Our school proposal was steered from the outset by local parents, in partnership with the Government-approved Academy Sponsor, Russell Education Trust and, now that the school is being established, parents also have significant representation on the Governing Body.
However, parental involvement doesn't stop there. It permeates school life, building on, and enhancing, the experience that is familiar within many of our local primaries. This is fundamental to our school vision because we believe children can achieve best when parents and schools work together.
We facilitate enhanced home-school contact using the Internet as well as face-to-face meetings, providing a range of opportunities to discuss students' progress.
We encourage a culture of pro-active positive communication, with teachers keeping parents informed of students’ achievements.
We work hard to overcome barriers to parental involvement, by relationship building with hard-to-reach families, repsonsiveness to feedback on preferred timings for events, and clear communication of opportunities.
We support home learning e.g. by provision of study guides; advice and workshops for parents on how to support homework or exam preparation; and information on activities/exhibitions/events that may support topics being taught in the classroom.
As we know schools can represent a vital social hub for the community, we encourage an active PTA that initiates social activities for parents and families.
We encourage parents to help with specific activities within school; e.g. supporting reading initiatives, sports, arts and crafts, school journeys, food technology etc.
We encourage parents into school to give short talks about their employment, hobbies, interests, experiences or achievements.