, as having timely feedback will allow the school to quickly and effectively make adjustments as necessary.
• Build in time for school staff to interpret the survey data and begin the process of change and/or helping families.