Governors’ News and Views
Spring 2010
CHAIR OF GOVERNORS – OFSTED INSPECTION
Ruth O’Donnell
It has now been over three years since our last OFSTED inspection, and so we will have our next inspection anytime from now until the end of the school year. The Inspectors will speak to Staff and Governors regarding progress, achievement, strengths and areas for improvement. They will also gather evidence through observations, statistics and questionnaires.
I believe we have made real improvements since our last OFSTED, and our evidence shows this is the case. I would like to acknowledge the role of parents and carers for contributing with outside of school support in achieving some of these improved results.
It is really important that we receive a good return from the parents’ questionnaire as this will then provide a more rounded understanding of parents’ views about Brington school. It is also your chance to officially provide useful feedback.
Attendance
I mentioned in a previous ‘News and Views’ that good attendance is vital if we want to provide a good school community in which to learn, which is also considered in the OFSTED Inspection.
Attendance statistics are not only collected for daily figures, but also for pupils who do not arrive on time for the start of the school day. This is because being punctual is part of pupils’ learning for their future economic well-being.
Obviously there are times when this is not always possible and so contacting the school when there are any foreseen attendance issues is crucial for both the school and the pupil involved.
I would like to thank parents and carers for doing their best to get their children to school during the snow and ice, especially those travelling across the County.
FOCUS THIS ISSUE: PARENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Gary Shaeffer
I was asked by Barbara Lomas to take a look at the “Parent Questionnaire” and do a mini-analysis after collating the results.
As you may recall, there were 16 statements and, after indicating the age/s and gender/s of the child/children, parents were then asked to respond to them by ticking “Strongly Agree or Agree or Disagree or Strongly Disagree or Don’t Know”. 42 families were canvassed and 26 families responded. I counted each child, not each family which equalled 30 children in total.
The overall results were very positive indeed with three items in particular being universally “agreed”:
- “My child likes school.”
- “My child is making good progress.” and
- “Children learn well at school.”
These are three very important statements.
Still, two issues elicited the most “disagreement” (6 & 5 responses out of 30, respectively):
- “I am kept well informed about my child’s progress” and
- “The school seeks the views of parents and takes account of their suggestions.”
In response to this children’s targets were discussed and given to parents at the last Parents’ Evening and we hope that this publication can be a place for parents to share their views and suggestions with Governors.
Please feel free to send any further feedback to Ruth O’Donnell, Chair of Governors: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
REVIEWING WEBSITE DEVELOPMENTS
Richard Gent
The new website [http://www.bringtonprimaryschool.org.uk/] has been completed. It contains all the information from the old site as well as lots of new material. The site and events calendar are updated frequently to keep you informed. We are keen to develop it further, once we’ve gauged initial feedback from parents, teachers, students and governors. One of the developments that has been considered is the addition of a dynamic slideshow gallery in the centre of the homepage to replace the static photograph we’re currently using.
Only a small number of parents have subscribed to the school’s mailing list so far. It’s very easy – just in fill in the two boxes on the right hand side of the site’s homepage and click ‘Subscribe’. If you subscribe to the list, you will receive emailed newsletters. In time, this will help the school to minimise its carbon footprint by saving paper.
Another feature we’re considering is texting key information to parents’ and carers’ mobiles. This has been very effective in other schools as nearly everyone has a mobile. It’s easy to set up. If it is deemed to be of use, we would need your mobile numbers.
Photos of our students are an essential part of the website. However, only pictures that have been approved are used. If you are keen on photography and have some good photos of school events and would like to see them added to the site’s gallery, please get in touch with Barbara Lomas.
We hope to add some audio and video clips before long as well as examples of the excellent work that the children are producing with the help of their teachers, learning assistants and parents. The new website is a community initiative so feedback is welcomed from all parties.
Please feel free to send any feedback related to the school’s website to Richard Gent: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
FRIENDS OF BRINGTON
Debbie Clewes
Thanks to everyone who attended the Quiz Night on January 30th at Brington School - we had 13 teams with apt names including Hogwarts, Bikini Bottom High and Forks High School. Donna and Andy Ibbot were quiz masters and 13 hosts prepared some great food and puddings to share on the night.
We raised over £1000 on the night with many thanks also going to Jeremy James for getting Barclays funding as well to add to this total.
Our next event after half term will be for the children – activity still to be decided so, again, any suggestions (or help!) welcome.We hope this newsletter is informative.
If you have any suggestions for the next issue please contact Debbie Clewes: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).