Below are all the comments made by Reception parents about the what they feel are the strengths of our school. There were lots of really positive comments about how approachable the staff are; about how the learning is fun; about how the phasing for starting school worked well and much more. Thank you to those parents who shared their thoughts with us.
| ‘Excellent pre-start to school. Information provided very well. Staff really professional and made it a very special experience for starting school for the first ever time. Very happy to have chosen Springbank. Exceptional experience for both child in reception and in Y3. Love that they both came to the same school. Miss Percival is fantastic on Facebook too! Happy that my child is enjoying Springbank.’ |
| ‘Springbank go above and beyond to support children with disabilities. The school have been very supportive and made arrangements for my child to be dropped off and collected with 1 to 1 support staff as I have another child with disabilities. They have also supported me and my son in providing information to local services about my disabled child’s needs in order to support my child who attends the school and other issues relating to my disabled child. The school discussed my child’s needs and it felt his teachers knew a lot about my child already when he started; he loves school. The temporary classrooms are great with plenty of new resources. My son learnt to read in his first term, we are really pleased with how learning is fun, my child enjoys his phonic actions at home. The progress reports show lovely photos and what the children have been learning and also how they make progress.’ |
| ‘I can’t think of any particular thing you all have done amazingly well. I am extremely happy with everything the teachers and school have done so far. The present idea for new parents was a great idea and the poem has gone into my child’s memory box to mark her first day at big school. Thank you.’ |
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‘Meals are great – good to have choice. Teachers are really friendly and approachable. The classroom looks fun. Dance at the start of the day is a good idea. Encouraging the children to go in their own is a good idea. Contact before school has been good.’ |
| ‘Initially the morning drop off was stressful for both us and our child, however we suppose this is perfectly normal and before long our child was excited about school and enjoys the independence of going up the ramp on his own. You have made drop off easy and pleasant. The parents’ phonic session was very good. Above all we are so very impressed by the teachers approach and attitude. The inclusive community feeling is both welcome and reassuring. It really feels lovely and safe and a great place to learn. Thank you.’ |
| ‘The new parent’s meeting and booklet were brilliant as I didn’t know what to do! I was worried about my child starting school but I needn’t have been. Everyone is lovely and he is so happy and excited every day to go and that makes me feel comfortable and excited for him. I think you all do an amazing job!’ |
| ‘Encouraging my child to engage and working on her confidence in school. Tailoring work to her level. Communicating positives and ‘to work ons’.’ |
| ‘Visibility and approachability of all staff especially Miss Percival. Graded settling in period worked well i.e. gradually parents not coming in and 10 children starting at a time.’ |
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‘Home visit to every child is not common but thought it was excellent. Phonics workshop was useful. Nice welcome at the door in the morning. Good level of communication from staff and on website which is really helpful and informative. Little package with poem and chocolate was really thoughtful. Love the learning profile and being able to see what they are doing in class.’ |
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‘Making child independent – letting them walk into class on their own and leave the parents at the door. This helped my child settle as when I went into the classroom she wouldn’t let go of me.’ |
| ‘I feel the introduction into school was smooth and easy for my child. I felt I understood clearly what was happening and communicate it well to my child so he had knowledge of how his day was going to go.’ |
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‘Getting parents involved and home visits did help. First day with all parents was good and kept us at ease. Support for parents really good.’ |
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‘I thought the initial engagement through to starting school was good. From the initial contact about our place to the organised visit home and engagement with both my child and us as parents during the visit. The stay and play sessions really helped getting my child comfortable with school and helped build his excitement. Really liked the involvement and leadership shown by the Headteacher and how available the teaching staff are.’ |
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‘I liked how you structured the start to full days straight away but with a small number. Easier to manage as a parent and good idea to start those with no friends transitioning with them first.’ |
| ‘The workshops have been helpful but more notice on events would be helpful for arranging child care/time off work.’ |
| ‘The communication with parents is great. All the staff obviously love their jobs. The amount of learning is amazing.’ |
| ‘Keeping us informed about everything that is going on at the school. Listening to and responding to suggestions from parents.’ |
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‘Making learning a fun experience and engaging their attention. Mixing play (a messy type environment) with the serious stuff. Creating their new classrooms together with the children.’ |
| ‘Seems to have been a good start to reception. My child is learning well and enjoys it, so all must be good! He likes wake up/shake up. Good to have a regular change of home reading book. I think the open sessions will be useful and the ‘Build a profile’ as my child rarely tells us what he does!’ |
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‘Phased start dates were good so as not to overwhelm the children will a full class. The first morning process worked well. Overall I think the starting school process was very smooth, especially for a new reception year.’ |
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‘I feel the start to school was very well balanced – the children were allowed to slower build up confidence before going in alone. However this wasn’t too lengthy either which could have been counterproductive. I feel that staff took time to get to know the individual child and their likes/dislikes.’ |
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‘Ensuring that homework is set and marked regularly. Making reception part of the rest of the school.’ |
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‘Communication has been fab! We are really happy with Springbank and have found Mrs Bennett, Mrs Vincent, Mrs Roberts and Miss Percival particularly helpful!’ |
| ‘All the staff have been fantastic and very approachable. Our child looks forward to going to school every day thanks to the friendly staff. The chocolate, tissues and poem for the parents was a really lovely touch.’ |
| ‘I think the homework being given on a Friday to return on a Monday is a great idea- gives the children ample time to do it and can choose a time when they can concentrate rather than when they are tired after school each day. Different range of learning tools and areas in the classroom are great and keeps the children really interested.’ |
| ‘Making learning fun as always lots of time and energy goes into making activities really fun.’ |
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'Phonics evening – I know not all schools offer this. The structure of starting school straight off on a full day – think it helped my child settle in quicker and enables us to work!' |
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'My child has settled well so must be good – but not entirely sure why or what she does all day!’ |
| ‘I find all the teachers friendly, happy and easy to approach.’ |
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‘Definitely feel the home visit helped my child to settle and gave meaning to the conversations about going to visit school etc. He was very happy to see our picture on the wall as he walked in. The comfort of a picture of mum and dad at home will have helped him in the day.’ |
| ‘Keeping us informed. Great work thank you!’ |
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‘Communication is excellent and I love the tone of voice in the letters. You listen and action e.g. adjusting the school finishing time really helped me. School dinners is a worry for my child so being able to choose online would be fab. Facebook site is great for communication- thank you for responding so promptly. Your tools for learning are brilliant, my youngest has progressed quicker than her sibling at a different school.’ |
| ‘Good resources given out to help with home learning.’ |
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‘Great ways of teaching the letters. It seems to work really well and sinks in with my child he seems to really enjoy practicing his phonics.’ |