Parent Panel

The forum Heart of England Parent Panel exists to enable parents and carers to have an opportunity to learn more about how we work as a school and raise areas of interest or concern. This is a key consultative group that will shape the future direction of the school.

The notes from consultation meetings can be found on this page.  They are also available in PDF from the list below:

• Notes from 22 March 2012
• Notes from 26 January 2012
• Notes from 22 September 2011
• Notes from 10 March 2011
• Notes from 29 September 2009
• Notes from 10 April 2008

Meeting Notes: Most recent first

Parents' Panel Meeting - November 2012

• Mr Mackereth said he would like the Parent Panel to be a key advisory group to him and his staff and to consider strategic issues affecting the school over the next 5 years
• We reviewed the new format parents’ evening following the Year 11 one that had just taken place. The feedback was positive – there was more time with the teacher, the queues were shorter and it was less crowded
• Other discussions were about ICT and reflections on the start to the new school year
• Future discussion about the participation age
• Dates are arranged for Parent Panel meetings to be held every half term

Parents’ Panel Meeting – Thursday 15th March 2012

Present: A. Livingstone (Assistant Headteacher), E. O’Brien, M. Bingham, L. West, L. Sanders,
A. Field, A. Casey-Poole, K. Foster

The following issues were discussed:

Family Information

• L West summarised details of some of the family services available to parents and children at Heart of England School. A good deal of information was now available on the school website under ‘Parent Information’ and ‘Support for Parents’ . Discussion took place on aspects of information and provision including; financial advice for parents, advice and information for Young Carers, Adult Learning, accessing relate services such as bereavement or relationship counselling, Charity work etc.
• Concern expressed that many parents were not aware of the services available to them, particularly Coventry based families.
• L West was seeking to raise awareness through publicising information on the school website, attendance at the parent Panel and potentially through the use of Parentmail and future school assemblies the first of which might target Young Carers Week in June.

Communication

• A Livingstone presented documentation produced by the school which provides details of the kinds of things students would be studying in each subject during each term in Years 7, 8 and 9. This information is to be made available on the school website.
• Parents welcomed the addition and were impressed with the information provided. Discussion was held on how such information might be enhanced via the inclusion of key assessment points throughout the year. In addition, signposting could be included to guide parents not only in terms of what they can expect their child to be studying but in terms of how parents might help their children with their studies and with their preparation for key assessments.
• Discussions noted that the English Department already issued guidance which parents found very useful.
• Such information should also be available for KS4 and include syllabus and exam board references, useful websites and revision guidance. Examination dates were useful along with detailed explanations of the marks needed for particular levels or grades.

Homework

• Homework yielded various points of interest. Issues related to whether there was enough homework being issued or too much homework. Whilst some parents preferred homework that was project based other parents felt that this meant parents’ would end up doing it themselves. It was largely agreed that homework should be challenging and meaningful and extend beyond ‘finishing off’ tasks that many pupils did in lunchtimes
• Common ground did emerge with regard to the consistency of homework. Both in terms of the length and quality of work set. Some weeks children seemed to get a lot of homework from a number of subjects and at other times would receive almost no homework at all.
• Concern was expressed that Year 11 students were not getting very much homework at this crucial time. When it was noted that much of the homework at this stage would be revision parents’ were unaware of the fact that all Year 11 pupils had been issued with a guide on how to revise and that many subjects will have issued their own dedicated revision booklets. Given that no-one knew of these support mechanisms it was clear that further communication was needed between school and home to highlight both what was being provided for students and what was expected of students. Parents were clear that revision was best when it was structured and monitored by teachers rather than simply issued.
• Also that whilst communication with students was comprehensive the messages were not always received at home
• There was frustration that Year 7 homework was initially dominated by ‘Covering Books’

MFL

• A variety of questions was raised regarding the current pattern of provision for MFL in main school. The Parent Panel would welcome the opportunity to hear the views of a language specialist at a future meeting.

AOB

• Clarification on study leave was requested.

Thursday 26th January 2012

Present: A. Mackereth (Headteacher) A. Livingstone , A. O’Brien, M. Bingham,  C. Thorley, D. Jones, A. Field, A. Casey-Poole, J. Dawson

The following issues were discussed:

• The new reporting system; only Year 11 parents to date had received the reports in the new format.  The feedback from parents and teachers was positive with most saying they preferred the new system.
• Communications between school and home; it was agreed that communications had improved with the use of Parentmail, text messaging, use of the website and Twitter.  There is a lot of information on Insight, which all agreed was very good. It was felt that the website could still be improved to include more dates about events such as music concerts and school productions.  Also more use of Parentmail, although Mr Mackereth said it is very costly so alternatives are being considered.
• Gum shield policy; the school would strongly encourage students to wear gum shields for some sports, e.g. rugby, although it is not compulsory. There was a request to bring in a dentist so that students could buy gum shields, which Mr Mackereth will look into.
• Out of hours contact; there was a concern about who could be contacted, in the event of an emergency, after normal school hours.  For example, if a parent is due to collect their child after hours from a sports match and is delayed, there is at present no-one to contact if it is after 5pm. Mr Mackereth to consider.
• School bus; the school has strict policies about behaviour on the school buses and will take a tough line if this is not adhered too. Student leaders are on most buses. If parents are unhappy with the service in any way they should contact Solihull Council directly. The contacts are Sarah Rose and Gill Allsop. The school is not empowered to do anything about the service. (details available on request)
• Mentoring and motivation of boys; the school is well aware that some boys are lacking in motivation and one of the main problems is that many  do not have a vision of what they would like to do in the future. Mentoring is available to children in years 7, 9 and 11 which is helping, but the school needs more mentors who can commit to an hour every week to work with students who need extra support.  Mr Mackereth will send out a Parentmail asking for more mentors.
• Date of next meeting – Thursday, 15th March.

Thursday 22nd September 2011

Present: A. Mackereth (Headteacher) L. West (Family Support Worker), E. Atkins and D. Hawkins (Co-Curriculum Leader for English), G. Loran (Director, Intervention), R. Lee (Teacher), S. Garbut, A. O’Brien, M. Bingham, E. O’Brien, J. Cuthbertson, C. Thorley, D. Jones, A. Field, A. Casey-Law, J. Dawson

UNIFORM

• Mrs Loran discussed the school uniform and difficulties, with some students, of enforcing the correct items of clothing.
• The unanimous view was that the uniform is very positive and should be observed strictly.
• The change to pleated skirts for girls has helped with the problem of rolling them up to be too short.
• There might be a possibility to allow older girls to wear white shirts/ties but maintain the striped blouse for the lower school.  Mrs Loran has looked into the possibility of clip-on ties.
• Lost property – there are always large numbers of unclaimed items. It was suggested that there should be more communication via Parentmail about this and arrange times for parents to come in to look for lost items.
• It is proposed that single gender assemblies take place and there will be a focus on uniform.

ENGLISH SETTING ARRANGEMENTS

• Mr Hawkins and Mrs Atkins explained the reason why students are not in sets for English but are in mixed ability classes.   The school has experimented with having a top set, but the results were not as good as with mixed ability teaching. The view is that more able students can assist others.  There will always be 5/6 able students of the highest calibre in each class.  Progress in English is not always in a linear fashion, as with some other subjects. It was agreed that there would be more information available to parents on the school website about the texts being studied in English.
• It was felt that there may be parents who have skills/knowledge that would be useful to the school and would be willing to come in and help with some learning.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

• The school would welcome parent volunteers to act as mentors to students.  They would need to be able to commit about one hour at the same time each week. The need for mentors should be communicated via Parentmail.
• Members of the Parents’ Panel are to have a tour of the school, so they can see for themselves a typical day.
• Students in the 6th Form can work towards the Duke of Edinburgh silver award only.  At present the school does not have the funding or resources to provide any more than this.
• There will be another meeting before Christmas.  Agenda items should be sent to Mr. Mackereth’s P.A, Diane.

10 March 2011 Notes

The meeting focussed on Parent Consultation Evenings, Reports and the Insight software.

Download these notes: Notes from 10 March 2011 meeting

29 September 2009

Parents’ Panel Meeting – 29th September 2009

Attendees:

Homework

• Variety of practices in the past, none of which have been perfect.
• Current system is that students all have a set timetable for homework, which should more or less be adhered to by teaching staff. Variations to the timetable should only be, for example, when a teacher is absent.
• Parents should monitor homework and let school know if the timetable is not being followed.
• ICT and music homework will not appear on the timetable as teachers cannot assume that students have regular access to specialist facilities/equipment to be able to complete the homework in these subjects.
• Homework, or independent study, should be appropriate to need.
• Students understand how the homework timetable works and the sanctions that may be taken if it is not completed. For example, study support, detentions, etc.
• Study support is after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and whilst it may be used as punishment for students who do not do homework, it is open to anyone who may need extra more help with homework. Study support is co-ordinated by Mrs Lee and other members of staff are often there.

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) - Kaleidos

• A presentation on Kaleidos (the virtual learning environment used by H of E school) was given by Mrs Fuller.
• The system will be rolled out to all parents later this year. Members of the Parents’ Panel have been asked to trial the system, as well as many of the teachers/staff, and provide feedback to Mrs Fuller.
• This will, from January 2010, be the preferred route for communication with school.
• It would be most helpful if members of the Parents’ Panel are able to assist with the introduction of Kaleidos to parents at two open evenings.
• The reason we are going down this route and not putting more information on the website is that there are certain things that should not be in the public domain, e.g. details of school trips, etc.

Future Meetings

Members of the Parents’ Panel would like to discuss:-

• B4L Accounts (debit and credit system)
• Reports – revisit section on feedback from student
• Bullying policy
• School trips and educational visits

It was agreed that Mr Mackereth and Alison Field will set a work agenda for the Parents’ Panel for this academic year, with the aim of having a meeting every half term. The meetings will usually be held on Tuesdays and some will start earlier, e.g. 5pm.

Download these notes: Notes from 29 September 2009 meeting

10 April 2008 Notes

Reporting and Consultation: Andrew Livingstone

Mr Livingstone (AL) outlined the recent history of reporting at Heart of England School.

• Teacher trade unions impose limits on the length of subject reports.
• Over 80% of Year 8 Parents who responded said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the current system.
• He explained that parental consultation evenings and reports are staggered throughout the year to spread teacher workload.

Communication

Mr Bastock (BS) explained the reasons why pupil safety consideration prevents us from posting all letters on the www.heart-england.solihull.sch.uk website.  We have investigated ParentMail but the costs are currently prohibitive for a school of this size.

BS demonstrated the Kaleidos Portal using his teacher log in.   He was able to demonstrate how it is possible to link documents to calendar events.  Documents will be available in PDF format so that there are fewer compatibility issues.   BS will send log-in details to Forum members so that they can preview the Site. We will set up a Parent Panel Interest group so that forum members can try it.

The parent page currently shows attendance and a student e-portfolio.   In time assessment information will also be viewable.   It will be possible to post timed tests that are marked online and offer instant feedback to the student, and send the marks to the teacher mark book.

Held on Thursday 10th April 2008

Download these notes: Notes from 10 April 2008 meeting