Parent/Carer Evaluation Results
A snapshot of some parent comments
‘A truly outstanding school, and this being the youngest of our five children, we might justly claim that we have had a lot of experience in qualifying that view.’
‘Thomas Jones is an exceptional primary school & I hope to find a secondary school that is just as exceptional to continue learning at the same level.’
‘I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Thomas Jones for the exemplary support, care and motivational learning our children have received over the years, and this year in particular. We have huge respect and gratitude for all your hard work and dedication and we are delighted to see it show in our children. Many thanks!’
‘With an upbeat and positive vibe throughout the school my daughters continue to thrive due to the outstanding teaching offered at Thomas Jones School. My children come home happy and eager to share the day’s learning with me. The staff’s attention to detail and great communication puts me at ease and allows for a comfortable, consistent and safe setting for my children to learn.’
‘We couldn't be happier with the school, our children absolutely adore Thomas Jones.’
‘Thank you for this remarkable gateway to life! We will thank you always. Once a Thomas Jones child, always a Thomas Jones child (and parent?!). Endless love and thank yous to all Thomas jones team members.’
What parents/carers said, and what we are doing
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You would like more extra-curricular activities and reasonably priced enrichment activities
What we are doing: The Leadership Team are currently reviewing our club provision to enable us to re-start some clubs as soon as it is safe to do so. Historically we ran a model where all year groups had access to at least one club a year either before or after school.
Thomas Jones will continue to constantly review enrichment activities to ensure that the school day and children’s learning are our top priority and never compromised.
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We should educate and address issues with parents/carers about equality
What we are doing: There is no expectation for school staff to play a role in educating and changing the views of parents or carers. Community engagement is a local authority focus, rather than an individual school’s sole responsibility (ratified by the Safeguarding Lead for the bi-borough).
We continue to implement a robust Personal development curriculum where equality features across all year groups as a core unit. We continue to educate children about equality and inclusion. Parents and carers will receive a new Personal Development Curriculum Map in the autumn term outlining what units are taught and when in 21-22
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You would like after school childcare
What we are doing: The Leadership Team have worked with a robust risk assessment over the past 16 months to ensure children’s education was disrupted as little as possible. Part of this risk assessment deemed re-opening Play Plus and Breakfast Club as too high risk given that numerous ‘bubbles’ would need to be broken within our already small staff team. We appreciate that in making the decision not to re-open Play Plus and Breakfast Club many working parents have faced difficulties pertaining to childcare.
Looking ahead, we are currently reviewing our risk assessment in relation to this in order to implement any changes as soon as it is safe to do so. The latest guidance from the Department of Education is being read in relation to this.
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Whole class sanctions for negative behaviour are ineffective
What we are doing: In general, this is not the model we run at Thomas Jones and this has been re-communicated to all staff as a reminder.
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You would like to see more parent involvement
What we are doing: We always welcome parent/carer views and ask that if you have any ideas or comments that in the first instance you approach your child’s class teacher to discuss. We pride ourselves in working in partnership with parents. Our parent governors support us with this.
We also hope to have more fundraising possibilities again once it is safe to do so and behind the scenes we are working on making these more transparent via our website.
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You would like to know more what your children are learning
What we are doing: The Leadership Team is currently reviewing how information about children’s learning is shared with parents/carers across the school. Our desire is to make this more consistent via our email communications.
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You would like to know more about your child’s behaviour and targets
What we are doing: Rest assured that if we have concerns about your child’s behaviour we will be in touch to discuss these with you and work in partnership to support your child to improve.
Children’s targets are shared at the twice yearly parent teacher meetings (November and June) as well as within the annual report in the summer term.
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You would like to receive letters outlining term dates
What we are doing: These are always available to view on the website and are referred to in the newsletters sent by Mr Sellens. We have not used paper letters this year due to our Covid-19 risk assessment.
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You had an idea to use charts to register children’s achievements in reading and review with the teacher weekly
What we are doing: All class teachers are given the freedom to devise their own systems for tracking achievement and celebrating these with the children. All children read as part of a guided reading group each week and achievements as well as targets are discussed in this forum.
- You would like halal meat
What we are doing: Thomas Jones is a community school serving children from a variety of religious backgrounds. With this is mind, we do not serve any food which adheres to specific religious guidelines. We serve a nutritious vegetarian option each day.
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.