Parent/Carer Evaluation Results

A snapshot of some parent comments

‘The school both for us as parents and for our daughter, is such a positive force in our lives. From the energy and enthusiasm of which every teacher within the school seems to employ, to the excitement and happiness one sees in the children every day, we couldn’t imagine a better school for our daughter.’

‘The school gets better and better every year, adding more and more extracurricular activities and after school clubs, thereby ensuring a well-rounded education with plenty of opportunity for students.’

‘I remember when our daughter started in Thomas Jones, we were worried that she would not fit in as we just migrated and it will be a foreign environment for her. All our uncertainties were quickly put to rest seeing how joyful she is and was all these years. Now that she is leaving, we can’t help but be very melancholic about her journey. She had the finest time. All the teachers and teaching assistants who looked after her over the years were all brilliant. They were all very methodical and thorough in their accounts on parents’ night and are very reassuring on any provision that she might need. She was inculcated discipline, respect, a love for reading, and most importantly, a good foundation to get her through her school life.’

‘We feel we have been very lucky for how our son was supported and helped to get through some initial difficulties. Thanks, mainly to his teachers, but also to his classmates, school staff and the very positive environment, you can breathe at Thomas Jones and he settled in very well. He has built genuinely positive relationships with his peers and his teachers. The boy improved his behaviour and also his language skills. He is enthusiastic about his school and so we are.’

‘Thomas Jones is an exceptional school and I strongly believe the school aims to not only teach but also encourage the children to be kind, thoughtful and to have purpose. I would have liked my son and the other football mad children in year 1 to have access to being part of the TJ football team! You have some really skilful budding footballers in this class, you'd be amazed.’

‘The school has been fantastic with helping my son gain confidence and supporting him through an assessment and family issues. The teachers have been like a second family to him and he's cared for immensely and feels it! I am incredibly grateful to Miss Polly, Miss Rachel and Janet who have been so loving and attentive, they've really helped him develop a love for learning.’

‘Our children absolutely adore their school as do we. We are so lucky that the start of their education has been at Thomas Jones. They are always excited and enthusiastic to get to school and are both thriving thanks to the dedication of the staff team. Very, very pleased parents.’

‘My son, from year 1 is doing quite well with his teachers identifying his specific areas of focus. He loves to be at school and as his parents, we appreciate the directed feedback provided to us.’

‘Really love the new, improved focus on sports, especially swimming, hockey and football. Please continue to keep this focus, as physical wellbeing is very, very important for children.’

‘I want to thank everyone at the school for their hard work and for their continued support. I look forward for my other child to join the school.’

‘Thank you to all the teachers who have helped my child. Thank you to the Head and Deputy Head for their support.’

‘I am very satisfied with the school and recommend it.’

What parents/carers said, and what we are doing

1. You would like competitive sport clubs from year 3 onwards. - Competitive sports clubs are currently in place for Year 4 children upwards, this is when most of the local authority leagues begin across the borough. The Leadership Team will review this as part of our clubs annual review in the autumn term.

   When reviewing enrichment activities, we will ensure that the school day and children’s learning are our top priority and never compromised.

2. You would like after school childcare to extend to Monday and Fridays. -  This year we launched after school provision at Venture on Monday and Fridays after school to assist working parents with wraparound care. The take-up for this was very low, so it was suspended in the Spring term, but will be re-launched if/when there is sufficient demand. Update - Play Plus now runs again at Thomas Jones on Mondays. We want to support working parents as best we can so the Leadership Team will review this decision early in the autumn term.

3. You would like a larger choice of activities and clubs before and after school at a more affordable rate.

   You also expressed an interest about these extending to children in EYFS and utilising parent’s skills. -  Again, before and after school provision will be reviewed as part of our annual review process in the autumn term, taking into account all parent comments. Any changes we make to this will be communicated directly with parents. This review will consider cost and breadth of activities on offer. Update - please see Before and After School Provision page for new additions.

   Historically we offer Play Plus to children from Reception age upwards as we feel younger children struggle with a longer day whilst attending the nursery class in a school setting. Update - Play Plus is now an option for Nursery children.

4. You would like the football club to be extended to year 1 children. - Historically we have focused on competitive sport in Key Stage 2 and instead have focussed on fundamental movement skills in key stage 1 (aligned with the National Curriculum). However, Thomas Jones sports teams have had much success this year and so we will review this when we look at all clubs in the autumn term as part of our clubs annual review. Update - football club available for all years 1-6.

   In the past we have utilised some parent skills for clubs and it is a good idea to revisit this in the autumn term. Update - email sent to all parents to ask for skills on offer.
5. You mentioned lengthy waits for music tuition. - Music lessons are very popular and waiting lists reflect this. We use a fair system to ensure children who would like music tuition receive the offer of a place as soon as we can. We apologise for any lengthy waits and also encourage parents to seek music tuition outside of school, if this is an option available to them.
6. You would like more diversity represented within the Leadership Team. - 

   Thomas Jones has a staff team who originate from a variety of cultures and countries across the world. We will continue to recruit teachers and leaders based on merit and take into account diversity and inclusion throughout our recruitment process.

   We continue to implement a robust Personal Development curriculum where equality features across all year groups as a core unit. This is also covered in whole school assemblies. Parents and carers will receive a new Personal Development Curriculum Map in the autumn term outlining what units are taught and when in 22-23. 
7. You expressed some concern about support staff interactions with children. - The Leadership Team pride themselves in ensuring the environment at Thomas Jones is warm and gentle to ensure all children behave positive and forge good relationships with their peers and adults. In the autumn term there will be some training for support staff and our exacting expectations will again, be revisited.
8. You expressed concern about your child being poorly at school and not sent home quickly enough. - The expectation for when a child is poorly at school will be revisited with all class teachers and support staff. There is sometimes a period of observation in liaison with a first aider before calls are made to parents/carers – sometimes a child flags for a little while but once having a drink, going to the loo, eating their lunch they bounce back.
9. You would like water bottles to remain. - This has been revisited by the Leadership Team and children can continue to bring water bottles into school. It is acknowledged that although the drinking fountains are now switched back on, it is a lengthy process to have an adequate drink.
10. You expressed varying opinions regarding the frequency of homework and how it links to what has been learnt in class. You also mentioned concerns over how we review homework in class to address misconceptions for the children. - Home learning frequency does vary class to class and if you have any concerns or questions it is best to raise these with your child’s class teacher in the first instance.
    The Leadership Team will take some time next term to review home learning class to class to ensure best practise across the school.
11. You would like more differentiation for more able children. - Differentiation is something that occurs in every class as we serve a wide range of children with varying abilities. Termly planning monitoring and ‘book looks’ focus on this element and check all class teachers feel equipped to best serve their cohorts. This may also form part of appraisal for individual teachers. There will be training next year for all teachers focussing solely on differentiation for children who are struggling as well as those who are more able.
12. You would like Nursery children to learn to read sooner. - At Thomas Jones we follow the Letters and Sounds DfE scheme of work to teach reading alongside Jolly Phonics. This is a tried and tested model that gives us good results year on year. We appreciate some children may learn to sight read or use phonics at an earlier age. For these children we encourage a differentiated model where they may read 1:1 with adults in class, parents can discuss with teachers resources to use at home with their child and in Reception class they may be given challenges to ensure they comprehend what they read and to extend their abilities. Our primary focus in Nursery is working on Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds which teaches children to tune into sounds in the world around them before moving on to oral blending and segmenting. This ensures the vast majority of children are ready for Reception class and Phase 2 of Letters and Sounds. Full details can be found on our website: https://www.thomasjonesschool.org/curriculum/subject-areas/english
13. You would like lost property returned and the ability to interact with teachers easier. - We endeavour to ensure any lost items are returned promptly to the owner as long as they are named. Any queries about lost items should go directly to the class teacher or support staff in that class, ideally face to face or via email if necessary.
    The teachers try to ensure they are a presence in the playground/entrances at least a few times each week if not daily, as well as at the end of the day when dismissing children. If you feel that you never see your child’s class teacher then please do arrange a time to meet with them, even informally to iron out any issues. We welcome this.
14. You would like Thomas Jones to participate in events such as World Book Day etc. - Thomas Jones celebrates and marks many events throughout the year however these are not always the same as many other schools. World book day is a focus, but not in regard to dressing as a book character (favourite books are shared, books are made with children etc.).

Thank you to all parents and carers who took the time to respond to the questionnaire. We really value all of your comments and suggestions.