Just 3 per cent of parents totally trust Michael Gove to make decisions about their child’s education, with over half admitting they do not trust him at all, according to a new survey.

The YouGov study, commissioned by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) ahead of its conference in Brighton this weekend, also found that 50 per cent of parents believe that the government’s impact on education has been negative.

When asked if they would like their child to become a teacher, 42 per cent of the 1,500 parents surveyed answered no, with “poor pay”, “being undervalued” and “too much pressure and stress” cited as reasons why.

While 31 per cent said they totally trusted teachers to make decisions about their child’s education, the corresponding figure for the education secretary (pictured) was just 3 per cent; 52 per cent said they did not trust him at all.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: “The government needs to start listening to someone other than themselves.

“From the issue of unqualified teachers to the flagship academies and free schools programme, no one is convinced of their education reforms. A well-rounded education system delivered by motivated and respected teachers is what we need. The coalition is giving us the exact opposite.”

The survey found that 49 per cent of parents believed that teaching unions were “right in most of their concerns about education policy and schools,” although 23 per cent said they were an “obstacle to necessary reforms”.

Two-thirds (65 per cent) agreed that teachers should have the democratic right to strike, although they were not asked specifically if they supported the union’s recent strike action.