Parent/Carer Questionnaire

Parent/Carer Questionnaire results Autumn 2021

We had 256 responses to our Autumn 2021 Parent/Carer questionnaire and we are absolutely delighted with the results, all of which are above 90% in agreement, showing that the majority are pleased with the school and what we offer for our children. The comments people made have given us a clear understanding of areas for improvement as well as areas to clarify and develop.

99% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that their child is happy at this school.

99% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that their child is safe at this school.

96% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that the school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

95% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that the school deals with any bullying quickly and effectively.

95% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that the school makes them aware of what their child will learn during the year.

93% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that any concerns raised are dealt with properly.

95% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that if their child has SEND, the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

96% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that the school has high expectations for their child.

99% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that their child does well at this school.

97% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that the school lets them know how their child is doing.

99% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that there is a good range of subjects available at this school.

99% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that their child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

98% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that the school supports their child’s wider personal development.

97% of parents/carers would recommend this school to another parent.

Parents/Carers' comments are invaluable in providing us with feedback. Please find a summary of our responses to some of the feedback below:

Comment/Area	Our response
More IT equipment and resources, as well as opportunities for coding.	I am delighted to let you know that we have recently purchased a new suite of 60 Chromebooks for the school. These are in addition to our laptops, interactive whiteboards and IPads already in school. The Chromebooks will be used by children across the school and will enhance our computing curriculum, as well as other areas of learning. We have also recently invested in a Green screen to enrich our curriculum and provide immersive learning opportunities: Green Screen. We are also working closely with our IT support team, ‘Computeam’ to further update school software and packages to enhance learning. Coding is an important part of our Computing curriculum. In the Summer term, there is a dedicated focus on programming for Years 1 to 6 and this academic year we are thrilled to be able to use equipment loaned to us by Poynton high School. More information about our computing curriculum, including our long term plan and all learning objectives can be found on our website: Computing Webpage
Sports and Languages on offer	We have recently transformed our PE curriculum, investing in a new tool for learning, ‘Primary PE Passport’. This ensures that our children are taught a variety of sports and activities, such as football, netball, tri-golf, yoga, lacrosse, gymnastics, dance, rounders and many more. Our PE webpage outlines all the sports on offer in each year group: Physical Education webpage. We chose to focus on French as our main language taught in Key Stage Two due to staff expertise. However, we are currently in the process of embarking upon a new multi-lingual approach to languages which will see other languages thread through our curriculum. Our language team will give more information about this as the academic year progresses.
Timely communication	Although school events are visible on our website calendar, we are working hard to improve the notice period that parents receive for upcoming events. This is an area we are striving to improve.
Drama	Although Drama is not a standalone curriculum area, I would like to reassure you that at Vernon we have a number of drama specialists in school who work closely with staff to ensure that drama activities thread through the curriculum to enhance and enrich learning. Drama activities can act as a gateway to learning and we are passionate about finding innovative ways to use drama techniques to enhance the learning experience for all children.
Bullying concerns	Some parents expressed concerns about bullying. I would like to reiterate that if you are concerned about how a situation is being dealt with by a teacher, I would always urge you to bring this to the attention of the SLT including myself. I am always keen to meet with parents who have concerns at the time they are occurring in order to investigate any current incidents to see if bullying has taken place and to resolve any situation swiftly for the wellbeing of the children involved. Anti-bullying Policy
Google Classroom and more updates and communication about ongoing activities in each class.	Year 6 have been further developing the use of Google Classroom this term, using it not only as a learning platform for homework and remote education when needed, but also as an ongoing newsfeed, giving a glimpse into the classroom throughout the week. This has been a huge success and has now been rolled out to all classes. Teachers will be uploading images, videos and comments. We hope that this will enable you all to have a better understanding of life in the classroom, what your child is learning and what their learning environment looks like.
Information on learning and curriculum	Our website contains detailed information about our curriculum and the learning that takes place in each year group. Our curriculum overview page contains every year group’s curriculum map which charts the units of work in every subject within each termly theme: Curriculum Overview Webpage You can also find more specific information about each subject area on the dedicated subject pages under the Curriculum tab, as well as information on Spellings and Phonics. Each curriculum subject area webpage contains information on learning content for all year groups, as well as learning objectives, the vision of the subject and its policy. Our homework policy is also on our website and outlines expectations for each year group: Homework We hope that the school website acts as a comprehensive guide to our curriculum offer at Vernon. Teachers also send home a learning overview at the beginning of each term and are happy to discuss any curriculum content throughout the school year, so please let us know if there are any areas you wish to know more about. Out team of subject leaders are knowledgeable and always happy to discuss their curriculum area. Our development of Google Classroom as a newsfeed will also enhance the information coming home more frequently.
Staff and roles, SLT and NQTs	We are a growing team at Vernon and there are a lot of different staff members with different roles. On our website, you can find a photo gallery of staff members to help you and the children familiarise yourselves with the team, including our SLT, teachers, teaching assistants and all members of staff, as well as documents that outline our staffing structure, roles and responsibilities: Staff and Governors Webpage. All of our SLT currently have teaching responsibilities, apart from myself as Headteacher and my Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Kiely, who is also full-time SENDCo. In terms of NQTs during the last academic year, none of our class teachers were Newly Qualified. We currently have two NQTs in the school, one of whom is a class teacher and the other is supporting in classes across the school. We are extremely proud as a school that we have a range of experience and skills amongst our teaching team, most of whom have been teaching for a number of years.
How children are progressing with their learning	We were disappointed not to be able to hold our Autumn parents evening in school. I hope that you found the telephone call or virtual meeting with your child’s class teacher useful. In the Spring term, our parents evening also includes a written interim report on progress for your child. Teachers are always happy to discuss your child’s progress against age-related expectations and would welcome any queries via email or a telephone call. A number of parents/carers expressed their wish to come into school again. As you know, we are following all Public Health Guidelines issued to us from Cheshire East. We cannot wait for a time when we will be able to hold our community events in school once more, such as phonics sessions for parents/carers, parents evenings, performances, mystery readers and so many more! Like you, we are really looking forward to being able to open our doors to everyone again.

We were overwhelmed with positive feedback on the questionnaires, a sample of which you can find below:

“All 3 of my children have thrived at Vernon.”

“I have been so impressed as a parent by the teaching and immersive curriculum at Vernon.”

“Vernon is an excellent school and our child is very happy there.”

“…has enjoyed his entire Vernon experience. He loves coming to school, enjoys the company of his class and clearly feels safe and respected.”

“Wonderful ethos.”

“The teaching is fantastic and it’s obvious how much the teachers care about the kids educationally and also from a pastoral perspective.”

“Always impressed by the teachers’ commitment to the children and their happiness.”

“Feel very reassured of how important my child is and their safety. The school provides a lovely, friendly environment for them to learn in and gives an excellent grounding for their future.”

“Vernon treat the children like individuals.”

“They are incredibly aware of emotional wellbeing.”

“…loves school and has always been so happy and thrives there…”

“Care, dedication and support. Thank you so much.”

“Staff have done an amazing job over the past months of such change and uncertainty.”

“I am very grateful and proud that my child gets to attend a school like Vernon Primary.”

Thank you again to everyone who responded to the questionnaire. We always encourage Parents/Carers to continue to let us know how we can improve our school; we all want what is best for the children and working together, we can achieve it.