An in-depth consultation exercise has been launched to discover what pupils, their parents and school staff in Helensburgh and Lomond think of their school.

Questionnaires have been given to 2,380 pupils from P4-S6, their parents or carers and 485 school staff, which cover all aspects of school life.

Different surveys have been drawn up for the three groups. All have a list of statements and then empty boxes marked ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘don’t know’, ‘disagree’ and ‘strongly disagree’, which respondents are asked to tick as appropriate.

The exercise is part of the education service’s self-evaluation, and the information gathered will be used to inform service improvements in future years.

Although it is currently only being carried out in the Helensburgh and Lomond school cluster, the survey will be rolled out across Argyll and Bute in the future. The next area to be covered will be Oban, Lorn and the Isles in spring 2012.

Argyll and Bute’s spokesperson for education and lifelong learning, Councillor Ellen Morton, said: “This is a significant piece of work which is designed to capture the views of every pupil, parent and member of staff in the Helensburgh and Lomond area.

“We want to know what people think is good about their school and their child’s school, and what they think could be improved.

“All the information contained in the responses will be collated, and a summary posted on the council’s education website.”

The questionnaires are due to be returned by the end of this week.