After each Parents’ Evening we invite all parents/carers to complete a short survey. It helps us reflect on our provision and understand parents' views of the school. We compare findings year on year and all responses are read by the Head of Year, Senior Staff and me personally. A summary is also shared with the Governing Body.

Online or face to face?

Previously one of the questions we asked was around parents’ evenings and whether, post-Pandemic, parents/carers wanted to continue with online appointments rather than face to face ones.  In 2021 the feedback you gave us was a resounding wish (over 90% of parents/carers replying) to continue with online appointments. We decided to offer a blend with ‘Settling in Evening’ with Form tutors in Year 7 being face to face and all academic appointments with subject teachers for all year groups being online.

And next year...?

In 2023 we would like to ask the question again.

We have already added the question to our Year 7 parents’ evening survey which went out this week conscious that for many of our Year 7 parents/carers this was their first experience of an online parents’ evening. If you’d like to give your views and haven’t yet filled in the survey it can be accessed here Y7-11 Parent's Evening Survey

We shall seek Year 8 parent/carers views after their online parents’ evening next week. Please look out for the survey link in your inboxes.

If any parents/carers with students in Years 9-13 would also like to contribute their views for our consideration we welcome your completion of this very short survey. Please follow this link Y9-13 Parent's Evening Survey

Pros and Cons

There are pros and cons to both systems and those who have attended parents’ evenings face to face in secondary schools know they are quite different to primary school events. That’s mostly due to the number of teachers your child is taught by and also the fact that secondary school teachers sometimes teach up to 140 students in the same year group. For a teacher in this position a 10 minute appointment for every child they taught just in one year group would take over 23 hours. 

It is difficult to provide enough appointments for every parent/carer to see every teacher and for some teachers to talk with every parent/carer. This year we have focused on releasing as many appointments as possible with a long evening of appointments for staff and parents/carers and a follow up afternoon of appointments for parents/carers on the waiting lists. Put simply the longer we make the length of appointments the fewer we can offer and we have wanted as many parents/carers as possible to be able to access conversations with their child’s teachers.  

We recognise however that it is possibly a much nicer experience for teachers and parents/carers to have a face to face conversation.

Feedback from Year 7 parents/carers this week

So far, we have received feedback from just over 50% of our Year 7 parents/carers. Of these, 65% state a preference for online appointments whilst 35% would prefer face to face.

We look forward to hearing other parents/carers views as we plan for next year.

Mrs J Smith

Head of School

 New Student Wellbeing Ambassadors in Post

A huge welcome to our new Sixth Form Wellbeing Ambassadors. Last week they received their training and are now ready to work with lower school students to support them. We are really excited about the work they will do with students and they are available every Monday and Wednesday lunchtime in the Wellbeing hub – no appointment needed! If students would like to contact any of them to arrange an appointment or chat outside these lunchtimes they can do so by emailing this email:-

wellbeingambassadors@kshs.uk

They have already been busy and completed their new display in school, students can have a read of their interests and hobbies on the display board near to the Science block.

Wellbeing beyond school

As students in Year 11 and Year 13 see the end of their formal schooling we would also like them to consider how they will look after their own wellbeing beyond the examination period. Young people should consider how they might be kind to themselves with different types of self-care and reflecting on what works for them. Activities include finding things they have in common with others, stretching and breathing exercises, learning something new and carrying out acts of kindness. We’re encouraging students to continue to try different activities at home - why not try some as a family?

For more tips and information about looking after your child’s mental health go to:

www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/supporting-others/childrens-mental-health/

As a parent or carer, looking after your own wellbeing is also important and Every Mind Matters enables you to get tailored wellbeing support. Use the Mind Plan to see what works for you:

https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/your-mind-plan-quiz/

Online Safety

The free online safety guide below explores OmeTV – a social networking app that connects people from all parts of the world on randomly-generated video chats. In this guide national online safety explore the app’s functions, its inherent risks, and how to address them as a parent or carer.

Mrs D Collett

Assistant Headteacher - Pastoral