Providing a whole-school approach and ethos to working in partnership with parents and carers.
Information about the school or provider
Pontlliw Primary School is a community primary school situated in the village of Pontlliw in the East of Swansea.
The school caters for pupils between the ages of three and eleven taught in single aged classes. The school has seven single aged classes and a morning nursery class. There are currently 223 pupils on roll.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Pontlliw Primary is a nurturing, happy and hard-working school that places a high priority on the well-being of its staff and pupils. Leaders have created a strong culture of mutual support when working together towards the school’s core values of ‘Respect, Care, Community’. These values are shared across the school community and encourage respect and kindness between staff and pupils. Staff ensure that the local community is a key part of the school’s life and work. As a result, the school forms a central part of community life and there is a strong culture of belonging and community pride. Upon returning to school after the COVID-19 pandemic, staff identified than many learners were displaying anxious behaviours. Upon discussing their concerns with parents, it became clear that there was a need for additional support for parents to access support in order to improve the health and well-being of the children and their families.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
The ethos of Pontlliw Primary places high value on the contribution that parents and carers make to the life of the school and the learning provided. They routinely and systematically encourage, develop and celebrate parent/carer relationships and communication with learners, staff and the local community. They work closely with parents and carers to ensure the team around the child is strong and supportive.This is done in many ways throughout the school year.
Parent/carer concerns are always valued and acted upon. The school works closely with a range of outside agencies, such as the Early Help Hub, to ensure that families always have access to any additional support they may require at any given time. Similarly, food parcels are provided to those in need to ensure that support is in place even when the school day ends. The school has an open door policy, where parents and carers are encouraged to speak to staff about any support they need, and staff are well informed about how to enable additional support when needed. To support this, all staff are visible every morning and evening on the school yard, so parents/carers can have their queries and concerns dealt with in a timely manner.
The school has worked closely with mental health practitioners to provide mental health and well-being sessions for supporting parents/carers with anger management and anxiety. Parents had identified these areas where they needed additional support and strategies to use at home in order to improve family life. Parents were provided access to information, strategies and direct contact with a mental health and well-being practitioner. A Year 6 to Year 7 transition workshop was delivered to support pupils and their families with the challenges that transition to comprehensive school can bring. These sessions are accessible on the school website so that parents/carers can refer back to them at any given time. This empowers parents to support their own mental health and that of their children, through accessing relevant information, strategies and support.
Whilst developing the curriculum, for example the curriculum for Wales, RSE, Mental and Emotional Framework, parents have been fully involved with sharing their views through regular questionnaires. The analysis and response to suggestions is shared with parents and feeds into the school development plan.
Every term, parents are informed of the ‘Big Question’ for each class, and invited to share any expertise and interests that they may have in order to provide unique learning opportunities. Through this, parents regularly offer sessions which engage the children, ranging from how medical technology is used to improve the lives of patients, to how local allotments are used to grow a range of food. Through these sessions, learners have the opportunity to experience different careers, thus broadening their horizons and inspiring them for their future careers.
Transition between classes is planned carefully. Parents are provided with transition meetings in which they have the opportunity to meet the next class teacher, receive important information and ask any questions they may have. The school holds coffee mornings for parents of pupils starting in the nursery and reception classes, to ensure that positive parent/staff relationships and strong links are encouraged and developed as soon as possible. In addition to our regular, informative parents evenings the school welcomes parents in to school for ‘Book Looks’ with their children. During these sessions, the children discuss their learning journey with parents/carers, and teachers are on hand to celebrate the successes with families.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
The following data is from Parental questionnaires sent out for the Mental and emotional Framework:
- The staff regularly discuss the importance of emotional and mental well-being with parents/carers: 98%.
- The school shares its policies with parents/carers to help us understand the school’s approach to emotional and mental well-being: 98%
- The school collects feedback from parents/carers regularly: 100%
- The school gives parents/carers opportunities to be part of school development through surveys, parent/carer evenings, questionnaires, for example: 100%
- The school listens to parental voice: 100%
- The school invites different visitors to the school to promote emotional and mental well-being e.g. Young Minds, School Nurse etc. 100%
- The school works with the whole school community e.g. pupils, parents/carers, to resolve issues and promotes positive relationships: 100%
- Parents/carers understand the school’s approach to developing a positive environment for pupils in the school: 100%
- Parents/carers understand the school’s approach to developing a positive environment for pupils in the school: 100%
- The school shares information with parents/carers to support our children when they need additional help: 98%
- Parents know who to go to in the school for help if we need it: 98%
- Parents have the opportunity to talk openly about their emotional and mental well-being with members of staff: 98%
- Parents have the opportunity to express their ideas to support the school: 100%
The following data is from the school’s parental questionnaires:
- The school helps my child to become independent and responsible – 100%
- The school promotes good mental health – 99%
- My child enjoys school – 100%
- My child receives appropriate support and challenge – 99%
- The school vision is “Planting the seeds for a lifetime of growth” alongside its values if respect, care and community. The school’s vision is seen in practice – 99%
- There is good communication from the school to keep parents informed about what is going on – 99%
How have you shared your good practice?
The school has shared its effective practice with other schools in the local cluster and across the local authority.