A4.1 Contacting schools
1,537 schools were sampled – 1,023 in the main sample and 514 in the reserve sample. All schools in the main sample were sent an initial letter during the summer term of 2021, explaining that they had been selected to take part in the survey and would be contacted at the start of the autumn term.
Ipsos contacted all schools again in 2021 at the start of the autumn term. Schools were invited to take part, and if they agreed, a date and time for an interviewer to visit the school were confirmed, and classes were selected. Interviewers then rang the school a few days before the survey appointment to confirm the visit time and answer any questions the school had. In 2021 schools were also given the option to administer the survey themselves with the teacher led option, questionnaires were sent to the school in advance and the recruiters would contact schools to confirm questionnaires had been completed and to arrange collection. This option was added in response to the Covid pandemic in instances where schools had restrictions on visitors to the school.
Follow-up letters, emails and calls were made to schools that did not respond to encourage them to take part in the survey. All schools in London and a random sample of schools outside of London were offered an incentive of £200 to take part. This was to assess the impact that providing an incentive has on recruitment.
However, the response rate was initially very poor, due to the ongoing impact on schools of Covid during the 2021-22 Autumn term. As such, the decision was taken to extend the incentive to all schools from November 2021.
A4.2 Carrying out the survey - interviewer led
Interviewers from Ipsos arranged with schools a convenient time to conduct the survey. Where possible, arrangements were made for the three classes to take part in the survey on the same day, either all in the same location at the same time, or at different times throughout the day (usually in their classroom). In some schools however, the survey sessions were completed over two separate visits.
Pupils completed the questionnaire under the interviewer’s supervision. The interviewer briefly explained why the survey was being carried out, what would happen to the information given, explaining how the questionnaire should be filled in, and stressing the voluntary nature of survey participation. The questionnaires are available on the main publication page.
Interviewers alternated the drug-focused and smoking-focused questionnaires when handing them out to pupils. This meant that a pupil would not be sat next to another pupil completing the same version of the questionnaire to ensure privacy of their answers.
Questionnaires were completed in ‘exam conditions’; pupils were not allowed to discuss the questions with each other or look at others’ answers. Pupils could request and receive help if they did not understand questions. A teacher was present during the completion of questionnaires, but they were not allowed to see pupils’ questionnaires at any stage of the survey. Interviewers stressed that pupils’ answers would be completely confidential, that no names were collected on the questionnaire and that their answers would not be shared with teachers. Questionnaires were serial numbered for administrative purposes, but serial numbers were not linked to pupils’ names.
In participating schools, a staff member was also asked to complete a questionnaire about how the school taught pupils about smoking, drinking alcohol and illicit drugs (the school level questionnaire).
A4.3 Carrying out the survey - school led
In 2021 schools were offered the option to complete the survey themselves without requiring an interviewer to come into the school. This change was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow schools to take part even if there were restrictions on visitors allowed into schools.
When a school agreed to participate, recruiters sent a pack to schools which included the questionnaires and instructions on how to administer the questionnaire. Pupils completed the questionnaire under the class teacher’s supervision in exam conditions.
Once a school had completed the questionnaires, they contacted the recruiter, who would arrange for a courier to collect the questionnaires from the schools and return them to Ipsos for scanning. For the analysis all responses were treated the same regardless of whether the survey was led by an interviewer or the school. The data tables named 'Data quality tables - Mode of survey delivery', show the impact of survey delivery mode on key estimates for smoking, drinking and drug use.
A4.4 Mop-up sessions
Mop-up sessions were held when 4 or more pupils were missing from class. Interviewers were required to schedule the mop-up session on the day of the initial visit. In cases where the school had opted to lead the survey sessions, instructions were provided to guide them through the setting up mop-up sessions at a convenient time. The absent pupils were either interviewed in a separate session, or with another class taking part at a later date. Mop-up sessions were conducted with 164 pupils. Information on mop sessions was provided by teachers via completed contact sheets.
A4.5 Withdrawing pupils from the survey
Schools are required to send out letters to parents/carers of pupils in selected classes to inform them when the survey will be taking place and to provide information about the survey content. The letter provides parents with an opportunity to withdraw their child from the survey.
In accordance with MRS guidelines, pupils were provided with an opportunity to decline to take part (even though a responsible adult has given permission for their participation)
In total, 61 pupils decided to opt-out or were withdrawn out by their parents/carers. Information on opt-outs was provided by teachers via completed contact sheets.