Partnership with Parents

At St Mary’s, we are committed to working in close partnership with parents to ensure they are happy with their child's education and progress. We believe it is important that parents are involved in their child's education and we actively encourage parental involvement in the school, wherever possible. We communicate with parents through a regular text alert system, informing parents of upcoming events and assemblies at the school. We also send home regular newsletters and have established a Parent Forum which meets regularly to discuss and share ideas, views and suggestions for improvements. Our regular Twitter feeds are also a valuable source of information for parents and carers.

We work in partnership with parents to ensure  that our pupils have every opportunity to enjoy,  achieve and learn together.  We promote positive partnerships with parent, founded on effective, honest and open communication,  on mutual respect and the shared aspirations that each child reaches their potential whilst at the school.

We acknowledge that parents are as individual as their children and that their needs, hopes and priorities will vary over time and from one set of parents to another.

We hope that parents will want to be actively involved in their child’s school life, spiritually, educationally and socially and that they will feel able to contact the school to discuss any worries, concerns or uncertainties that they might have. We encourage parents to actively participate in their child’s education by following up and extending the work carried out in school. We hope that school and home will work together to achieve consistent results across all areas of development by sharing each other’s skills and knowledge. We also hope that parents will want to let us know about significant events that happen outside of school which relate to their child.

Parental involvement with the school includes the following:

Parent/carer Conferences 

These take place each Autumn and Spring and give parents the chance to discuss with the class teacher their child’s progress, attainment and review their next targets.

Parents/carer Workshops

Workshops and seminars for parents are arranged on a regular basis and may cover a wide range of issues such as reading, writing, number, behaviour, communication, etc.

Social Events and class activities

Parents/carers and families are regularly invited to visit classes throughout the year and for whole school events such as Christmas and Easter celebrations, Sports Day, class assembly, leavers’ assembly, celebration of learning afternoon, class Mass etc where their support and participation are much appreciated.

Website

This contains a variety of factual information about the school, prospectus, term dates etc as well as news from classes, special events and useful links. It is continuously being added to and updated, each half term.  Each class has a class page on the website which contains curriculum information for that half term and suggestions for parents to support learning at home.

Leading Parent Partnership Award (LPPA)

As part of the LPPA scheme, we aim to continue to develop and improve communication with parents and the community, by supporting parents and children to extend their learning through parents’ courses etc and to encourage a greater input and more involvement of parents in school life. The school first achieved the LPPA in 2017 and successfully retained the award in May 2021. 

2023 - 2024 updates

At St Mary's, we want to ensure that as a school we work effectively with our parents and local community.  We value the support and contribution that parents and carers make to children's school life, both within and beyond the classroom.  

We are using the Leading Parent Partnership Award (LPPA) to help strengthen our school’s partnership with parents. LPPA is a national award that will provide us with a valuable school improvement tool and also give us recognition for our commitment to working with parents.

The LPPA will help us achieve these long-term benefits:

•  contribute to improved pupil attendance, punctuality, behaviour and progress

•  increase parent participation and involvement

•  enhance parents’ support in their children’s learning

•  improve communication between home and school.

The award is founded on research which shows that there is a very positive impact on achievement, behaviour and attendance in schools where parents are supported and therefore engaged in their children's learning.  Feedback from parents and carers is extremely important and we want to hear your views and improve our current practice.  

We expect to achieve the award by the end of Summer 2024. The process will be supportive, developmental and progressive will be achieved by meeting the following objectives:

1.  The school demonstrates a commitment to work towards achieving the LPPA

2. The school makes and implements effective plans to achieve and maintain the LPPA

3.  The school is a welcoming, communicative and friendly place for parents

4.  The school promotes the awareness and participation of all groups of parents in supporting their children's learning and developing their own learning.  In addition, the school holds and actively promotes a programme of opportunities and events for joint parent and child participation

6.  The school provides parents with relevant and use-friendly guidance and information to help them to support their children's learning

7.  The school produces and implements parent-friendly policies to establish effective home-school links and to improve children's attendance, punctuality, progress and positive participation in school.

8.  The school provides good support for all parents as their children move through or leave the school

9. The school summarizes its achievements against the LPPA Objectives and outlines it future plans

We want to include all groups of parents in supporting their children's learning and developing their own learning, take steps to ensure that our school is a welcoming, communicative and friendly place for parents, provide clear and accessible guidance to help parents support their children's learning and development, produce parent-friendly policies to establish effective home-school links and provide clear guidance on the responsibilities of parents, school and pupils, and share this information with parents regularly. 

We have set up a Parent’s Forum which meets every term.  We welcome your views, ideas and opinions.  If you have any suggestions you would like to be discussed during the meeting then feel free to pop your ideas into our suggestion box in the main reception area.

Parent's Forum

At St Mary’s Primary School we are committed to listening and responding to the views and opinions of our parents. We now hold regular Parent Forum meetings which take place every  term.

What is the Parent Forum?

The Parent Forum is a partnership between parents and the school. It is a valuable way to share ideas, views, concerns and make suggestions for improvement.

The aims of the Parent Forum will be to:

• work together to improve the education provided for our children
• share information, knowledge and skills
• meet in a mutually supportive environment
• further improve communications between parents/carers and staff/governors

The Parent Forum is a platform for parents to express their suggestions and ideas for improvements. We are committed to working closely with parents to ensure they are completely satisfied with their child's education and feel that their views and opinions are listened to and acted upon. You will receive an invitation 2 weeks before the Parent Forum.

How often will the Parent Forum meet?

At least once a term for around an hour.  We will endeavour to hold the meetings at accessible times for parents, but we do envisage they will take place during the school day.

What will be discussed at the meetings?

Anything related to improving the school and further developing the partnership between the school and parents.  The meetings will be informal and are an opportunity for an open discussion.  Minutes of the meetings will be taken and these will be accessible on the school's website.

The Parent Forum is not the time to discuss concerns or complaints involving individual children, families or members of staff.

How can I raise an issue?

Forum agendas will be forwarded to all parents via Parent App, so, after reading, if you have any points you would like us to discuss, in relation to the agenda, at the forum, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Asif,  the Leading Parent Partnership Award co-ordinator.