Deaf Ears - Breakfast Club

---

From the school website (06 February 2008) : “Would like the school to have a breakfast club, so that working mums who start early have an option to drop children off at school early.”

---

There are so many schools that provide breakfast club support - why cannot Duke Street ?

Constructive Support 2

---

From the school website (05 March 2008) : “I am not happy with the school as we have reported my cousins being bullied there, however the school has taken no action upon this and the bullying is still going ahead.”

---

As was discussed in the previous blog Constructive Support 1 most issues and concerns are easily resolved by talking with your child’s teacher.

Problems and frustrations can rapidly escalate when there is no resolution. The various stages that are detailed in the complaints procedures are arduous, requiring significant effort and commitment by you, the parent, involving the production of a range of correspondence.

The timescales involved can be lengthy and the final outcome can be unsatisfactory and you find yourself wondering whether the LEA procedures are to protect the school rather than to help your children.

None of us likes to complain and we often feel intimidated and threatened by the ‘system’. In the end, many parents simply tolerate the problems and join the rest of us who whinge rather than take action.

Others elect to move their children to another school where they perceive that life for their children will be better - but it might not be the case !

What is needed is a Parent Council that can act on your behalf. Remember that any concerns that you have are probably affecting not only your child but others also - you may feel alone but you are not - we are all parents who want the best for our children.

We all need to work together - if you have the time, please study the following information :

1. Parent Councils Presentation
   
   
2. Setting up a Parent Council (booklet)
   
   
3. Setting up a Parent Council (leaflet)
   
   
4. Statutory Guidance on Parent Councils
   
   
5. Setting up Parents’ Councils (case studies)
   
   
6. The School Governance (Parent Council) Regulations 2007
   
   
7. White Paper: Higher Standards, Better Schools for All
   
   
8. Parent Council Information Pack
   (An excellent source of information about Parent Councils in Scotland.)

Constructive Support 1

If you are worried about your child’s learning or welfare at school, your child’s class teacher or head of year is the best person to approach first. Teachers will usually be in the classroom during the day but you can leave messages with the school office asking the teacher to get back to you.

If the teacher can not help or you are not satisfied with their response, you can talk to the headteacher. You should be able to arrange a meeting or a telephone conversation with the headteacher through the school office. If this is not practical, you may wish to make a written complaint.

If your complaint is not resolved, the next stage is to approach the governing body of the school. All state-funded schools are required to have a procedure to deal with any complaints relating to the school or to any facilities or services that the school provides for the local community.

If you want to complain to the governing body, ask the school for a copy the complaints procedure. All complaints to the governing body must be in writing.

The LEA have a document entitled “Guidance on School Complaints Procedures” that describes the complaints process and another option is to raise your concerns through Ofsted.

In general, it is our experience that most concerns are resolved through speaking with your child’s teacher.

Parents Helping Parents

When parents are involved in their child’s learning and in the life of the school, children do better. Parental involvement is thus a key lever for school improvement.

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on governing bodies of all maintained schools to have regard to the views expressed by parents of registered pupils.

All schools are encouraged to review their arrangements in relation to this duty and to consider enhancing them by setting up a parent council.

Ofsted inspects schools on the way in which they listen and respond to parents’ views.

These government guidelines were introduced in May 2007 by the Department for Children, Schools and Families who have produced a document entitled “Setting up a Parent Council”.

To date the school has chosen not to consider the formation of a parent council - something that we, with your help, intend to change over the coming months.

About Us

We are a group of caring parents who have decided to stop whinging in the playground and to do something positive to give our children a better life at school.

Our Objectives

• To provide an open forum where we, as parents, can share and discuss school related issues openly and frankly whilst preserving anonymity.
  
  
• To provide encouragement and support for one another and our children.
  
  We know our children better than anyone and we should not be made to feel that any problems are our fault or indeed those of our children.
  
  
• To use our collective new found strengths to make Duke Street Primary School a safe and happy place for our children where they are able to develop to their maximum potential.
  
  
• To establish better communication and involvement of the school governing body.
  
  
• Our ultimate goal is the formation of a recognised parent council.

Our Rules and Guidelines

• Any parent/carer/childminder can contribute to our forum.
  
  
• Your privacy will be respected and we will not publish your name or any other information. You can add your comments to blog entries with the assurance of complete anonymity.
  
  You can also communicate directly with us by e-mail : dukestreetschool@gmail.com
  
  
• Be respectful of others by not using bad language even if you feel really annoyed, upset or frustrated.
  
  
• Please avoid making what might be construed as slanderous statements.
  
  
• Take this forum seriously. Please do not let your children send comments. It is for us Mums and Dads to help each other so we can stay strong to help them.
  
  We reserve the right to censor/delete comments that fail to adhere to the above guidelines.

We hope you find this forum useful and look forward to working together to give our children a fulfilled and rewarding future.