Archibald First School, Gosforth, Newcastle Upone Tyne | Having fun, learning together

Thank you for your responses to our annual parents’ questionnaire. After the events of the last 14 months and the impact that the covid pandemic has had on the day to day running of our school, and crucially, on our ability to work closely with you as our families, we are pleased with the results received but most importantly we would like to thank you for the positive comments that you took the time to write and for the constructive feedback received.

Feedback

Archibald is a genuinely outstanding school, with incredibly hardworking staff and excellent leadership. This has always been routinely demonstrated, but with regards to Covid, the school has managed the situation brilliantly throughout and we couldn’t ask for more.

Making children kind to each other and respectful of rules.

I feel that school have really supported the children and parents during
a very challenging year and have really helped the children to settle back into school life. Thank you.

Adapting to changing environment over last year

Very supportive and experienced in SEN and early intervention

The school made efforts to keep children and parents connected during
home-schooling which was so important and valued. Thank you.

It’s been a challenging year and I have felt my children have been
supported well through all the changes and adjustments.

Keeping the school as a positive experience.

The school has managed the transition back to on-site learning very effectively, making sure that children are settled and confident after the long period away.

Extra learning clubs/activities are brilliant.

Friendly, supportive, welcoming. Communicate well. Very responsive to queries and feedback.

Priorities for the children i.e. making them feel safe and happy
and encouraging a wide curriculum including school clubs.

Happy children and providing a positive experience.

Being proactive and good education.

You are a welcoming, supportive school and we only have positive things to say. Your approach to dealing with the challenges of the pandemic was exceptional. Our children are safe, secure and extremely well supported at school and this enables them to thrive. We have seen first-hand just how much the staff (all staff) look after and nurture our children. Thank you.

There is a culture of inclusion, learning through play and exploration
and feeling of community.

Results

Results wise, we had 109 responses which means that one adult equates to 0.9%.

• 107/109 of adults expressed that your children are safe and well looked after by staff.
• 106/109 of adults expressed that your children are happy at school, and that the children behave well and are expected to do so.

It was also lovely to hear how the vast majority of you feel welcomed by the school even despite the restrictions in place. School does aim to have an open-door policy to families. In more usual times we welcome families into the school on a daily basis to communicate with the admin team and we always have staff on the doors both morning and night so that there is a familiar face for you to speak to.

When our families join us, we traditionally host a Welcome to Archibald meeting which is then followed by visits to the school in the summer term prior to the start of the school year. Other events to welcome you into the school during the school year include:

• Meet the teacher events (years 1-4)
• Stay and Play (EYFS)
• Informal parents’ mornings/afternoons x 2 (all year groups)
• Sharing week (EYFS)
• Face to face parents’ evenings x 2 (all year groups)
• Christmas Performances (all year groups)
• Class Assemblies (Reception to Year 3)
• Parent lunches (all year groups)
• Production (Year 4)
• Sports Day (all year groups)

When listed, it regrettably highlights what we have been unable to do due to the restrictions placed upon schools during the pandemic, however, we hope that it also represents what we aim to re-establish when it is safe and permitted – our next steps. We really can’t wait to have our community back together again. Until then, Mrs Turner will continue to be out the front of the school as many mornings as possible (the pink hi-vis vest will reappear) so please come and speak if you would like to.

Over the last few years, we have worked to develop and refine our communication systems. Having made the decision to go paperless as part of our Eco drive, all letters are sent via email to the email address you provide to school. Once emailed out, we strive to add to these the school website.

As a back-up form of communication, we also aim use the text service. This is primarily used for reminders to information that has already been included in email communication, minor first aid notifications or urgent messages.

We do use Twitter (@Archibaldfirst) to share updates related to the children’s learning and engagement at school but this is not used as a form of communication for letters, information or reminders as such.

Emails are sent to the named contacts on our school system using the email address(es) you provide to school on your contact information form. Text messages are sent to the primary contact only. From communication with you, we have also been made aware that in some families it is not the same person who receives the email and text communication therefore we understand that a text reminder can sometimes be an unwelcome surprise if you haven’t been the one to read the email. The school admin team are more than happy to help with any queries regarding the addresses / numbers registered on the system.

Whilst many of your comments regarding the communication from school were positive in terms of keeping you informed especially as we navigated our way through government updates and school closures etc. we have also taken on board that due to the use of Seesaw and Tapestry that the various methods of communication have diluted the clear channels. The staff team will work to rectify this.

Next Steps:

• We will work to streamline the communication home.
• We will use the email service to send letters and newsletters. These will then be uploaded onto the letters page on the school website.
• We will continue to populate the diary for events in school – www.archibaldfirstschool.org.uk/parents-information/diary/ 
• We will use the text message service for reminders.
• Seesaw and Tapestry will not be used as forms of communication per se. Communication on these platforms will only link to homework for Reception to Year 4 and for learning journey entries for Nursery and Reception.

In every questionnaire we undertake, homework continues to be the element that provokes conversation.

Next Steps:

• We will explore this further as a staff team
• We will explore other school approaches to homework
• We will gather more information for you regarding homework

We hope to do this over the final part of the summer term.

We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you as a school community. Thank you for the time taken to share your voice with us.

The Archibald Team