At St John's we believe that Parents and Carers are an integral and important part of a child's education. We therefore endeavour to involve parents and carers in every aspect of school life, and their child's education and progress. 

Our aim is to have fully open lines of communication, both from school to family, and vice versa. We want parents and carers to have a voice and be heard in reference to their child's experience at school. 

We also hold a wide variety of celebrations and events, which we warmly invite parents and carers to share, both to celebrate their achievements and also to work together in enhancing the children's education. 

We feel that sharing and communicating the curriculum is an important part of a child's learning, and this opens up the opportunity for further learning and consolidation at home. We share H.A.S.T. (Home and School Together) forms each term for Years 1 - 6, which detail the topics that the child will be learning. Our Early Years families receive photos, uploads and messages via Seesaw, which give up-to-date information on what their child is learning about. 

Parents can access Twitter, or go the school website to gain further insight and see photos and details of events and learning information. Parents and carers are more than welcome to ask questions or speak to teachers with a prior appointment, or to speak to Senior Leaders and other staff who are available at various points in the playground before and after school. 

We send out a Whole School Newsletter each half-term, which contains information about various events, celebrations and learning which has taken place within each year group. 

In addition to our parent feedback about the curriculum, we have a variety of opportunities for Parents and Carers to visit the school and work together with their child on an aspect of their learning, or simply to share in the life of the school. For example, Key Stage 2 parents and carers are invited to workshops to share calculation methods that the school uses, and Nursery children are invited to special 'Stay and Share a Story' events where they can spend time in their child's learning environment and have the opportunity to speak to the practitioners or ask questions, as well as meet other families. 

We endeavour to inform and include parents as much as possible in their child's statutory testing, and hold workshops explaining the processes and procedures, as well as what their child will be expected to know or do. For example, Key Stage 1 hold a Phonics workshop prior to the Phonics Screening Test at the end of Year 1, and Year 4 explain fully the Times Table Test, and what you can do to help your child. 

Our overall aim is to listen to what parents want, and act upon wishes and views to make the school the best place possible for children to learn, and for parents to feel supported and included. Please see below for more details, or click on the Parent Information section to find out more. 

Communication-Parent Partnership

In addition to regular term Parents Evenings, each child will receive an end of year report detailing their progress both within the National Curriculum and their personal development.  There will be an opportunity for you to discuss the report with the class teacher.

However, close contact and involvement with the school as well as attendance at termly Parents Meetings remain an effective way for working in partnerships to fulfil each child’s potential.

We try to treat children as individuals and design the curriculum so that each child can reach their full potential.  We send home a termly H.A.S.T. form (Home and School Together) which details the areas to be covered in that term.  The school employs classroom assistants who work under the guidance of the class teacher to help to implement individual learning programmes within the classroom.  

The school also sends regular letters informing parents of forthcoming events, as well as the St John’s Newsletter and a separate R.E newsletter.

If children fail to perform as expected and their behaviour becomes unacceptable the school will negotiate a home school agreement action plan which will help monitor and improve a child’s behaviour through a positive process.

In Years 2 and 6, the children take series of Standard Attainment Tasks (SAT’s).  Other year groups will undertake end of year tests set by the same authority who set the Year 2 and Year 6 SAT’s.  These, together with teacher assessment, will be used to measure children’s progress.

Events and Invitations

We invite parents and carers to come and share in a wide variety of events, celebrations and performances. These include special assemblies, carol concerts, Children's University and many more. We are proud of our pupils and their achievements, and consider shared celebrations an important part of school life and partnership with parents and carers. 

Parent Voice

We value the input and feedback from our parents, carers and families. We would always be interested in any ideas and suggestions that are put forward, and we have an open door policy. Staff and senior leadership are always available to talk to at home time and in the morning, and we are happy to meet for more in depth discussions with an appointment. Parents and carers are encouraged to be involved in their child's education, and in decisions about their child, and they work together with teachers and professionals to set targets and outcomes for children, particularly children with SEND. Parents and carers are invited to discuss their child's progress with the teacher twice a year on parents evenings, and also to return a comment with their annual end of year report. 

The views and experiences of all our parents and carers are taken into account. We send out a questionnaire to help us understand how our families view their child's education and experiences. This is analysed and acted upon, and will be the catalyst for many discussions within school.