Parental Survey

Parental Survey December 2023

Thank you to all those parents that completed this terms questionnaire. These questionnaires are hugely important to us as part of our SDP. 

98% of you said that your children are safe at school.

90% of you said your children enjoy school.

96% of you said that you are happy with the education your child is receiving.

90% of you know what your child is learning.

100% said that they would recommend the school to others.

Areas of Success include:

Catholic ethos

Curriculum

Extra Curricular and learning experiences

Approachable Staff

SEND and inclusion

Relationships with families

Ethos and Values

Approach to bullying and safeguarding 

Support both academically and pastorally

School response time and going the extra mile.

Areas for Development.

You said: Parking Issues 

The school is located on a residential street making the parking situation very difficult. We do encourage parents to park around the back by the church as there is a large car park there that can be used both before and after school. The school was registered for Safe Street scheme which meant that Kirklands Road would be closed at drop off and pick up to all vehicles - none residential - however funding for this scheme has been pulled.

Furthermore , we have invested in Road Safety resources and have adjusted our ‘Drop Off & Pick Up” routines to help ease congestion. We are also working closely with the Police who are monitoring the road regularly.

You said: Reporting of Assessment and Progress

This has been identified as an area of improvement for the school. The school is legally obliged to report on your children 3 times a year be this either via Parents Evening or a written report. 

Your child will be receiving a data report this term via the Arbor app, as a school, we are hoping to move away from formal assessments where possible.  

You said - Reading Books in School

Over the past 12 months, the school has spent over £2000 on restocking the school library and the classroom libraries. Last month the school spent £1000 on new books for the classrooms and we offer online books from our website. Children in EYFS and Yr 1 access specific texts linked systematically to our phonics scheme and the older children should have two books, one to bring home at their level and another book that is to aid Reading for Pleasure in the school. 

We have recently made all the books available that are used for the phonics scheme via the Parent Portal and we have a large library of audio and reading books on our website under Reading for Pleasure.

You said: More Hands on Learning

The school offers a rich curriculum with opportunities across all subjects. We have regular DT days and Art & Music are delivered weekly. We have an upcoming worship for Yr 5 & 6 based around Space and Rocket Making and we encourage as much outdoor learning as possible. Our children receive over 2 hours PE a week and we offer a rich variety of extra curricular sport programmes ranging from football to martial arts. Further to this, we have invested in our IT and musical instruments to ensure our children have up to date tools for their education.

You said: Student Voice on Behaviour

We operate a positive behaviour policy where children are able to reflect on their choices. We survey our children in behaviour and the School Council plays an active role in reviewing our behaviour policies.  We work closely with outside agencies on promoting  good behaviour and children should not feel “punished” as a result of our behaviour policy as all misbehaviours are an opportunity for reflection. The school operates a Positive Behaviour Matrix which praises positive behaviour alongside a Rewards and Consequences ladder.

You said: Inclusion and SEND

As a Head, I am incredibly proud of our work around SEND and our aim to be an inclusive school. All children have the same opportunities and we look at equity over equality. We have invested heavily in ‘The Den’ and are making new spaces by developing both ‘The Snug’ and new intervention rooms.

You said: Staffing

As a school we try to do our best to ensure that staffing is constant but, sadly, sometimes things happen beyond our control. The well-being of our children and staff is paramount but there have been occasions around a shortage of supply staff to cover things such as absence and training. As a Head, this is frustrating to me as children need routine. 

We do have two classes that are split between staff with one being streamed to help progress therefore, if there is a conflict then the other staff member steps in. Further to this, we also have a PPA teacher who takes each class weekly; for the older children, it is important that they get taught by other teachers especially as this is part of their next step into secondary. 

You said: Communication

I fully agree that this should be an area highlighted for improvement. Over the past few years there have been many changes in how we communicate. The school is a paperless school therefore physical letters do not get sent home regularly. I also appreciate that emails are missed and that notifications of emails simply sometimes do not work. We are trying hard to improve this and we are hoping that this will improve further in January through the Arbor app and it’s notification system.

With regards to dates etc, please check our school website as there is a calendar on there for each term. Dates for the Diary do get sent out electronically but all of this needs to come under the same umbrella where possible.

Parental Survey Summer 2022 - 2023

In order to improve our school, our practice and our processes.  At St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School we value a home school partnership that continues to develop the full potential of every child . As part of this partnership we would like to hear your views of the school. We will then endeavour to use the information collected to make further improvements and developments to the school.

This questionnaire was completed in July  2023 and we had a record number of families respond.  Thank you for your continued support and feedback.

Does your child feel safe at school?

100% Yes

Does your child enjoy school?

100% Yes

Are you happy with the education that your child is receiving?

Yes 95%
Areas highlighted by parents for improvement:

1 More 1 to 1 support.

2. More extra curricular sport for KS1

3. More variety of reading books in class.

4. Better arrangements at pick up.

5. Better communication with parents.

You said - we listened. New for 2023-2024

New Inclusion TA to work with individual children. 
Dance, Martial Arts and Multi Skills for KS1

Last investment in both class and school library stock. 
End of day arrangements changed to allow parents back on site. 

School aim to streamline communication to find a format that suits the majority.
 

There were some real positives in the survey, and I have summarised some of the most encouraging feedback below:

• 89% of respondents agree or strongly agree that their child is happy at school (8% unsure, 3% disagree)
• 90 % of respondents agree or strongly agree that their child feels welcome at school (4% unsure, 6% disagree)
• 89% of respondents agree or strongly agree that their child is making progress at school (9% unsure, 2% disagree)
• 91% of respondents gave the school a 4- or 5-star rating for how happy they were with the quality of education being provided by the school (7%% gave 3 out of 5, 2% gave lower than 3)

However, this survey is a way for us to better understand things you think we could do better. For this, areas for us to reflect on further include:

• 71% of respondents gave the school 4- or 5- star for its communication – we want to make this higher[1]
• 70% of respondents gave the school 4- or 5- star for school lunches – we want to do even better[2]
• 63% of respondents thought there was a good range of clubs available – we think we can improve this further[3]