At Raddlebarn Primary and Nursery School, we believe that it is essential to develop strong partnerships with home if our children are to achieve their full potential. Parents and schools working as partners can only increase pupil achievement and help to develop positive attitudes about self and school.
We aim to:
- Be a welcoming and friendly school for parents/carers and visitors.
- Establish a mutually supportive and respectful relationship with all parents built on trust and clear communication.
- Keep parents informed and involved in a positive way, through working in partnership together in order to help every pupil achieve their full potential socially, emotionally and academically.
- Respond swiftly and efficiently to the needs of the child, parent and/or visitor.
- Provide timely and relevant information for parents through the use of our text messaging service, school website, the email distribution of letters and newsletters, Padlet, Twitter and Facebook – something to suit everyone!
The school would like an effective partnership with parents by valuing your help in the following ways:
- Coming to school on time both at the beginning and end of the day
- Getting to know your child’s teacher so that you can share in their achievements and concerns
- Making an appointment with class teacher or phase leader, if you need to talk at length about your child
- Attending all Parents Meetings/Curriculum workshops
- Reading at home daily with your child and recording it in their Boom Reader log
- Taking an interest in homework and uploading it to the Padlet weekly
- Reading all letters that is emailed directly to you (environmentally friendly and can’t get lost – here on the website too!)
- Keeping us informed of any changes to circumstances which may affect your child in school
Our experience and research show that an effective partnership with parents is reflected in a more successful performance by children at school. We do make mistakes and there are misunderstandings but these can be reduced to a minimum if we keep in close contact and work together to put things right.
Keeping You Informed
We make every effort to ensure that as parents you are well informed about your child’s progress and the work of the school.
Each year parents can expect:
- An annual curriculum overview displayed on the school website and emailed out to parents, giving detailed curriculum information within their topics.
- Two parents’ evenings (individual meetings with your child’s teacher) in the Autumn and Spring terms to discuss progress and any areas of concern. A drop in parents evening is also scheduled at the end of the Summer Term to discuss End of year Reports.
- An annual written report for children in every year group and additional information for Y2 and Y6 parents regarding information about their performance in the Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs).
- A weekly newsletter and a regularly updated website.
- Classroom Workshops – throughout the year, we invite parents to take part in activities in a specific area of the curriculum so that they can find out how their child learns at school in order to support them effectively at home.
- Reminders, updates and letters about specific events.
- Celebration Events such as special mention assemblies, Summer and Christmas events, Sports day and picnics, music concerts and performances etc.
- EYFS also like to bring home learning into their in school learning by sharing home and school work via their own class Padlet.
Other:
- Open mornings/afternoons – before you begin attending Raddlebarn, we host open sessions so that you can see what school life is like in a typical working day.
- Meet the Teacher – Parents are invited to meet the staff that will be teaching their children the following year, they can discuss what the expectation for the year ahead is, hear about curriculum coverage for each term and how you can support your child with aspects of this work. Parents will also have the opportunity to ask questions and get to know them over a cup of tea.
- Termly Progress Checks – If your child has a SEND or is struggling with an area of school life such as attitude, behaviour or attendance. There will be meetings arranged with either the class teacher, phase leader or pastoral and inclusion team so that we can problem solve and find resolution by working together.
- Targets for your children are shared with you so that you can support your child at home.
Messages for Teaching Staff
If you have any questions or concerns, please remember that senior leaders are on the main gates before and after school each day and teaching assistants are on the school doors of their year group buildings and are only too happy to talk with you. Quick messages can be passed onto a member of staff at the designated school door before or after school. You can also pass on messages via Miss Edghill who is found in the playground, with a high vis jacket so that she can be easily found amongst the crowds.
If the issue might take some time to solve, we would ask that you email the school enquiry email address to make an appointment with either the class teacher, or phase leader and they will get back to you at their earliest convenience.
Parents needing to meet with staff and have an appointment are politely requested to report to the main office via the front entrance.
Helping your child
Home and school are the two most powerful influences on children and only by working together can we ensure children get the best education.
Do please help us by:
- Talking to your child about schoolwork. Show your children that you are interested and want them to do well.
- Seeing that your child comes to school alert, in good time and having had sufficient sleep and breakfast.
- Making sure your child comes to school dressed in correct uniform, without jewellery and wearing suitable footwear – no trainers please.
- Encouraging your child to read at home at least three times a week and using the reading recording system Boom Reader.
- Ensuring that any spellings, phonics or tables detailed on the class pages of the website are learned.
- Trying to provide your child with a quiet atmosphere to complete any homework to a high standard.
- Teaching your child to respect the school and its staff, and to support the school’s Behaviour Policy.
- Ensuring your child does not bring any toys, sweets, money or chewing gum into school.
- Helping your child to be responsible. E.g. By having the correct equipment ready at the start of every lesson, taking care not to lose uniform, handing in mobile phones to the office promptly if in Y6.
- Helping your child to be independent. E.g. carrying their own book bag, handing in homework on time.
