Feedback from Parent Questionaires 2024

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete the questionaires we sent home. Out of 205 children, we received 48 back.  Your feedback is really important to us. We are unable to respond to individual feedback but have collated the responses and will take the following action as a result.

What you said we do well…

Clover Hill Staff

Our staff have been commended on their dedication and nuturing approach to teaching.  They are reported as being friendly and always there to help.  Teachers go the extra mile for the children.

School Environment

Nuturing, friendly.  Feels like a family. Welcoming. caring, family atmosphere. Inclusive.

Curriculum

Well structured.  God range of subjects taught and activities planned.

Events

Lots of visits which children enjoy.  Fantastic assemblies to share what has been learnt in class.

Homework

Scaled back to focus on basic skills using apps– Doodlemaths/Spelling Shed

Positive reward system

Reward system reflects effort and progress. Promotes good behaviour.

Communication

Newsletters, parent letters from class teachers at start of term and updates via See-Saw and Marvellous ME all keep parents informed of what is happening in school.

Areas you said could be improved…

Newsletter

Can these be emailed out?  Can they be more regular? 

School response: 

Newsletters are posted onto the website and emailed to you also by the school email system.  A paper copy can be requested via the school office.  We always write a half termly newsletter with key dates, news and events. Class news is shared via our website and through termly newsletters from class teachers giving an overview of what your child is learning each term.

Website

Tricky to use. Slow and clunky since being updated. Items not found where logical.  Search bar needed to find things quickly.

School response: 

Unfortunately Gateshead Council are no longer supporting schools with their website so we had to move to another provider.  We discussed this with our neighbouring cluster schools (Fellside and Parochial) who both use E-schools to set up and manage their websites.  This is who we decided to use. There will be temporary teething issues as we are finding our feet as a staff with how to use it (we’ve had the previous website for over 15 years!!) but please let us know if you have spotted any flaws or errors and we will look into it for you.

-      We have tried to group items as logically as possible.  Please let us know if there is something you are looking for in particular.

-      There is a search bar at the top of the page to help you locate information

-      The website is best accessed on a laptop/Mac or IPAD but does work on a phone too.

-      We upload any newsletters to the website to keep everyone informed of school news. 

-      Each class updates their class page with a weekly post so you can see what your children have been up to. 

Marvellous Me/SeeSaw app

Reception parents love the use of the SeeSaw app. Rest of school use Marvellous ME but soe parents are having issues with receiving updates.  More regular updates regarding individual children’s work in class.

School response:

See-saw is great for Early Years to facilitate two-way communication which is essential for learning journals and to build early relationships with the children and our families upon entry to Clover Hill. 

However, we need a different system for the subsequent years that allows us to allocate ‘team points’ (thumbs up) as part of our reward system whilst also being able to send whole/class/induvial messages.  This app also allows us to send pictures home to you – either relating to your child or their work.  Please get in touch should you be experiencing issues wit this app and we will help wherever possible.

We will re-launch Marvellous Me to parents in September and provide information on how it can be used successfully to get the most out of it.  A top tip for now is to make sure you have enabled notifications on your phone for ‘thumbs up’ and messages. If you receive a message please give the teacher a ‘hi5’ back so we know you have seen it (similar to liking a post on Facebook/Instagram).

Arbor

Not the easiest system to use.

School response:

We chose the system recommended to us by the local authority (one which they can support) and that many of the other primary schools use within Gateshead. We had to move from our older system (SIMs) as they were no longer supporting schools.  Please contact the office should you have any issues with making payments and Mrs Dowling/Mrs Butler will be happy to assist.