We are ambitious and reflective and strive to further improve our excellent education so your views are important to us.
We ask for your views annually in a Parent Survey but also welcome feedback at any point during the year. Please see our Leave Feedback page.
2023-24 Parent / Carer Survey Data
Many thanks to those parents who completed our Parent Questionnaire earlier this term. We have looked closely at the questionnaires and comments which we received (173 replies were received) and we have considered our response. Overall, we were very happy with the very positive response we received from parents, with 95% of parents saying that they would recommend our school to others.
In considering our reaction, we have added up the responses that were either “strongly agree” or “agree” and presented the information accordingly at the end of the letter. We are very pleased where results are over 90%, but where results are below 90%, we are keen to review our processes and see where improvements can be made. We have also considered the comments we received from you all regarding how we can further improve and, of course, the many positive comments we received, which were a delight to read. Thank you to those parents who put their names to comments shared: this enables us to follow up any concerns personally if we feel this is appropriate.
I have taken each question in turn, where the % of parents agreeing to the statement was lower than 90%, and I have hopefully provided you with a satisfactory response, explanation and/or reassurance of our determination to improve:
Q3: This school makes sure its pupils are well-behaved
The % of respondents agreeing was 88%, which is slightly down on last year’s figures and a little lower than we would like. We often have visitors in school and feedback from these visits is overwhelmingly positive in terms of behaviour around the school. School and Trust leadership often spend time in classes and the vast majority of children respond well to our school rules and there is a tangible mutual respect from everyone. There are, of course, a small number of cases where poor behaviour can cause upset and disruption and the school is working incredibly hard with families to support those children making poor choices, and to also support children affected by poor behaviour. Please be reassured that no poor behaviour is tolerated and ignored.
Q4: My child has been bullied and it was dealt with effectively
12% of respondents (21 respondents) said their children had experienced bullying, and of those, only 52% agreed that it was dealt with effectively. This is again a little lower than last year, but still higher than it has been in previous years.
It is important to know that incidences of bullying are rare but they do occasionally occur at Coleham. When they do occur, they are always taken very seriously and dealt with in line with our anti-bullying procedure. We constantly teach our children to treat others with kindness and respect, in line with our 3 school rules. Sometimes, however, children can make mistakes. This is part of growing up and school is a safe environment in which they can occasionally make mistakes. When children make the wrong choice, there is a consequence and we support all parties, where necessary, to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated.
Any incidents of unkindness are dealt with robustly, but most are usually not defined as bullying and often the word “bullying” can be used incorrectly to describe a particular behaviour by both parents and children. We follow the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s definition of bullying as repetitive, intentional hurtful behaviour that is repetitive, directed, and/or including a power imbalance.
If you are concerned about how your child is being treated by others, we would urge you to come and talk to your child’s class teacher in the first instance. We will then be able to investigate situations and provide consequences and support, where necessary. It is not appropriate to inform parents of the exact actions that we have taken in relation to sanctions given to other children and this can leave parents and children feeling that nothing has been done, however, please trust that we do deal with behavioural and bullying incidents in a consistent and robust manner.
Q5: This school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year
The % of respondents agreeing with this comment has fallen from 96% last year to 89% this year, which is lower than we would like. All the information about each curriculum subject can be found in the curriculum area of the school website. We also send out Curriculum Bulletins from each year group at the start of the term about what will be studied over the term. We celebrate the children’s learning with you via Dojo/Tapestry Posts and by inviting you in for class assemblies, concerts and after school events.
If you have any queries about what your child will be learning, and you feel this information has not be shared, please feel free to speak to your child’s teacher and they will be happy to let you know.
Q6: When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly.
10% of respondents to the survey disagreed with the above statement, which is an improvement on last year, and 13% responded “don’t know”. This has improved, but is still lower than we would like.
If you have any concerns with school, we would urge you to come and talk to your child’s class teacher in the first instance: many issues can be easily resolved quickly (we have lots of staff available on the playgrounds each morning and evening so you can discuss matters in person or you may email the admin address for a staff member to call you) If you feel that this needs to be escalated to a member of the Senior Leadership Team, then your child’s class teacher will immediately refer the issue onto the phase leader and/or Miss Turner or me. We take all concerns very seriously and always take time to investigate situations carefully before taking appropriate and robust action.
If you do not feel that a concern has been dealt with appropriately, please do get in touch with the school office as soon as possible and a member of the Senior Leadership Team will contact you regarding your concern.
Q7: My Child has SEND and the school gives them the support they need to succeed
The % of parents agreeing with question has fallen from last year, however, the number of parents answering “yes” to My child has Special Educational Needs (SEND) was very low. Only 21 of the 121 children on the SEN register responded, so it is difficult to glean any significant conclusions from the data. We will put out a separate survey to those parents later this term.
Q8: School has high expectations for my child
Only 5% disagreed with this statement, but 8% did not know. We have very high expectations of both behaviour, attitude and attainment for all children at Coleham School. We aim to communicate this to the children regularly and our school values of perseverance and ambition reinforce this.
If you feel that there are low expectations for your child, or you are unsure, please do speak to your child’s teacher for more information.
Q13: This school supports my child’s wider development
The % of parents agreeing with question has fallen from 92% to 88% this year, with 5% responding “don’t know”. Our enrichment program of speakers, community events and trips is strong and well-developed, which has been recognised by the 3-18 Trust Leadership. We work incredibly hard to make sure all children, especially disadvantaged children, experience a wide variety of interesting and culturally diverse experiences beyond the academic with many classes regularly popping out of the classroom to explore the town centre in addition to scheduled trips further afield. Our focus for enrichment for 23-24 is to ensure that each year group visits an art gallery/exhibition and to hold a variety of multi-cultural festivals in school. Please be re-assured that ‘Enrichment’ continues to be a big priority for Coleham School and we are always looking to keep things fresh and change our offering linked to local and national events and the children’s interests. Details of these experiences are published via the news section of the website daily and included in the weekly newsletters.
If you have any doubts or concerns about the wider development of your child, please do get in touch and we can discuss ways to improve. If you have an interesting hobby or links to local organisations or businesses that might wish to work with us on a project or host pupils for a trip then please get in touch with Miss Othen or the school office.
In addition to the 3-18 Trust survey, we also asked parents and carers to comment on what we can improve, and what we are doing well. We have addressed the main themes below:
Communications
Within the comments section, a number of parents/carers commented on our communication systems. The comments were a mixture of “too much communication” and “not enough communication” in a roughly 50/50 mix. We are a very busy school and so we try to streamline communication by sending it in one go on a Friday, unless there is something vitally important or short notice that needs communicating urgently. This is to allow all parents with busy lives to not have to keep track of dozens of ad-hoc emails and letters each week.
We produce one Weekly Newsletter on a Friday with all the main school news. The newsletter starts with ‘need to know’ posts such as upcoming events and reminders for parents and finishes with ‘nice to see’ items such as the events that have taken place over the week but there is always a quick link section at the very start of each newsletter. This allows parents to read what is relevant and ignore what is not. For example, Year 6 parents may not feel the need to read about a Year 3 trip, but may want to read the information about a whole-school event for the following week.
Our website is live and up to date so always use this and the newsletter for any queries you may have. Class Dojo is a platform for Teachers to share work in the classroom. We ask that parents don’t message Teachers on here to protect their work life balance and by using one communication system (email) it ensures that parents messages are not missed. Dojo is occasionally used to communicate smaller class related messages such as last minute changes to PE days/Forest School. If you are not signed up to Class Dojo, please ask arrange this with us.
Wraparound Care
There were also a small number of comments raised regarding the availability of places for Wraparound Care. We are sorry that the childcare offering in our local area is lacking for older children but we don’t have capacity to increase our numbers above 50 for various reasons but mainly due to space within our building as we only have one school hall.
Fixtures
There were a few comments regarding sporting fixtures. We make it a priority to attend lots of sporting fixtures and have a balanced approach to this. We aim to be inclusive and ensure that every child in Year 6 gets to compete by the time they have left us and incorporate as many children of varying abilities in KS2 as we can, whilst also ensuring that those children with athletic abilities have a chance to shine and so they will more compete more regularly. Miss Lewis has a robust tracking system where she records fixtures against every child in KS2 to help aid selection. Please see the link to the recent letter we sent regarding Sport Fixtures which explains this in more detail.
There were also some comments around rewards and Dojo points. We have recently reviewed the whole rewards system with the School Council (who have consulted their classes). The feedback from the children is that the they are happy with the system as it is, but we need to make sure that Dojos are more consistently used. Dojos are awarded by any member of staff for children displaying the Coleham values (kindness, friendship, honesty, respect, cooperation, perseverance and ambition). At the end of the week, the top-5 highest scorers in each class are awarded the Golden Sticker. One Golden Sticker from each year group is randomly selected to be a Headteacher Teatime guest. It may be that your child is not a guest over a whole year, as there are 60 children in each year group and only 39 weeks in a school year. There is a system in place to keep a record of Dojo points, stickers and HT teatime guests to ensure that it is equitable and that no one is a guest every week, for example. This will be shared with staff more regularly so that the Dojo awards are more consistent.
Overall, the feedback that you have provided to us was overwhelmingly positive with many, many comments about the strong community ethos of the school. Our aim has always been to educate the whole child providing them with a broad and rich curriculum and it is wonderful to read that so many of you feel we are doing a good job! The many positive comments and praise for our dedicated and hard-working staff team were also much appreciated. We have, of course, shared your comments with the whole team. We have printed them all out and put them on display for our whole staff team to see – it has really made an impact on everyone, so thank you kindly
Thank you, once again, for your valuable feedback on our Parent Survey.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Larkham
Headteacher
Parent / Carer Survey Results 2023-24
Number on Roll: 422
Number of respondents: 173
Survey Collected: December/January 2023-24
Survey Questions |
% Agree |
% Disagree |
%
Don’t know |
My child is happy at this school |
95% |
5% |
0% |
My child feels safe at this school |
95% |
4% |
1% |
This school makes sure its pupils are well-behaved |
88% |
8% |
4% |
My child has been bullied and it was dealt with quickly and effectively* |
52% |
43% |
5% |
This school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year |
89% |
9% |
2% |
When I have raised concerns they have been dealt with properly |
77% |
10% |
13% |
My child has SEND and the school gives them the support they need to succeed** |
67% |
24% |
10% |
The school has high expectations for my child |
88% |
4% |
8% |
My child does well at this school |
94% |
3% |
2% |
The school lets me know how well my child is doing |
91% |
8% |
1% |
There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school |
97% |
1% |
2% |
My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school |
92% |
6% |
2% |
The school strongly supports my child’s wider development |
88% |
7% |
5% |
I would recommend Coleham School to another parent |
95% |
5% |
n/a |
*This figure relates to % of the 21 parents/carers who stated their child had been bullied
** This figure relates to % of the 21 parents/carers responding “yes” to my child has SEND.
Thank You
As well as being ambitious with self-improvement, it’s always incredibly heart-warming to read the many positive comments around what we do well. The whole staff team greatly appreciate the time taken to answer the question “What do we do well?” – thank you to everyone who sent us comments. Here are some of them below:
“Everything! Caring, Community and Creativity. Always striving for improvement and providing enriching opportunities for children. I wouldn’t want my children educated anywhere else.”
“Good lesson content”
“Reception staff are truly excellent (and all staff, actually)”
“The school is varied in its activities for the children.”
“It’s hard to put down just 1 thing as Coleham School does so many good things all the time! My child is very happy there. But i would say ‘Support and Encouragement’ – the teachers and support staff are always there for the children to develop and be the best they can be, this makes for a happy school day! 😃”
“Feedback”
“Effort and updates via class dojo”
“Engagement and progress of the students (my boys)”
“Personalisation of the tasks”
“Development of their confidence”
“Engagement with physical activity and health”
“Communication from tutors”
“Culture of the school”
“All teachers seem to care about the children and drive standards and are very inclusive”
“Enrichment offer”
“Communication via emails, children’s safety”
“Caring, kind staff – teachers and admin. You do amazingly well in a tough system! The atmosphere of the school is lovely – inviting, homely, colourful. The opportunities available are fantastic. My child’s teachers have been wonderful and encouraging. The forest school is fantastic as are the clubs offered”
“A wonderful teaching environmental and fantastic education”
“Create a warm & friendly environment.”
“Keeping school a fun, creative environment alongside the learning curriculum”
“Children are happy to go to school and feel safe at school.”
“Communication is really good, I love the news letter and reminders to keep me organised. Teachers are so approachable and professional. Love the school!”
“Your office staff are wonderful.”
“Approachable, non-judgmental, caring, care about the whole child and their needs, helping them to thrive, professional, supportive and engaging”
“Making Coleham a friendly inclusive place for the pupils, where children feel valued and safe”
“Maths and writing teaching has been outstanding… our child has made greater than expected progress. Art teaching is also exciting and they work on skills which is great. PE has been brilliant too.”
“The boys are very engaged with the topics – you seem to make learning really fun linking lots of different aspects of curriculum to the topic.”
“Also really like the visible leadership through being on the playground, showing good work, assembly etc. Finally all the extra stuff you offer is amazing from sports to music, to cultural celebrations themed weeks etc it really helps keep school fun.”
“Sense of community and belonging”
“Making their learning fun and engaging”
“My child’s reading and writing skills as amazed us. She’s learnt so much in such a short time. Her confidence to try by herself to write has really impressed us. There’s also a great sense of fun and kindness at the school.”
“Adequate encouragement & provide more challenges & opportunities to new experiences”
“Lots of extra curricular clubs and opportunities to try new things. Children and families from deprived backgrounds are really looked after and cared for. The teachers are excellent and by using specialist teachers for music/singing, French and sport the children’s learning in these areas is taken to a whole new level.”
“Communication, community spirit, lots of things!”
“Lots of fun activities for the children and wider community. I also appreciate the ban on bringing in sweets/cake when it is a birthday.”
“Community engagement – outside activities and exposure to other experiences.”
“Most of the team are friendly and welcoming, and recognise us and our children.”
“You create a safe and nurturing learning environment where every child is valued and supported.”
“Provide a welcoming, pastorally led learning environment that both of our children have loved to be part of”
“Extra curricular activities and community based learning”
“Continuing to develop my child’s love of and enthusiasm for learning. Offering opportunities like reading to people in a local care home.”
“We all love the warm, friendly, community feel to the school. We also love the effort that goes in by everyone and the activities done for the children in school, which is superb.”
“Too many things to list! But in general I think there is a very positive ethos. It seems that the school is a fun and nourishing place to be, with a broad-ranging, interesting curriculum.”
“Coleham has a very strong community spirit and encourages parents and children to get involved in the community events”
“Creating a real sense of community within the school and local area. Supporting and nurturing the children.”
“Communication with parents via online means and newsletter”
“Celebrate and encourage the Arts.”
“Celebrate different cultures and cuisines.”
“Involvement with local community.”
“Make it a pleasure, exciting for my child to want to come into school. He is so happy and enjoys coming into school everyday and it fills my heart to know he’s happy and enjoying school. I love that every morning I seen all staff and every child I look at in the school or going into the school with big smiles on their faces and that truly says it all. What a happy place Coleham school really is.”
“Communication overall – the weekly newsletters and class updates on Dojo. It’s wonderful to know what the children are doing and what is coming up.”
“Coleham really values a wide range of subjects, topics and activities – especially art, music and languages.”
“The range of exciting activities, but also the rigour of education. I have spoken to so many parents and we all agree we are so impressed with everything Coleham has to offer. It’s an amazing school and I’m confident it is setting my child up well for life.”
“Hello, First of all I want to say a big thank you for everyone from school team. My son is completely happy at school. He founds here friends. I want to say thank you to his teacher. He always answers my question and tell me about my child’s progress. School office always helps me, thank you them too.”
“You do very well interesting trips for kids, information letters for parents, school activities. Thank you for everything you do for my son and others kids.”
“I think you create a sense of fun and joy”
“I think the school creates a sense of fun and joy. My children’s teachers have always been approachable and willing to help with any issues.”
“The management, teachers and every single staff member all do incredible jobs. My child is very happy to go to school and we feel he is in a safe and loving environment, where he gets the education and support he needs.”
“Coleham School is like a second family, it is a place where every child can grow and create amazing memories.”
“I would 100% recommend this school to my friends and family.”
“Range of activities on offer, which provide learning experiences in many different settings and contexts.”
“All staff are really friendly and genuine and Coleham feels like a lovely, safe environment.”
“In year 4 my child’s teacher really went above and beyond to support his emotional and social development, particularly helping him to develop his confidence and self-concept. This made such a difference – thank you.”
“The school has done lots of interesting activities recently which have connected the children to people/businesses in the local area, e.g. the trip to Hickory’s and bringing the guide dog into reception. The boys really enjoyed these experiences and they’re really valuable in helping them to think about work, what’s going on around them, and to give them more experiences to help build confidence.”
“Always putting on lovely things for the children”
“Discrete subjects taught rather than ‘topic'”
“Provides a diverse range of subjects.”
“Open and approachable to parents and students input, questions and concerns. Proactively encourages individual goals. Engages the students in different ways to learn. Works hard to create a feeling of safety and security for the children so they have a solid foundation on which to grow.”
“Great curriculum engaging activities.”
“Communication – General information, website, newsletter, parents’ evenings, reports, ad hoc personal chats at pick-up. And, most importantly, feedback directly to the children.”
“Communication, empathy, friendly, approachable”
“Communication”
“The children are given a variety of experiences and opportunities.”
“Child seems happy at the school.”
“Extra curricular clubs and lots of opportunities for all.”
“Exciting trips/visits to school. There’s always something going on and something for the children to look forward to.”
“Staff are caring and inclusive.”
“Nurturing, therapeutic setting where the emotional well bring if the child is paramount before learning”
“EYFS take on board concerns when they are raised and action them quickly. The whole EYFS team are great”
“Really friendly, caring and approachable staff”
“Great staff”
“A safe, secure and intimate school feeling, where the children feel comfortable and enjoy their time there”
“Offer a broad range of activities to supplement children’s learning ie art events, festivals, sports, music, inter school competitions along with community events fantastic range to allow all children to get involved.”
“Outstanding opportunities for personal development. Wonderful community feel. My child feels valued and enjoys all of the extra activities as well as the lessons.”
“A wide variety of learning experiences with trips etc.”
“The school is a kind, caring and vibrant setting which endeavours to support the individual learning of every child. Each pupil is considered as unique and opportunities are available in a diverse number of areas to stretch their learning and grow their minds. A brilliant start to education.”
“Encourage pupils well.”
“Have a great community spirit.”
“Communication.”
“Communication is really good”
“My child feels safe and happy at Coleham. The teaching staff make learning fun and engaging.”
“Sports”
“Support families”
“Make learning fun”
“Teachers in our daughter’s class have done a great job in helping her get happy and settled this term after a difficult start.”