Parents Opinions Matter

We care about what you say. Parents often comment on our welcoming atmosphere, happy environment, our good (and improving) range of after school activities, inclusion of children with special educational needs, safety of the children, children make friends well, teachers are approachable and supportive, school is accommodating when issues have arisen, displays are of a high standard, teachers have good rapport with children, transition between year groups and being able to share their children’s experiences by attending weekly and class assemblies.

A lovely message was recieved from a parent (March 23):

Thank you so much for your kind words - they are very much appreciated.

PARENT VIEW Jan 23:

During our recent Ofsted Inspection (January 2023), our parents were asked to share their opinions with the inspection team on Ofsted's Parent View site. This is wahat our parents and carers said about us:

1. My child is happy at school - 98% agree or strongly agree
2. My child feels safe at school - 98% agree or strongly agree
3. The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved - 92% agree or strongly agree
4. My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively - 69% agree or strongly agree, 10% don't know, 13% said their child has not bee bullied
5. The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year - 88% agree or strongly agree, 9% unsure
6. When I ahve raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly - 64% agree or strongly agree, 26% have not raised a concern 7%, don't know
7. My child has SEND, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed - 90% agree or strongly agree, 10% don't know
8. The school has high expectations for my child - 88% agree or strobgly agree, 3% are unsure
9. My child does well at school - 98% agree or strongly agree
10. The school lets me know how my child is doing - 91% agree or strongly agree, 5% are unsure
11. There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school - 97% agree or strongly agree
12. My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school - 94% agree or strongly agree
13. The school supports my child's wider personal development = 83% agree or strongly agree, 8% are unsure
14. I would recommend this school to another parent - 95% said Yes.

Our parental survey (Nov 22) was linked to Well-Being, thank you for taking the ime to completed the questionnaire, these are the headlines:

Results were scored out of 5, 4.0-5.0 i Good, 3.0-3.9 is Average, 1.0-2.9 is low 

ALL scores for the 10 questions scored in the Good category.

• I know who to talk to if someone at the school is worried or unhappy - 4.3
• The school really cares that everyone has good emotional wellbeing and mental health - 4.5
• I am happy to talk to the school about my child's feelings - 4.6
• I understand that my child needs to feel happy and secure at school to do well - 4.9

We asked our Reception parents in October 2022 how they found settling in to life at Sherdley, and these were the responses:

96% of parents/carers agreed that their children had settled in well at school. 4% had a neutral opinion.

96% of parents/carers said that their child felt safe in school. 4% had a neutral opinion.

96% felt that their child feels happy in school. 4% had a neutral opinion.

92% felt happy with the communication from school. 6% had a neutral opinion.

92% would recommend Sherdley to other parents/carers. 8% had a neutral opinion.

The same questions were asked of our Pre-school parents:

100% of parents/carers agreed that their children had settled in well at school.

100% of parents/carers said that their child felt safe in school.

96% felt that their child feels happy in school. 4% had a neutral opinion.

100% felt happy with the communication from school. 

100% would recommend Sherdley to other parents/carers. 

Thank you for the kind words that you also shared with us - we love having your children in our school.

These are the results from our ‘Remote Learning Parent Questionnaire’ which had 135 responses.

Q1. What was the average amount of time your child spent completing schoolwork each day? 44 % responded with ‘3 hours’ and another 40% responded with ‘4 hours’.
Q2. The amount of work my child was expected to complete each day was… ? 80% responded that the amount of work was ‘Manageable’ and 17% responded with ‘Too much’.
Q3. The support my child received from their teacher via remote learning was… ? 57% of parents responded with ‘Exceptional’ and 33% responded with ‘Very Good’.
Q4. I was able to provide my child with the support they needed for successful remote learning… ? 57% of parents responded with ‘Yes’ and a further 30% with ‘Sometimes’.
Q5. How satisfied were you with the communication received from school overall, with regards to remote learning? 76% were ‘Very Satisfied’ and another 20% were ‘Somewhat Satisfied’.
Q6. How useful did you find the sessions via Teams? 60% believed the sessions were ‘Extremely useful’ with another 25% saying ‘Somewhat useful’.
Q7. How would you rate the variety of alternative online resources available e.g. ClassDojo, ReadingPlus, Times Table Rock Stars etc… ? 44% responded ‘Exceptional’ and 41% said ‘Very Good’.
Q8. Did your child enjoy their remote learning? 67% responded ‘Yes’ but 33% responded ‘No’.

Here are some comments from Sherdley parents about our home learning.

“I thought the support from all our class teachers involved was brilliant. “

“The support was absolutely amazing. We couldn’t have asked for anything more. “

“From speaking to other parents with children at different schools, it seems Sherdley were far better than other schools (both primary and secondary). The communication we had from school (class/head teachers) has been incredible.”

“Would be unfair to single out any individual in these tough times that everyone has had to endure. Cannot fault the effort of Sherdley as a whole if I’m honest. “

“I personally feel the school did a fantastic job of maintaining communication a remote learning for my daughter. “

“Just a general thank you to everyone for all the effort it must’ve taken to facilitate the learning at home. “

“Just thank you for helping keep structure in children’s lives during the pandemic. “

“Thanks to everyone at Sherdley for supporting the children & each other over the past year, well done! “

“I think all the teachers have done fantastic with this, especially with so many children. Much more difficult to do not being face to face.”

These results have helped Sherdley staff to understand where we have done well and how we can improve our remote learning for use in the future. Thank you to those who responded to our questionnaire and all of the kind comments we received. And a further thank you to all of our Sherdley family for working together during these difficult times.

Reception parents completed a ‘Settling In Survey’ (September 2020) and this is what they said:

Q1. I feel that my child has been supported well by staff in their move to school – 100% of you agree or strongly agree
Q2. The school has provided me with information on how I can help my child’s learning at home – 97.5% agree or strongly agree (2.5% was neither agree or disagree)
Q3. My child has settled well at school – 95% agree or strongly agree (2.5% was neither and 2.5% disagree)
Q4. I am pleased with the communication between school and home – 97.5% agree or strongly agree (2.5% disagree)
Q5. I know that I can speak to the class teacher if I have any concerns – 92.5% agree or strongly agree (7.5% are neither)
Q6. My child feels safe in school – 95% agree or strongly agree (5% are neither)
Q7. My child feels happy in school – 97.5% agree or strongly agree (2.5% disagree)
Q8. Since joining school my child has made friends – 95% agree or strongly agree (5% are neither)
Q9. I would recommend our school to other parents – 100% (THANK YOU)
Q10. Was for comments and feedback and the vast majority were lovely and very positive. The only ‘negative’ comment received was regarding the information shared prior to you starting with Sherdley, obviously this was a very challenging time with lockdown and partial opening of school. Normally we would have had you in school and would have been able to share all the relevant information with you directly. But the comments are noted and we will endeavour to make improvements next time.

Results from the Covid-19 Parental Survey sent to all parents of pupils in Years 1-6 in September 2020:

Q1. Information About Returning To School That Has Been Shared Has Been Helpful – 99% agree or strongly agree / 1% was neither agree or disagree
Q2. I Know How To Communicate With My Child’s Class Teacher If I Have Any Concerns – 95% agree or strongly agree / 3% was neither
Q3. If My Child’s Class Teacher Isn’t Available, I Know Who To Go For Help From The School Leadership Team – 78% agree or strongly agree / 11% was neither – 11% disagree
Q4. Updates From School About The Latest Guidance Have Been Useful – 98% agree or strongly agree / 2% was neither
Q5. I Am Aware That School Has Made Changes To Some Of Its Policies, For Example Staggered Starts, The Use Of Year Group Bubbles, One Parent To Drop-Off And Collect – 99% agree or strongly agree / 1% was neither
Q6. If I Have Contacted School With A Concern, It Has Been Resolved In A Timely Manner – 73% agree or strongly agree / 5% was neither AND 20% said not applicable
Q7. My Child’s Mental Health And Well-Being Has Been A Priority For Their Return To School, For Example The Returning To Their Previous Class And Teacher For 3 Days – 97% agree or strongly agree / 2% was neither
Q8. I Understand That School Leaders Are Making Decisions Regarding The Full Opening Of The School In Response To Local And National Guidance – 97% agree or strongly agree / 2% was neither
Q9. I Feel Reassured That My Child’s Safety Is A High Priority – 97% agree or strongly agree / 1% was neither
Q10. I Feel Confident In The School’s Procedures To Keep My Child Safe, For Example One Way Gates, Mask When On Site – 97% agree or strongly agree / 1% was neither
Q11. If I Felt Anxious About My Child Return To School I Would Know Who To Contact – 84% agree or strongly agree / 7% was neither
Q12. If My Child Felt Anxious Or Worried About Returning To School They Would Know Who To Speak To – 84% agree or strongly agree / 10% was neither AND 5% said not applicable

From our parental survey (May 2019), you said that we were good at:

That children are happy at school
Keeping children happy and safe
That you were pleased with your child’s progress
That your child is well looked after in school
That your children are taught well
The school makes sure that pupils are well-behaved
The school is well led and managed
And that the vast majority of parents would recommend Sherdley to other parents – THANK YOU.
From previous surveys you also said that:
‘We wish that we were at this school 36 years ago!”
My daughter is so happy….
Great communication and updates from the school as a whole
Teachers look after the children well…
Lovely the way that the choir goes out to nursing homes at Christmas.
Like a breath of fresh air over schools in the borough, a credit to all the staff and leadership.
Support children who are struggling academically.
Very happy with how my son has developed and progressed since starting Reception.
Just asked my daughter the same question and her response was “everything about school”, that says it all to me.
Supports my child’s individual needs.
You make my daughter feel proud to be who she is and create a great community for her to belong to.
The school has a very open community feel and the family learning weeks are great….
…..has been fantastic in helping to settle my child into school and it is evident that her enthusiasm for teaching/learning has had a significant impact on the children.
It was a breath of fresh air when our children came to Sherdley from their previous school. Incredible difference on the staff and management of the school. A credit to everyone involved.
……has come on leaps and bounds since joining the nursery…..
Sherdley Blast is great.
I am thoroughly happy with the school and have never had a reason to feel otherwise……My daughter is very happy and loves coming to school.
My child feels good about herself when she receives praise……keep it up please…..
Encourages children to be independent.

Parents also commented on areas that you felt we may need to develop:

Nothing – thank you

Behaviour and some disruption – the introduction of instant motivational rewards such as ClassDojo has had a great impact in significantly reducing low-level disruption

Better communication – The introduction of the school app makes it a one-stop-shop for messages, calendar, forms, surveys, the website, letter etc

Additional challenge for higher ability children – I believe that with the new curriculum and the way that we deliver it at Sherdley that there is a great emphasis on challenge, this can also be seen in our assessment of children – Greater Depth standard for those who can be stretched and challenged.

If your child is struggling academically, you should be informed sooner than parents’ evenings – parents can come and speak to teachers at any point to enquire about how they are doing. We increased the number of parents evening from 2 to 4 per year. We also send home a termly Progress Report to help inform parents as to progress at the end of each term, against Age Related Expectations.

Disabled parking is a real issue – the staff car park does have allocated disabled spaces and I agree that it’s not ideal to have to open a gate to gain access. However, we need the gates to ensure the safety of our children. 

Better communication about the types of things/ways of learning – we have previously put on numerous workshops at different times of the day, and on most occassions they are very well attended. Further workshops will be put on during the next academic year and we are already planning for year group maths workshops and phonics sessions.

Family Learning Weeks that accomodate working parents – family learning events are a way that parents can engage with their children in school lessons. Unfortunately we need the children in school to be able to hold these and it is not feasible to hold these in an evening. We do however plan these well in advance and publish them onto the school calendar with the hope that parents can plan ahead.