Parent Questionnaire October 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete the Parent/Carer Questionnaire. We have been busy analysing the outcomes. We had 300 responses out of a possible 318 pupils currently on roll. This is a 94% return rate.

We have analysed the returns as a whole school, as well as individual Key Stages (e.g. EYFS, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2, Upper Key Stage 2.) This is so issues specific to key stages, which may affect the overall whole school outcomes, can be supported and explored at Key Stage Level. 

The questionnaire has provided us with a good overview of parent’s views and has highlighted some areas for development. Overall, we are pleased with the positive responses and it is evident that the vast majority of parents/carers are in support of the recent school improvements, actions of the Leadership Team, and quality of the Teaching and Learning as we continue to progress toward a ‘Good’ rating from Ofsted.

Questionnaire Analysis

The following statements had over a 90% agreement rate:

• My child is happy at this school

• My child makes good progress at this school

• The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved

• My child does well at this school

• There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school

• Bullying is dealt with quickly and effectively

The following questions had a high return of “I don’t know”:

• My child has been bullied but it has been dealt with quickly and effectively (38% didn’t now)

• My child has SEND and the school gives them support they need to succeed (Out of 25% of respondents who said their child had SEND, 46% of these did not know if the school gives them support needed to be successful)

• The school has high expectations of my child (16% didn’t know)

• My child takes part in clubs and activities at this school (13% didn’t know)

• The school supports my child’s wider development (18% didn’t know)

Areas scoring above 80% include:

• My child receives appropriate homework for their age

• Communication between school and parent is strong

• When I raised concerns with the school, they have dealt with it properly

• The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year

• The school is well led and managed

• I would recommend this school to another parent

Don’t Know Responses

Several of the questions produced a high percentage of  ‘don’t know’ responses as stated above. This means that an agreement or disagreement response wasn’t registered. If parents were able to make a judgement, this could have been a positive response. For example, ‘The school has high expectations for my child’ had a 80% positive response and 17% didn’t know. If a positive score was returned, this would put this judgment at 97%. 

The results from the questionnaire are slightly lower (with the same questions) than last year at the same time. We acknowledge that  COVID-19 restrictions have prevented our normal regular daily contact with parents and the fact that we have not been able to hold any parent in-school sessions or other face-to face events may be part of the reason for the change in response. However, we also acknowledge that, regardless of COVID-19,  there is some work for us to do with parents/carers to ensure the following:

1. Parents know what we do in school so that they can make a judgement.

2. COVID does not prevent us from having strong communication and forming strong relationships with our families.

3. We reflect upon what we do and invite parents to contribute to that reflection process.

Next Steps

Looking at the data from the questionnaire, especially taking into consideration ‘Disagreement’ and ‘Don’t Know’ responses, the key areas we will initially focus on are as follows:-