ARCHIVE - Governors' Response to Parents' Questionnaire 17/12/10
Dear Parents,
Thank you for taking the time to fill in our governors' questionnaire at the last parents evenings. As promised we are letting you know before the end of term what the main findings were. These views represent the views of the parents of 73% of the children.
Areas of high satisfaction:
1. Standards and values
2. Curriculum and pupil support
3. Community and pastoral care
4. Settling in
Areas for Improvement
1. Communication - about children's progress and school events
2. Use of the website
3. Awareness of the governors' role
4. Reception hours
5. After school provision
The issue of communication actually incorporates the first 3 of the above list.
Communication of children's progress: Many of you were happy with the more detailed specific targets received at the recent parents' evenings and similar opportunities will be made available for you during the year, or if you are concerned.
Communication about school events: the website, rather than paper letters is the main method of contacting parents at the moment, yet the survey also showed that many of you do not use the website regularly. It is a superb facility for the school and is well worth visiting when you have time.
Another possibility is to set up a Parent Mail which would use email and/or texting as a quick method of communicating simultaneously with those parents who have the facility to use these.
Awareness of governors' role: governors act as a 'critical friend' to the school. Our photos are in the entrance hall and on the website with a paragraph about each of us. We are discussing the idea of providing a specific email link to governors, much the same as you have a direct link to Paul Miller at the moment, where you could contact us directly if you wanted to.
Reception hours: a large proportion of parents wanted 'mornings only' to last for 2 weeks. From September 2011 intake will be staggered for some weeks and then all children will be full-time for the rest of the term. More details will follow.
After school provision: a significant number of parents were keen to see this extended. Advantage could be taken of the provision already provided by Lower Covey Montessori Nursery in the village.
At our next Governors' Meeting on January 20th 2011, we will making some decisions based on these findings. If you would like to give us any further comments before that date, please write to me, via the school. We would be very pleased to hear from you. Thank you very much for your participation so far. We are all working together to make our school as good as it can get for your children.
Judy Ferretter, Chair of Governors