Setting

Mrs Jackie Warren Headteacher Ringmer Primary School Harrisons Lane Ringmer Lewes East Sussex BN8 5LL

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parent and carer involvement in children and young people’s education

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, parents and pupils, during my visit on 6 February to look at the degree and effectiveness of parent and carer involvement in children’s education.

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parent and carer involvement in children and young people’s education

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text. All feedback letters will be published on the Ofsted website at the end of each half-term.

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parent and carer involvement in children and young people’s education

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with staff, parents and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation and observation of parents assisting activities. The judgements are specifically in relation to the degree and effectiveness of parent and carer involvement under the following headings.

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parent and carer involvement in children and young people’s education

The overall effectiveness of the degree and effectiveness of parent and carer involvement in children’s education was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards including personal development

The impact of parental and carer involvement on achievement, standards and personal development is good.

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Achievement and standards including personal development

 All groups of pupils in the school make at least satisfactory progress and the parents are kept well informed. Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk  Progress of pupils from Key Stage 1 to 2 and at the end of Key Stage 2 is good and overall for English, maths and science is above the national average. This information is conveyed clearly to parents though letters to parents and the school newsletter to recognise the success.  The school is working successfully with parents to promote the personal development and well-being of its pupils; it involves them appropriately in initiatives such as the walking bus and promoting healthy eating.  The results of the parental questionnaires and their comments show that they consider the school is safe and that their children are enjoying school. Comments also show that they think the school is working well to involve

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Achievement and standards including personal development

them.  Induction arrangements to settle pupils into the school are good; information and suggestions given to help parents understand how they can help their children is clear.  The system for giving rewards and merits is well used and liked by parents and pupils who are kept well informed. The use of the ‘thoughts and feelings boxes’ is a good example of how teachers keep parents informed of pupils’ views and efforts.  Attendance is above the national average and follow up procedures for absences are thorough and appropriate.  Meetings are well attended by parents and their views are regularly sought.  Teacher feedback to parents on how well their children are doing is clear and prompt.  At present involvement of parents and their impact on raising achievement is not formally evaluated.

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guidance

The impact of parent and carer involvement in these areas is good.

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guidance

 Guidance to parents to help them improve their understanding of how to help pupils at home is good. For example, clear and simple help is given on homework and reading tips.  The school gives regular and frequent information on the pupils’ progress. Both formal and informal contact is good, for example daily contact is welcomed using the parent information board when parents bring children to school.  Following consultation with parents the report format was revised and parents now comment very favourably on the way the information is presented and on their opportunity to comment.  There are regular and suitable reports from the headteacher on events and bulletins inform parents about the curriculum and homework themes.  Attendance at parent/teacher meetings is good.  Good progress is being made to develop the pupil voice with parents kept suitably informed.  There is effective use of parental help in school and the parents are given

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guidance

clear information when helping.  Parental involvement in target/goal setting is underdeveloped at present.

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Quality of the curriculum

The impact of parental involvement on the quality of the curriculum is satisfactory.

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Quality of the curriculum

 Advice and information on extra curricular activities is good and parents consider they are well informed about the curriculum through the newsletters.  Parents think there is a suitable range of activities but feel that arrangements and provision for music could be better.  Parents generally receive suitable information on the curriculum.  Parental help and involvement in trips and visits are good and valued by the teachers.  Identifying and using more fully the expertise and skills of parents, especially in curriculum development is an area for further development.

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Leadership and management of parent and carer involvement

Leadership and management in relation to parental involvement are good.

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Leadership and management of parent and carer involvement

 The parents think the head is very approachable and visible.  Communication is good and the school uses a range of appropriate strategies to keep them informed.  Links with parents have been further improved by the liaison/clerical officer who is good conduit for reporting their views and concerns. The reception area is welcoming and its staff well trained to deal with parents.  The headteacher and senior leadership team have a clear commitment to involving parents and carers in the education of the pupils and they consider keeping strong contact with parents a school priority.  The school improvement plan clearly identifies the different ways of involving parents and using them to make improvements.  The commitment to engaging parents in healthy eating and staying safe is strong.  There is a very active home school association which supports the school well.  Though the school communicates its expectations to parents clearly, the

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Leadership and management of parent and carer involvement

home/school agreement is not fully used to reinforce the values and expectations of the school.  Parents are unclear about the links between the governing body and parents.

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Inclusion

The impact of parent and carer involvement on inclusion is good.

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Inclusion

 The school works hard to meet the needs of all its pupils and keep parents involved.  All groups of pupils in the school make at least satisfactory progress.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 reviewing and revising the home school agreement to help reinforce the school’s values and expectations  improve the profile of the governing body and its links with parents.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop parental involvement further in conjunction with raising attainment and improving outcomes for children.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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