Distance Education Program - Parent Survey

Thank you for your interest in supporting Dolly's Dream to develop a program to support the transition of rural and remote students to boarding school.

Dolly's Dream is an anti-bullying foundation committed to addressing issues that adversely affect the wellbeing of children by providing education and support.

Your responses to this survey will allow us to better understand your experiences, concerns and needs during the transition to boarding school and help guide us in developing a program to support rural and remote students and their family.

Am I eligible?

You are eligible to complete this survey if you are a parent/caregiver of a child living in rural or remote Australia. However, please note that we will initially be piloting our program in Queensland and the Northern Territory. 

We would like to hear from parents whose children have already transitioned to boarding school, as well as parents who are preparing a child for the transition in the next few years.

How long will it take?

There are a total of 23 questions in the survey, that will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

What will happen to my information?

The responses you provide to these questions will be stored securely at Dolly’s Dream and used to help us plan a program to support students transition to boarding school. We may also use the data collected to help advocate for the needs of rural and remote families. We will not share your responses with any third parties. We will not ask you to provide any identifiable information (i.e. your name or date of birth), so your survey responses will be anonymous.

You will have the option of providing your email address so that we can contact you about additional opportunities to be involved with the development of this program. You do not have to provide your email if you do not wish. Your email address will be stored securely on a password protected device, separately from your survey responses such that you cannot be identified.

We appreciate your time and honesty in completing this survey.

Parent Needs:

The next 6 questions are about YOUR concerns and needs with your child’s transition to boarding school.

Please remember to continue to think about the child you indicated in question 1:

• The child in your care who will attend boarding school next, OR
• The child in your care who has most recently transitioned to boarding school 

The next two questions ask about how YOU might respond if your child was experiencing difficulties with homesickness and bullying while away at boarding school. The intention of these questions is to better understand approaches to parenting from a distance so that we can determine the most appropriate supports and resources.

For each of the response option please indicate on a scale from 1 (extremelu unlikely) to 7 (extremely likely) the likelihood that you would respond in the ways listed.

Please read each item carefully and respond as honestly and sincerely as you can. Don't spend too long thinking about your response.

Child Needs:

The next 7 questions are about YOUR CHILD'S concerns with the transition to boarding school.

Please remember to continue to think about the child you indicated in question 1:

• The child in your care who will attend boarding school next, OR
• The child in your care who has most recently transitioned to boarding school 

Opportunities for support:

The final 4 questions are about YOUR experience with, and preference for, boarding school transition programs and support.