Parent Questionnaire

Parent Questionnaire Feedback October 2022

We had over 150 responses and the overwhelming feedback was that your child had settled into school life well and they were enjoying life with their new teachers and learning.
We were also happy to receive constructive feedback regarding various issues in and around school and below have tried to respond to those comments.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts as this really does help us reflect on what we are doing well and what tweaks we can make to improve your child’s day to day experiences at Calmore Junior School.

Communication

Is there the possibility for having staff email addresses in order to make direct contact?

It is school policy not to give parents direct email addresses for staff. This is to ensure staff well-being but also as we recognise the mixed messages not receiving a response either immediately or at all might have. We continue to welcome contact from parents via the office who can then pass on your concerns to staff.

Is there a way to speak directly with teachers instead of having to go through the office?

If parents feel their concern requires direct contact with a teacher, they can ask for the office to arrange this. We try to deal with all issues promptly so sometimes if the office is able to offer a solution, we encourage that. If you feel you would still like to meet with the teacher, we will always try to facilitate that though not necessarily as swiftly.

Can surnames be put onto Friday Focus to avoid confusion with children of similar names?

We are not able to put surnames on the Weekly Focus for GDPR reasons however we do try to add the initial where there are children with the same first name. If we have missed that on occasions, we apologise and will look out for these in future.

There is lots of communication – sometimes a little too much.

We are mindful of frequent messages and have tried to keep these to a minimum (Friday Weekly Focus) but every now and then need to send extra communication. We always try to keep these messages relevant to specific class or year groups. Worth noting that many parents praised the levels of communication and being kept up to date but we take this point on board.

Sometimes a bit more notice regarding parental support or school events would be appreciated.

We try to give as much warning in advance but occasionally there are last minute changes to events and competition details that mean we have to make decisions late. We will try to address this though as we recognise we are asking YOU to help so want to support you in making arrangements. Don’t forget to check the key dates at the end of the Weekly Focus for events already in the diary.

Learning

Would it be possible to see my child’s learning each week so that I can support their understanding at home?

It would be lovely to share work weekly but unfortunately not manageable for staff. We do include in the Weekly Focus a summary of all that the children have covered that week and also include what they will be looking at the following week. Curriculum Leaflets and Knowledge Organisers detailing the half  termly content are sent home at the start of each half term to aid you with any support you are keen to provide your child at home.

Are there more opportunities to visit in school and see my child’s learning?

This first half term we have held Exit Points in each year group, had opportunities to have lunch with your child, Parents Evenings and Maths Come & Do sessions; in Autumn 2 we shall be welcoming you to Exit Points, the Y4 Nativity and the Christmas Service. We welcome parent readers with open arms (though will need to complete some paperwork beforehand)

Is there more homework that can be sent home?

We took the decision in the past year to focus our homework on OPPORTUNITY and RESPONSIBILITY. This was due to the fact that we saw the repeated stress it was causing many families whilst not necessarily making an impact in the classroom – the same children were not completing tasks so were receiving sanctions on a weekly basis. We decided to focus our energies on three areas:
1. Times tables – learning these and having rapid recall of multiplication facts has a huge impact in maths
2. Reading – regular reading of 5 times a week improves children’s confidence, knowledge and ability to
independently access learning in class
3. Home learning project linked to the half term’s unit of work – this is optional and provides opportunity to create
own pieces of work either on their own or with the family

If children and parents focus fully on learning times tables and reading regularly, this will be make the biggest difference
in class.

My child would like to learn dance.

We have a dance club after school on Fridays and are pleased to say dance will also be the focus for PE lessons after in the New Year.

Praise, achievement and celebration

Is there an even distribution of awards across the pupils and is effort rewarded as well as achievement?

Awards are monitored and records kept to ensure all pupils are given fair opportunities to receive praise. We celebrate pupils’ successes all the time and not only through certificates and named awards. We actually tend to celebrate effort over achievement with a focus on our learning Super Heroes – this is true academically and in sporting competition. As well as regular verbal praise in class, a range of rewards and awards are given out each day and every week: housepoints, golden tokens, stickers, Headteacher Award and BEST Certificates, as well as Always Tea, reserved for children that always demonstrate positive learning behaviours. It is also important to recognise achievement too but we certainly prioritise effort over this. Regularly, children are awarded certificates in Friday’s Celebration Assembly for effort and giving things a go rather than for ‘being the best’. We will ensure this is made clear in celebration assemblies and class though.

Sport

Are all children given a chance to represent the school at sporting events?

We are aware that we have some pupils who have been selected on multiple occasions but we do try to vary this where possible. We strive to strike a balance between participation and competing and this year have been trying where possible to take more than one team so as to include more pupils. However we are often limited to taking single teams  as we require support with transport to and from events. We keep a record of all those that attend clubs and compete and will try to include more in future. We thank you for highlighting this.

Will there be more variety in clubs at school?

We are already in talks with our after school club provider to introduce different after school clubs but have to balance this with which ones are already popular. We hope to be introducing a coding club and Lego club very soon as we recognise not everyone is ‘sporty’. We have also tried to run lunchtime clubs to make them available to ALL pupils but this has been hard to maintain due to staffing and the difficulties in finding supply cover at times.

School in general

Is there a possibility of a new path outside Year 4 as its always so busy with Year 4 and Year 5 parents?

We are aware that this is not ideal and is something we had previously looked into. Unfortunately the quote we received to add an additional path was ‘rather expensive’ at a time when school budgets are being squeezed even more. For now we ask that Year 4 parents move clear of 4SG and 4AV class doors so to keep that single pathway as clear as possible. Thank you for working with us on this one.