Trust Annual Survey of Parents and Pupils

Dear Parents and Carers,

Leigh Academies Trust values the feedback of our parents/carers to help us understand what is working well and where we can make improvement. We launched our first annual survey last year which was a great success in terms of participation and it gave us incredible insight that helped us deliver a
programme of change across our academy.

We would now like to invite you to take part in this year’s parents’ survey which is going out across all 30 of our academies at the same time as a survey to all our students. Both surveys will be open for a two-week period and close on Friday 10th February at 4:00pm.

The survey will give you the chance to tell us what you think of our school. If your child has special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), it will ask how well the school supports them.

Please see below a summary of the responses from the previous parental survey we carried out.

My leadership team made contact with parents who did not agree with some of the statements as we always use your responses to help us enhance our provision even further. Last year I then circulated a letter with information on steps we had taken after the survey. I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of the things we have adapted and continued with as an academy.

Pupil Wellbeing

Questions include: My child is happy at this school, My child feels safe at this school, When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly.

• The Academy holds weekly productive inclusion meetings where the needs of students who have been referred are discussed and the most appropriate strategies of support are assigned. We have a tiered model approach to support student’s’ social and emotional wellbeing. Multi-agency work includes counsellors, MIND, ELSA and Emotional Wellbeing Practitioners. Consequently, our students recognise they are given the opportunity to speak about how they feel and seek support from each other. All interventions are recorded using a tracker which demonstrates the impact these sessions have on their behaviour, wellbeing and academic performance. Our Assistant Principal and SENCO Ms Pritchard has arranged for all students with SEND to have profile pages and also carried out external assessments to ensure they receive support during their public examinations . We have also invested heavily in the provision place2be to provide support to students around mental health, anxiety and wellbeing.
• The Academy worked with its student council team and revised some of the Academy systems which made students feel happier and part of the school’s decision making. During our Ofsted inspection it was also recognised that:
  ‘Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well known and well supported by teachers and teaching assistants. They receive high-quality pastoral support and additional help to develop their literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils with SEND achieve as well as their peers. Disadvantaged pupils are catching up.’

Behaviour

Questions include: The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved, My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

• The Academy was recognised by Ofsted for having high expectations with regards to behaviour.
  ‘Behaviour in lessons is calm and orderly. However, some pupils recognise that a small proportion of lessons are disrupted by a small minority of pupils. Leaders are mindful of the challenges which the return to school has caused but continue to uphold the highest standards.’
• The Academy has a firm and consistent approach to dealing with bullying and we also ‘check-in’ with the ‘victim’ a week later to ensure the issue has been resolved.
• We have had in place an email address where students and parents can raise concerns regarding their child Set up an email address where students and parents can raise concerns bullying@stroodacademy.org along with a worry box at student services.
• The Academy has also had regular safeguarding visits by school safeguarding governor, looking at the trends in bullying logs
• Assemblies – online bullying and how to report incident of bullying
• Leaflets to parents on how to support their child with online bullying enhanced communication
• National online safety training for all staff
• Advice on staff bulletin weekly e.g online safety, bullying, mental health
• Principals Bulletins – Updates on key areas of school life.
• Parents Forums – Termly presentations on what has been happening at the academy and opportunity to give feedback on future developments and projects at the school.
• SLT Drop-ins and coffee mornings – Termly opportunity to meet a member of SLT to discuss any issues and have them resolved.
• Additional admin – Additional staff added to each College to communicate with parents within the 48 hour window.

Curriculum

Questions will include: There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school. My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school. The school supports my child’s wider personal development. The International Baccalaureate curriculum (MYP, PYP, IBCP) at the school has had a positive impact on my child/children.

• Key Stage 3, students follow the MYP which is broad and balanced and exceeds the learning outlined in the National Curriculum. We have clear pathways at Key Stages 4 and at Key Stage 5 that include both academic and vocational options.
• The curriculum also includes a range of opportunities for students to develop their personal and social skills. As part of the secondary curriculum there are ten international baccalaureate learner profile characteristics which we teach our students.
• Students also benefit from a range of enrichment activities at lunch and after school including, kickboxing, weight lifting, jewellery making, science club etc.

Learning

Questions include: The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year, The school has high expectations for my child, My child does well at this school, The school lets me know how my child is doing.

• We send home termly reports that show students’ attitudes to learning in each subject plus academic achievement.
• We have had exceptionally high turnout at parents evenings and information evenings for year 11 and 13 students.

SEND provision

Questions include: the school gives support SEN pupils need to succeed

• The Academy prides itself on early SEND identification and, as such, offers a range of interventions to support students’ academically. All students on the SEND register are provided with a Learning Support Plan and added to pupils’ profiles for teachers and teaching assistants (TAs) to access.
• These documents are reviewed regularly and the SEND team works with teachers to ensure they highlight the most effective strategies. They are reviewed three times a year with parents receiving revised copies.

We are an oversubscribed school with numerous students who have parents that work at our academy. This indicates that our academy is a great school to attend, we have high expectations and we also offer very effective support to ensure our students are successful.

I look forward to viewing the results of this new survey. 

Kind regards
Mrs N Anwar
Principal