MORE parents believe standards have got worse in secondary schools since Labour came to power than think they have got better, a poll for The TES reveals.

Even in primaries, where ministers pride themselves on making great strides, only four in 10 parents with a child at a primary detect a general improvement.

Yet more than three out of four parents with children at state secondaries or primaries think their own child’s school “good” or “excellent”.

This startling discrepancy suggests that millions of parents credit teachers rather than the Government with the high standards they find in their own children’s schools.

And it shows that a government which has made raising school standards its number-one priority has so far failed to convince the public that it is succeeding.

The survey of more than 1,500 parents, conducted by YouGov late last month, also found most parents were opposed to allowing universities to charge “top-up” tuition fees of thousands of pounds a year so they can compete with the world’s best.

While parents are happy with both the primaries and secondaries attended by their own children - 77 per cent think them “good” or “excellent” and only 4 per cent “poor” or “bad” - the survey suggests they generally take a much dimmer view of Britain’s state secondary schools than they do of state primaries. Only 27 per cent think secondary schools generally “good” or “excellent”, compared with 45 per cent for primary schools.

Asked what has happened to state secondary standards since Labour came to power, 33 per cent think they have got worse and 29 per cent think they have got better. Even parents with children at a secondary school are only slightly more positive.

The picture for primary schools is happier. But even here, only 35 per cent of parents think things have improved while 30 per cent think they have got worse. Even among primary parents, only 40 per cent see an improvement.

On the issue of student grants and tuition fees, the survey shows that three out of four parents now accept that students - at least the better-off ones - should pay for university education. But the message on how to do it is unclear.

Only 8 per cent of parents think that the present system of loans and fees for students should stay as it is. The biggest group (40 per cent) wants to keep it for “better-off families” but scrap it for students from families with below-average income. Just over half (51 per cent) of parents want to see tuition fees scrapped and maintenance grants reintroduced - but they are evenly divided between those who want to pay for the change with a graduate tax (27 per cent) and those who want to pay for it by raising income tax (24 per cent).

Top-up fees for the best universities are backed by fewer than one in four parents. More than half (54 per cent) want the Government simply to give Britain’s best universities more money, if necessary by raising income tax.

A spokesman for the Department of Education and Skills said:

“Standards are not falling. This year has seen the best-ever GCSE results. But, it is right that parents expect standards to continue to rise.

“That is why this summer we announced additional real-terms funding of almost pound;300 per pupil over the next three years. That investment is backed by radical reform of the secondary system and workforce.” The key stage 3 and 14 to 19 strategies would deliver deliver a stimulating, broad-based academic and vocational curriculum, he added.

YouGov questioned a representative sample of 1,530 parents throughout Britain online between October 25 and 28.