Northamptonshire Parent Carer Voices (NPCV) represents a dedicated community of parents and carers whose children navigate the complexities of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
National datasets often provide a broad overview of service provision, yet frequently fail to capture the day-to-day realities of families. This “Data Gap” means that the unique struggles of those in North Northamptonshire, or the specific barriers faced by different demographic groups, can remain hidden behind high-level averages.
Without granular evidence, it is difficult for NPCV to effectively challenge existing service models or advocate for targeted investment where it is needed most. The organisation required a robust way to transform individual stories and survey responses into a professional evidence base. This would allow them to move beyond anecdotal feedback and present a clear, authoritative case to local authorities, health providers, and education settings about where the system is succeeding and where there is room for improvement.
To bridge this gap, we conducted a comprehensive dual-analysis project that transformed raw survey data from both parents and young people into two distinct, high-impact reports. Our work began by analysing the experiences of parents and carers across North Northamptonshire, with a secondary view of cross-county services to ensure no regional disparities were overlooked.
We compared services across a wide range of variables, including the age and gender of the child, the specific nature of their needs, and their current educational setting. By breaking the data down in this way, we were able to identify trends around dissatisfaction and highlight hidden pockets of need.
For instance, we compared the experiences of those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) against those receiving standard SEND support, revealing how the type of administrative support significantly impacts a family’s journey.
To keep the human element at the heart of the data, we performed a thematic analysis of qualitative feedback, categorising hundreds of open-ended comments into core themes, using word clouds and direct quotes to provide a snapshot of the community’s emotional and practical concerns.
This was complemented by a focused analysis of the young person’s survey, which prioritised themes of safety, belonging, and independence. By translating these easy-read responses into professional metrics, we ensured that the voices of children and young people were treated with the same statistical rigour as those of the adults.
The final delivery consisted of two accessible, evidence-rich reports designed to be used as strategic tools to support advocacy and investment decisions.
Bring quantitative responses and qualitative feedback together to identify the most important patterns, differences and themes.
Present complex survey results in a clear, accessible report that helps families, partners and decision-makers understand what the evidence means.
Back up discussions around policy and resource allocation with the evidence from your surveys, combined with our place-based data
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