Parent Questionnaire

A short while ago our Multi Academy Trust sent out a parental survey and the results are below. We had some really lovely comments which were appreciated by the staff at a very anxious and uncertain time for us all. There were a few comments raised and these have been responded to in purple text. Thank you for taking the time to reply to the survey.

• The school is a small tight knit school where all the teachers know all the children. It’s a great little school 
• I feel that the headteacher and teaching staff genuinely care. From what I’ve seen it is a friendly place. The headteacher seems to be connected to the heartbeat of what is going on and even responds individually to emails. 
• My child's teacher, the teaching assistants and the head teacher are all amazing. My child has formed a strong connection with them and now loves going to school. The headteacher is always approachable and friendly and will do what she can to help. 
• Kind and thoughtful teachers and TAs my child really enjoys Plaistow and all staff are helpful 
• Over the past 3 years the school has been great at keeping me updated with the progress of my children and activities they take part in, notes from parent information meetings etc but since the start of this academic year they have been laxer with this information. The children only have access to tapestry whilst in the Early Years and stops when they enter Year 1. All curriculum information for the whole school is on the school’s website and this gives an overview of the learning taking place. For the KS1 children, we have uploaded onto TEAMS an English presentation this term and a visual maths presentation is in the process of being completed. All parents were offered the opportunity to have a phone consultation with their child’s class teacher at the beginning of November. We have worked hard to keep parents updated whilst you are unable to come into the school building. If there are any further ideas on the type of information that would be helpful then please contact the school and we will see if we can help in some way.
• Amazing school. Can't fault them at all. 
• Plaistow is an amazingly supportive school. The staff are approachable and keen to help. My child has made really good progress and is happy and confident to go to school. I really can’t praise them enough. 
• The head teacher is lovely. Always has time for parent and remember faces well. Teaching feels personal and close knit. Love the school, as does my child. 
• The staff at Plaistow are all so friendly and approachable. They know all the children/families and it has a real family feel to it. 
• Plaistow is a lovely school. I have recommended the school several times. My oldest child thrived at Plaistow before moving on into year 3. My youngest child has just started in reception after being at nursery at Plaistow and I can already see the development in her progress... keep doing what you are doing! A fantastic school. 
• Plaistow staff have been really kind and supportive throughout the time my two children have attended. They have been very considerate of our particular needs and really make you feel your children are in a place where they are loved and cared for. This is something we have really appreciated. 
• We love the community feel at Plaistow Hill. It’s a fab school and would definitely recommend to a friend! 
•  I think Plaistow hill is a brilliant school and my daughter loves it there 
• My child has experienced bullying- At times, we do have a small number of children, some with Special Educational Needs, who find emotional regulation a challenge but we do provide support to these children both within school and from external agencies. Where a parent has approached a teacher about concerns around a child being unkind this is always investigated and discussed with the children involved. We have many strategies to try to eradicate any unkindness and to try to get to the root of any 'bad choice' behaviour. Parents are always notified when a child has received a red card and a sanction given so the child learns that there is a consequence. 
• The school has a very nice personal touch and I feel like the teachers and staff know my child and who I am without having to be prompted. Everyone is also very friendly and approachable.
• Home work is too wide spread, we have bits on teams, bits in the reading log book, bits of paper asking for x,y and z, can we just have one list somewhere of what needs to be done and by when. All of the learning for the children in KS1 is uploaded onto TEAMS every Friday and this also gives an overview of the week. All children have a Reading diary which is used to record the number of times the child has read that week. These are the only mechanisms staff use to set homework. If you require further clarification then class teachers will be happy to advise you further but I will outline the expectation in a newsletter.
• I'm not told much about what my child is doing or how they are settling at school other than weekly observations on tapestry. There isn't any time to talk to the teacher at pick up times. It would be great to know if there is an email communication that is available to pass on messages especially for foundation as it is a big step for children regarding behaviour, meal times, toileting and confidence. My child really enjoys going to school but has said that they don't feel confident telling the teacher if there is a problem or they need something as they are a bit shy. I do not like the idea of the thinking chair used in the foundation stage and I think this needs to be reviewed as it goes against child development understanding about emotional development and how children regulate emotions and behaviour. It's also very distressing for such young children of 3-5 and ignores why the child is behaving in that way. I suggest a great book titled The Gentle Discipline book. We very much love the outdoor provision for the foundation children. Teachers stand on the door every morning and afternoon and should be able to have brief conversations with parents if you ever need to pass on urgent messages or information. If you require a more detailed conversation then parents are able to email or telephone into the school and class teachers can arrange a convenient time. There are times when a child may not necessarily make a ‘good choice’ in school and this needs to be sensitively discussed with the child. The thinking chair is used in EYFS as a mechanism for the child to think carefully about the choice they made and for a member of staff to sit with them to discuss why this may not have been the best decision to have made and how they could change that for the future.  Over may years, use of this process has shown that this works very effectively with young children.
• If another lockdown is enforced or year groups sent home due to cases. I would appreciate more communication and more work to be set. I feel that we managed communication with families well at a very difficult time. Now that we are more familiar with Microsoft TEAMS and we have a full complement of staff there would be more learning set if we were to go into lockdown again. The remote learning policy on our website outlines the learning expectation. We try to meet the needs of all children but if you would like more ideas on how to help your child further or signposting to extension tasks then please approach your child's class teacher in person or via the dedicated email and they will be able to help guide you to appropriate tasks or websites.
• Online learning could have been virtual classrooms. Power points were not engaging and very, very basic. Not much provided for those who are average or above. See comment above. Unfortunately, many of the staff have young families themselves so it would be difficult to run virtual classrooms when they have their own young children to care for. In order for there to be equality of opportunity for all children within the school I would not want some classes having virtual classrooms and it not being able to happen in other classes. This is why the decision was made to upload power points. However, we have  now purchased an online RWI package where a virtual RWI lesson is taught to the children and has successfully been used for children who have been off self- isolating this term.
• My child can't attend extra-curricular activities- Children in the EYFS are not able to attend clubs until the Spring term. We have found that a longer day for EYFS children in the Autumn Term made them very tired so we have always kept clubs for KS1 in the Autumn term but they are allowed to join once they are more settled and use to a full day. We do have a limit on the number of children who can attend a club but do try to ensure that as many children as possible have a chance to attend at least one club. During Covid we have not run as many clubs and have tried to keep it to 'bubbles' as much as possible.
• When I have raised concerns they have been dealt with effectively- Just a reminder that class teachers are available at the door to answer quick queries and I am available in person, via email or phone should you require any further clarification to a concern. We would prefer that you came and spoke to us rather than worrying about something ,as a solution can usually be found.