Communication: online survey Feb. 2016
In line with our recent review of our Communication Policy, Holy Trinity conducted an online survey to explore parents’ attitudes to the school communication structures. Seventy responses were received.
Some key points which arose from the survey are listed below.
[For the following questions, parents were asked to select from:
Totally agree / partly agree / neither agree nor disagree / partly disagree / totally disagree].
Information about the school
77% of respondents totally agree they were fully informed about the enrolment process, prior to their child’s enrolment.
71% totally agree school staff are very helpful in providing information about school programmes and practices.
74% totally agree that the Open Day visit informative and worthwhile.
61% totally agree the September meeting was informative and worthwhile.
Parent/Teacher Communication
81% totally agree they found the Parent/Teacher meeting in November, informative and worthwhile.
81% totally agree they feel they can approach their child’s teacher if they have an issue to discuss.
70% totally agree that arranging a meeting with their child’s teacher is easily done.
Partnership with Parents
73% totally agree that Holy Trinity encourages an active partnership with parents.
In terms of School-Home communication methods, the most popular were Newsletter and Text-a-Parent.
‘Details of my child’s progress’ was the most sought-after type of School-Home communication which parents require, with ‘Information on school events’ in second place.
55.7% of parents are happy with the amount of feedback they receive on their child’s progress in school, with 34.3% expressing dissatisfaction and 10% ‘don’t know’ replies.
91% of parents are happy with the information they receive about school events and 82% are happy with the information they receive about school approaches to learning.
51% of parents visit the school website either ‘very often’ or ‘often’, with 45% having accessed our School Weekly Focus part of the website.
Involving Parents
Parents’ views on the provision of ‘Information sessions’ were sought; approximately half of parents expressed interest in all of the following:
Maths approaches
Guided Reading
Spelling ‘Word Workshops’
Teaching Writing Genres
Helping with Gaeilge
Differentiation for different ability levels
Parents also expressed interest in non-academic areas; 77% of parents would welcome some input into awareness of Children’s Mental Wellbeing and 71% cited Conflict Resolution for children. Other areas in which parents expressed interest were: Staying Safe Online, Growth Mindset, Friendships, Mindfulness and Healthy Eating.
We thank all the parents who took time to complete our online survey and we value your comments. Effective Home-School communication plays an important role in supporting your child’s learning and we continually strive to develop respectful and trusting relationships between school and home.