Useful information for Parents

We know that the support of parents/carers is vital to ensure all our pupils achieve their potential. Therefore, we strive to forge strong links and develop good relationships before pupils even start in Year 7.

Communication

It is essential that the school and parents/carers maintain good communication throughout your child's school years. This can be maintained via the Pupil Planner or by speaking directly with their Head of Year. We encourage all parents to contact us immediately if they are worried or concerned about anything.

We strive to keep parents/carers well informed in general about school life and the progress of their children. However, it can sometimes be very difficult to offer regular and personal updates to every parent of over 1,000 pupils.

Some of the ways we try and achieve this are as follows:

• Pupil Reports - all pupils receive two summary reports and one full report per year. The dates these are sent home are contained within the school calendar.
• Telephone Calls - if there is an urgent matter which needs to be discussed, the school may telephone you at home or on a mobile phone.
• Face-to-Face Meetings - on occasions, we may need to meet you to discuss a matter of importance. Likewise, if you have a concern you are welcome to make an appointment to speak to your child's Head of Year or a member of senior staff at the school.
• School Website - the school website contains a wealth of information on the school, including details of our policies and procedures.
• Social Media - we use X (formerly Twitter) and other social media platforms to provide regular information on key events in school. You can subscribe to updates and keep up-to-date with your child's time in school. Regrettably, we cannot reply to messages sent through social media. If you have a query which requires a quick response, we would advise you to contact the school by telephone or email.
• School Newsletters - these are published and sent home each term with details of pupil achievements, key activities and events that have taken place. These also include key upcoming dates.
• Text Messaging - occasionally we may send you a text message if we need to convey an urgent message to a large number of parents (e.g. a school closure).

Continuous Improvement

We are always looking for ways in which we can improve our communication and relationships with parents. In fact, we try and consult parents whenever we make key decisions within the school which may affect them. Every three years, we survey all parents to gain feedback on various aspects of the school and use this information to inform provision.

If you have any ideas, we would be more than happy to hear them. Whilst we can't promise to implement every idea, we can assure you that all will be carefully considered.