Create a survey - Full Guide | EI Learning Hub

This comprehensive guide walks you through each stage of the survey creation process, from initial setup to launch.

Click on 'Create Survey' underneath the AI conversation box

STEP 1: CREATE

1.1: Choose Your Audience

To get started, click on the ‘Create New Survey’ button. This takes you to the audience selection screen.

On this screen, you need to choose your audience. You can select from staff, students, parents, or a combination of these groups.

Next, decide whether the survey should be anonymous. If you choose the anonymous option, there must be at least 10 participants to ensure confidentiality.

For Multi-Academy Trusts, you also have the option to share your survey and results with your schools.

Use the slider toggles to enable or disable these features, then click 'Continue’ to start building your survey.

1.2: Build Your Survey

Then, you'll either create a survey from scratch or use a pre-built template.

Start from scratch - watch a 60 second video
Use a template - watch a 90 second video

Option A: Start from Scratch

Choose 'Start from Scratch', then give your survey a name and click 'Create Survey'.
To add questions, click 'Add New Question' or use the Question Bank.
If creating your own question, choose the most suitable answer format. You can also add an optional description or image.
You can adjust numerical values and add emojis to your questions. Click 'Save' when you are done.
To reorder questions, drag the six dots located next to a question number.
You can add a survey tag in 'Survey Settings' to help organise and reuse your surveys in the future.

Option B: Use a Template

1. Choose Your Template: You can find the perfect template in one of three ways:

By topic: Use the list on the left to browse templates by subject.
By scrolling: Look through the tiled display of all available templates. You can also toggle 'Show Previously Used Surveys' to quickly find templates you have used before.
By searching: If you know what you're looking for, use the search bar.

2. Select the Template:

Hover over the template tile you wish to use.
Click ‘Use Template’. You can also click ‘Preview Template’ if you want to review it first.

3. Review and Add Questions:

The questions from your chosen template will be displayed.
To add more questions, scroll to the bottom and click ‘Add New Question’ or select questions from the Question Bank.

STEP 2: PARTICIPANTS

Next, you'll define who will receive the survey - watch a 90 second video

1. Choose Your Participants:

Staff: By job role (e.g., teachers).
Students: By characteristics like Pupil Premium.
Parents: Filters will correspond to their child's attributes.

2. Enable Accessibility Support (Optional)

Turn on the accessibility widget (Widgit) to add symbols that support users with communication challenges.
Participants can also enable this feature themselves when they open the survey.

3. Apply Filters:

To narrow your audience, turn off the ‘All’ toggle for a group (e.g., Staff) and use the drop-down menus to make your selection.
You can use the (+) and (-) buttons to add or remove filters using ‘and’ / ‘or’ logic.

4. Check Your Participant Count:

The total number of participants will be displayed on screen.
Click ‘Show Participants’ for a detailed view. Please note that for data protection reasons, this list cannot be downloaded.

5. Save and Continue:

Once you are happy with your selection, click ‘Save and Next’ to proceed.

STEP 3: INVITES

Now it's time to customise the invitation email - watch a 75 second video

1. Select the Audience: Ensure you have the correct participant group (Staff, Parents, or Students) selected.

2. Customise the Invitation: Click ‘Customise Invitations’ and then ‘Add New’ to create a new email template.

3. Write Your Message:

Add a clear subject line
Write the body of your email. You can use inserts to add personalised details:

► Insert School/Trust Name: Clarifies which organisation the survey is for.

► Insert Participant Name: Automatically adds the recipient's first name. This is best for staff and students; for parents, a general greeting like "Dear Parents/Carers" is recommended

► Insert Survey Link: This is essential. Each link is unique to the recipient and must not be shared.

4. Save the Invite: Click ‘Save’ or ‘Use Template’. Your custom invitation will be saved for future use.

STEP 4: SCHEDULE

Finally, choose when your survey will go live - Watch a 90 second video

You have two options for launching your survey:

Option 1: Launch Now

Click the ‘Launch Now’ button
Set the survey end date and time.
Review the summary and click ‘Save’ to confirm.

Option 2: Schedule for Later

Click the button next to ‘Schedule’
Choose a future launch date and time.
Set the frequency if it's a recurring survey.
Select the end date and time.
Review the summary and click ‘Save’ to finalise.

Note: If you have set "Protected Dates" (like school holidays), the system will automatically skip sending invitations during these periods.