GEC Homes is the Global Equality Collective’s research programme focused on parent and carer voice in education.
The Global Equality Collective (GEC) has spent several years developing Kaleidoscopic Data, an approach designed to surface lived experiences within education systems that are often invisible within traditional metrics.
To date, this work has focused primarily on student and staff voice, helping schools and system leaders better understand patterns relating to belonging, inclusion and wellbeing.
The development ofour Parent & Carer Voice Index represents the next stage of this research, recognising that families hold important insight into how education systems operate around children and young people.
This work is grounded in a principle widely used within participatory research:
Understanding how families experience their relationships with schools is therefore a critical part of understanding the broader ecology of education systems.
Parent and Carer Voice: Extending the Evidence Base
Research context
Research on parental engagement and involvement has long demonstrated the importance of relationships between families and schools in supporting children’s learning (Epstein, 2011; Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003).
Sociological studies have also shown that families experience education systems differently depending on their social context, with factors such as class, culture and institutional expectations shaping interactions between parents and schools (Crozier & Davies, 2007; Lareau, 2011).
In parallel, research within SEND and disability studies has documented the complex journeys many families navigate when seeking appropriate support for their children (Runswick-Cole & Goodley, 2013).
While these studies provide valuable insight, much of the literature is based on small qualitative samples, while national surveys of parents typically involve 1,000–2,000 respondents and often focus on general satisfaction with schools.
Relatively little research combines:
• large-scale parent voice data
• lived experience insight
• intersectional interpretation
• practitioner knowledge
within a single dataset.
A Kaleidoscopic Data approach
The Parent & Carer Voice Index seeks to extend this evidence base by applying the Kaleidoscopic Data framework, developed through the doctoral research of Dr Nicole Ponsford.
This approach combines:
quantitative survey data
qualitative lived-experience insights
practitioner interpretation through the GEC Circle
contextual understanding from school leaders and education experts
By placing parent voice alongside student and staff voice, the project aims to generate a more complete understanding of how belonging, trust and engagement are shaped within education systems.
Let’s build an education system
that listens, understands
and acts with empathy.
Method
The development of the Parent & Carer Voice Index has involved a mixed-methods research process, including:
focus groups with parent carers
collaborative workshops
one-to-one interviews
Who has been involved?
Parents and Carers
Sharing their lived experiences to inform the project.
School and Trust Leaders
Helping to shape a framework that works in real-world contexts.
The GEC Circle of Inclusion Experts
Providing expert guidance on inclusion and engagement practices.
In Partnership with SquarePeg
SquarePeg is our main partner in this research project due to their depth of experience, wide community and shared vision.
Also involved are:
Why Now?
Why this work matters now
Current national conversations about education frequently focus on indicators such as attendance, behaviour and attainment.
While these measures are important, they often capture the outcomes of disengagement rather than the conditions that produce it.
Understanding how families experience their relationships with schools is therefore an important part of moving the conversation upstream, toward the conditions that enable children and young people to thrive.
Thank you to the wonderful people and organisations that have fed into
our research and development of our national GEC Parent and Carer Voice survey.
“I’ve experienced the education system as a ‘disadvantaged’ student, a teacher, and now a SEND parent. One thing is clear: to truly change outcomes, we need to build systems where parents and carers are heard on their terms. With GEC Homes, we’re bringing together families, leaders, and experts to create a framework and technology that turns listening into meaningful action — driven by empathy, not sympathy.”
Dr Nicole Ponsford, Founding CEO, GEC
Next steps
The Parent & Carer Voice Survey will launch on the 17th March and remain open until Friday 9 May 2026.
Through the GEC Circle, Listening Hubs and partner networks, the survey will be shared widely in order to build a national dataset capturing parent and carer experiences of education systems.
Insights from the research will contribute to the development of the Parent & Carer Voice Index, extending the Kaleidoscopic Data programme of research.
What is Inclusion and Belonging?
Our explainer animation positions our view on this and how we can all take action to make a difference.
Animation by the very talented Tinmouse