Partnership with

PARENTS

| Pupil Support | Partnership with Parents

We put a lot of emphasis on parents’ involvement in their child’s education. A positive partnership between the Academy and parents, with active parental involvement, helps pupils’ personal, academic and emotional development during their vital years at the Academy.

Parents are as important as teachers in:

Monitoring learning – regularly discussing learning, homework and attainment with their child
Fostering values and good character – supporting their child’s personal development and encouraging them to develop a positive character
Supporting organisation – helping their child to be organised for success, by having all the right equipment and uniform and by being in the right place at the right time
Motivating and raising aspirations – motivating their child and encouraging them to fulfil their potential

We believe that our partnership approach to working with parents plays a big part in our success. Our commitment to pastoral care and to ensuring that every pupil gets personal attention means that parents can be assured that their child will flourish in our safe and secure learning environment.

Home-School Agreement

All parents and guardians are asked to sign a Home-School Agreement. This clearly states our commitment to their child. It also sets out what we expect in return, in terms of commitment, attendance and behaviour.

See our Policies and Publications page to access our Home School Agreement

Regular Communications

An effective partnership is dependent upon good communication and we are committed to regular, accurate, useful communication with parents.

We welcome parents contacting the Academy and do all we can to help with questions and enquiries.

Newsletters

We produce regular newsletters to keep our pupils, staff and parents updated on Academy life. A Principal’s Newsletter is issued every term. To read our latest newsletters click here.

Text Messaging Service

Text messages are used by the Academy to remind parents of important information and deadlines. These include revision classes or after-school clubs that their child should attend. We also send messages to let parents know when we send a letter home with their child. If the Academy needs to remain closed (e.g. due to snow), we will send a text message by 7.30am in the morning and will also text if the Academy needs to close early for any reason.

Communicating Progress

Pupil success is achieved through robust and aspirational target setting and close tracking of progress at all levels – supported by real-time attainment, attendance and behaviour data. In order to keep parents informed of their child’s progress and behaviour and attendance, the Academy organises:

Half-termly report cards with results of regular tests in each subject
Academy parents’ evening for each academic year throughout the year
A Performance Review Meeting with a senior leader for those pupils most at risk of not meeting their targets

Pupil Planners

All pupils are given a Pupil Planner at the beginning of each Academy year. It includes a record of homework being set and a section for the pupil to record their academic levels and targets. Form Tutors sign planners on a weekly basis and parents can use the planner to write messages to the Academy. Parents are expected to check and sign the planner every week.

Concerns or Complaints

Each child’s welfare is the responsibility of all of our staff. The Academy is committed to listening to parents’ concerns and handling them in a sensitive way. Form Tutors should be contacted in the first instance. Pastoral Leaders can be approached if parents are still dissatisfied. It is always the aim of the Academy to resolve issues and concerns informally, but an Academy Complaints Policy exists for parents who feel that any issues have not been satisfactorily addressed.

Parents can email the reasons for their child’s absence in case they can not get through via phone :

attendance@smallheath.staracademies.org

See our Policies and Publications page to access our Complaints Policy or contact the Academy’s Administration Office.

Visiting the Academy

During a normal working day all visitors, including parents, should report to Reception, where visitors will be requested to sign in upon arrival, and sign out when leaving. Visitors must wear a visitor badge. Visitors will be directed to the appropriate offices, or asked to wait in the reception area until the member of staff has been notified of their arrival. Visitors wishing to meet individual members of staff are requested to make appointments beforehand.

The Waiting Room (TWR)

TWR provides an alternative approach to taking control of our own health and well-being. It is a virtual bridge across “The Information Chasm” that connects support services to the recipient almost instantly.

TWR, by engaging citizens with sources of support directly and seamlessly is, in its own right an intervention, taking away the often wearisome process of finding the right place to get help. TWR is an online resource library of information and support that can be navigated with minimum difficulty. In addition, the ongoing management of the process is relatively small but engagement can be realised at high levels and monitored effectively.

With an emphasis on protection and prevention, The Waiting Room is split into 24 Life Domain key areas and by clicking on a key area, will take the user through to a list of local and national websites and contact numbers (fully accessible) that can be accessed for the purposes of information and direct support. The following link takes you to a YouTube video that shows exactly how the QR Code works for the Resource Key “Make the smart connection” video link

It’s envisaged that The Waiting Room, a place with significant connections across Health, Social Care and wider, will continue to grow so to best enable communities to access local and national support services. We believe The Waiting Room is the go to health and wellbeing virtual platform for the citizens of Birmingham and Solihull, and for the future, we see The Waiting Room as being replicated further afield.

The Waiting Room