In four previous news items, I’ve discussed your responses to the end-of-year annual reports and to the annual survey.
Don’t wait until June to raise any questions, comments or concerns!
On Friday last week, a mum came to see me to discuss how she could support her son at home – someone who’s already beyond the age-related expectations in reading, writing and maths. It was 5pm or later (nearly the weekend!), but I was happy to talk through some ideas, especially since she had quite a few ideas of her own about how we might be able to help. One idea was to buy a subscription to Mathletics – a computer program that would allow her child to practise maths at home, without needing an adult to support. From discussions with parents of children in other schools, she’s heard that it’s really good. Just days after her suggestion, we’re now exploring subscriptions. We won’t rush into it – we don’t want to waste money. We’re checking out costs and I’m asking other headteachers if their schools use it and whether they would recommend it. (We’ll let you know if we subscribe…)
Also this year, I’ve acted on feedback about school dinners. I hope problems here are teething problems following the introduction of free school meals for all younger children – a massive planning and organisational task to accommodate 60 more pupils (and numbers continue to rise for older pupils, too). Mrs Weekes has listened and responded to parents about children and concerns with regards their special education needs. We are restricted by funding as to how we respond – it would be great to be able to buy in more support or resources – but Mrs Weekes has excellent relationships with professionals who offer advice and guidance. I know class teachers have also responded to your views. Again, it’s not always appropriate or possible to act on every request, but we do listen and consider. When a parent mentioned their child was struggling to read the whiteboards in class, one teacher immediately re-arranged seating. When someone else mentioned their child was feeling a bit anxious this year, we included the child in a small, SEAL group (to promote social and emotional aspects of learning).
We can’t always act on your suggestions (some just aren’t possible) and we can’t always listen to your views (whether you think your child would benefit from a term-time holiday or not, we won’t authorise one, for example!). However, as always, please raise your questions, comments and concerns to me or one of the teachers in school: we do care and we do listen.