Parent Council 2nd Dec 2020

Parent Council – 2^nd December 2020

Let’s recap…At our last meeting we discussed:

 

The discussions focused around parent experiences of lockdown, the return to school, what has gone well and what we could improve on. We also discussed communication and opportunities for parents to view what is happening in school.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive about all aspects of the school’s response and support during the lockdown and return to school period.

 

• Parents felt that we listened and responded to feedback quickly to make improvements.
• Parents praised staff for the level of support and communication throughout the lockdown period.
• Parents reported how smooth the transition back in to school had been for their children.
• Parents reported how much their children enjoyed the school lunches and how lucky they are to have multiple options and all food prepared freshly on site each day. 
• There was mixed feedback regarding the new ParentPay app but it was felt that it would take time for people to get used to the new system.
• The new website was complimented.

 

The areas for further focus were:

 

• Consider how we can further improve opportunities for communication with the class teacher. In contrast to the level of interaction throughout the lockdown period, there is much less conversation now that the children are back at school.

Action taken:  Teachers have been actively seeking opportunities to communicate with parents through class emails, homework/reading diaries and telephone conversations.  We also offered options for parents to engage in parent consultations and had a much better uptake/’attendance’ than during non Covid times.

 

• Consider end of day arrangements for bad weather days.

Action taken: We reviewed end of school pick up arrangements which seem to be working very well.  All children are warm and dry and we successfully reduced the volume of traffic on school site at the end of the day.

 

• Is it possible to have videos of what is happening in school, e.g. for parents to see what a lunchtime looks like?
• Action taken: Videos have been used for our Reception parents as a useful tool for communication. We have also scheduled sharing of Christmas events.              
• It was suggested that we should promote school dinners more widely as it was felt that some parents may not realise just what is on offer or the size of the portions.
• Action taken: We had a ‘Favourites day’, the uptake was very good! We plan to have a calendar of different theme menus throughout the year. We are considering how we can promote school dinners even more e.g. use of videos to share the lunchtime experience and meal provision and sharing pupil feedback more widely.                                                                                                                                                                                                                
• Parent Council – 2^nd December 2020

• Over to you…

   

   

• What do you think the school has done well over the last term?
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• The end of the day arrangements.  Every day I am impressed with how the school systems are working.  I have heard from many parents that they hope this kind of arrangement stays in place in the future as it is a lot easier and quicker.

   

  I really like the communication.  Some days there are a few too many emails but the systems in place with the teachers are brilliant.

   

  Tapestry is really good for us knowing what is really going on with the learning. My child has settled well and that is a result of all that the teachers have done.

   

  My child had some difficulties with toileting but I have been very impressed with how his care plan has been taken on board and everything has been adapted to his individual needs.  I am very thankful for that.

   

  Job shares are working really well. The transition is managed very well so both teachers are informed.  There is a singular message.

   

  My child really liked the Head Girl reading him a story in assembly.

   

  I am extremely happy that you are doing everything possible to keep my children and everyone else’s safe.

   

• What has your child’s response been?

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  My child has had a massively positive experience.  At nursery he used to be a little more ‘clingy’ but this has not been the case since starting school. Recently he has

   

  I have two children who are both very happy.  They have seen the differences in the procedures but actually they have preferred the systems in place as they like the rules and responsibilities.

   

  Both of my children have come back to school very willingly and although they are restricted on seeing certain friends, they are enjoying being able to see their friends and mix.  My eldest is enjoying the independence and is getting ready for the move to secondary school.  My younger child is thoroughly enjoying being in his new class and has responded well to his new teacher.

   

• How informed have you felt about what your child is learning and your child’s next steps?

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  In Reception we were sent an email just before half term informing us of what was going to be covered over the course of the next half term.  There is regular communication about what they are covering.

   

  The yellow reading book is really helpful as I can ask questions here and it provides me with another means of communication.  During our consultation we were able to learn about how our child is getting on and the support which is place to help him in the areas he is less interested or keen to work on.

  I have been given different strategies to help my son learn his phonics.

   

  The parent consultation was brilliant in giving me all the information I needed. We do not have ongoing updates from class teachers.

  It would be nice to see praise or feedback through the homework diary though I am conscious this may be time consuming for teachers.

   

• Is there anything that you think has changed for the better during Covid, which you feel we should hang on to going forwards? (procedures etc)
• .Drop off and collection procedures.
• Class emails – timely responses from class teachers.

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  What do you think we could improve on? Do you have any suggestions?

   

  Can they update what the children had, for tuck and dinner, during the day so that parents can see this at the end of the day, that would be good.

   

  Could we explore virtual school trips? Colchester Zoo, Natural History Museum? Arrange a video call with someone who works there etc.

   

  Can the story time with the Head Boy and Head Girl be continued?

   

  Is there still a stationery shop?

   

  We could promote the school website more?

  Signpost parents to the website – make them engage with it.

  Potential to make the website more interactive.

   

  Could homework be put on the website?

  Could the year group pages give more information about the year group specific resources, links and reminders?

  Could class emails be used more to send reminders or announcements to year groups.

   

  AOB

   

  Parking supervision? Possible scheme to deter repeat offenders.

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