Parent Survey

Thank you to all the parents who took the time to completed our 2023 survey. 253 responses were received from parents across the school.  We value the thoughts and opinions of parents and the responses received in our parent surveys are very useful in helping us to make improvements in school. 

 

Strengths Identified 

  • 91% of parents say their child is happy at this school.
  • 93% of parents say their child feels safe at school.
  • 93% of parents say their child does well at this school.
  • 91% of parents say the school has high expectations for their child.
  • 97% of parents agree there is a rich and varied curriculum.

What does Tavistock Primary and Nursery School do well?

These are the key strengths identified from parental comments:

  • Relationships between staff and children at the school are excellent.
  • Tavistock Primary and Nursery School is an inclusive school.
  • The staff at the school are approachable, friendly and welcoming.
  • There is a good range of extracurricular opportunities, including garden days.
  • The school organises a nice variety of trips and visits to support the curriculum.
  • The Headteacher is visible and available to speak with parents. 
 
Areas for Development
Issue 1: 85% of parents agree the school lets them know how their child is doing.
What are we doing to improve this?
  • 2x parents’ evenings per year to share children’s progress and achievements.
  • Class teachers make contact with parents to share great achievements and also concerns when necessary.
  • Parents are welcome to contact their child’s class teacher at any time for an update on their child’s learning.
  • End of year reports include assessment details.  
  • Parents are invited to school during the year (3 events per year group) where children can share their learning.
Issue 2: 73% of parents say the school makes them aware of what their child will learn during the year.
What are we doing to improve this?
  • Long term overviews are saved on the school website.
  • Half term overviews are on the website to provide parents with details of what their child will be learning. Parents will be reminded of these as they are updated.
  • During the year, children will be given ‘project tasks’ to complete at home connected to learning taking place in school.
  • Nursery make use of ‘Tapestry’, an online communication tool, to share what children have been doing in school. This platform also provides an opportunity for parents to share their child’s out of school experiences and achievements.
Issue 3: 84% of parents say the school makes sure its pupils are well behaved. 75% of parents say the school has explained their new approach to behaviour clearly. 77% of parents say they can see the positive impact of the school’s new approach to behaviour.
What are we doing to improve this?
  • We now have a new behaviour policy which was written in 2023. It has been shared with the school community and is available on our website.
  • Regular newsletters are used as a way to communicate and explain our new policy, including some of the changes which have been made.
  • School staff have received training, advice and support from Local Authority Advisors.
  • Ongoing and regular training is provided for both teaching and non-teaching staff.
  • Class visits by the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and other leaders in the school are showing behaviour of children in all classes is excellent most of the time. Ongoing training and support is provided when/where necessary.
  • Tavistock Primary and Nursery School is an inclusive school and we do have children in our care who have additional needs. These children have specific support plans to help them with behaviour and learning. We receive regular advice and support from Local Authority Advisors to help with this. 

Other Areas for Improvement

* Some parents commented that they did not feel communication about school events was as good as it could be.

 How are we trying to improve this?
  • Teachers and our admin team have been reminded to provide information for parents in a timely manner and give plenty of notice of events.
  • Whiteboards outside classrooms in KS1 often display information for parents – we recognise that this also needs to be sent out via an email to parents as not all parents are able to see these.
  • Regular newsletters and the school website are used to share dates of upcoming events with parents.
 

* Some parents commented that there was not much choice or provision of clubs for the children.

 How are we trying to improve this?

We now have a wide selection of clubs available for children to take part in. Running a club is a voluntary option for staff.

Autumn Term 2023 choices:
Y1/2 Computing Club
Y1-2 Gymnastics Club
Y2/3 Pokemon Club
Y3/4 Basketball Club
Y4/5 Book Club
Y4-6 Netball Club
Y3-6 Choir
Y3-6 Drawing Club
Y3-6 Football Club
Y3-6 Gymnastics Club
 
Spring Term 2024 choices:
Y1 Phonics Club
Y1/2 Art Club
Y3-6 Running Club
Y3-6 Choir
Y4-6 Netball Club
Y4-6 Tag Rugby Club

We also have an afterschool club facility which runs until 6pm for parents who need child care after school. The children who attend this club take part in a range of different activities.