lack of information from sons new secondary school

[caringdad66]

Just that......website updated very rarely,school reports meant to come home this week,now postponed until after half term,minimal letters home,very disappointed with lack of communication.
Knew we would get less info than primary school,but this is woeful.
What are your schools like?
Should add that foisted rate this school 'good',and it got 68% a to c( Inc english and maths.

We don't get a great deal. Assessment levels get updated a couple of times a year on the parent portal (iirc parents didn't have their accounts set up until about this time in Y7 though, which given there are a couple of hundred kids in each year and only one IT bod, is fair enough).

Generally speaking, no news is good news in Y7. The only notes I ever get in ds's planner are bad ones - if your son behaves well and gets his homework in on time there's nothing to report.

What do you want to hear about?

I think we had a parents evening in December to discuss how they'd settled in with their tutors. That was plenty, tbh.

Also from the no news is good news camp.

Still getting used to the fact that my DS has a school-issued email address and can contact his subject teachers direct. Also a log-in to access homework set, share said homework with teacher etc.

In my day you had to trot along to the staffroom...

What kind of information are you not receiving that you would like to get? Secondary schools are very different to primary, you won't get nice weekly newsletters or reminders for everything. Our truly excellent comp does a newsletter online each term and that's about it. Otherwise we get letters home about specific things - mostly demands for money for trips! Monitoring is scheduled in on the yearly timetable online but it quite often slips by a week or so and I can't see that it makes any difference. Your children are meant to be responsible enough to bring you home information about the doings at school.

Want to hear about-sporting fixtures,school news,curriculum changes,staff changes,school finances,development plans,exam results,good news stories,bad news stories, and as much else as possible.
TBH find the "no news is good news" attitude a little cynical and sad.
There seems to be a "bare minimum" culture at the school,where information is concerned.
Still early days yet,so will hold my thoughts and any complaint until next term.

I heard barely anything when DD started in Year 7. I thought this was the norm. I then heard a fellow parent talking about an email she had received about a trip, which I knew I hadn't got. Rang the school, and turns out I had been left off the list of parents (accidentally!). Might be worth a check. All communication is by email too, I don't think I have ever had a letter.

Doesn't sound good about the website. When was the last update made?

caringdad Schook news would be nice, I agree, as would public exam results. They should put them on the website. Most head teachers also have a speel on the website about how they want the school to develop. This will also be part of the head teachers message in any (future) newsletters. One per term is usual. This is also usually where staff changes are mentioned.

A lot of the things you want to know simply aren't appropriate for a news letter either.

Imagine all the sports fixtures for each year group were listed, a short paragraph with scores and man of the match etc. produced for each one for each year group.... That would be (winter/autumn timetable) 5 paragraphs on football (10 if there's an active girls team for each year), 5 on rugby, 5 on hockey, 5 on netball, 5 on cross country, 5 on anything else that goes on!

School finances are never reported on in newsletters - not in the state sector anyway... I'm not even sure why you'd want to know? Put very simply each student brings a certain amount if money in to the school. From the pool staff wages are paid (teachers salaries are available online), school buildings are maintained and each curriculum is given a budget to spend on resources (books, equipment etc.). Anything left over by the end of the year has to be returned so state schools don't having 'savings' to report on.

Curriculum changes are reported on in the news and if you want specifics I'm sure any head of department would be happy to discuss them with you but I've never heard of a school which published them - it's potentially having to print schemes of work for every class of every year group of every subject and a supporting guide so that parents/students know what they are looking at.

The no news is good news thing applies specifically to individual children. There really is little to report so early in the year, unless something is going wrong.

Ds's school have a blog, which is updated a few times a month (depending on what's gone on - some weeks are very quiet).

The parent portal contains curriculum information, and a calendar (key dates are also featured in pupil planners, and we're issued with an actual physical calendar, too).

There are hard copy parent and pupil handbooks issued every September.

Each year also has a couple of curriculum evenings.

TBH find the "no news is good news" attitude a little cynical and sad.

Why do people feel that they can be so rude on forums?

I'm neither cynical nor sad and I doubt my DS's school is either of these. I prefer to think that I don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles me!

We have a parent mail system that you sign up to and this results in receiving letters specific to your year group. I don't want to hear about the school sports' fixtures to be honest.

Exam results are on the website. Any development plans would be consulted on. I doubt whether the school will publicise "bad news stories" and good news stories are on a very regular twitter feed.

I do not want a series of paper newsletters and letters home.

Oh and the children themselves are a great source of information (particularly on the bad news stories !

I think that is normal for secondary schools.
Primary schools have much more of a family feel and it's a big change.
Some of the information you are after curriculum changes,staff changes,school finances,development plans I would not expect to routinely go out to parents. As a parent of 16 /18 year olds and secondary school governor of 10 years my experience is that schools battle parental apathy and don't go overboard with letters home.
Often the school Facebook page is updated with sports fixtures and events, have you tried that?

I get fairly regular (at least every 2 weeks) emails from Parentmail. A lot of information is on the website. Sports fixtures are pretty much told on a need to know basis. This year there is an online reporting system, reports ae generated every 1/2 term. Not much in the year 7 one.
If you need to know - you will be contacted.

Normal!

We get a newsletter can't remember if it's termly or half termly, then progress assessments- CATS etc and targets 2x year ( before the pupil review days) . Parents evening and a report 1x year.

Honestly if it was bad news they'd be in touch. Good stuff- praise postcards once or twice a term.

School matches/concerts/plays we get individual flyers for.

We get weekly online newsletter, other letters from time to time for events etc.

Parents eve with form tutor in Jan and then all teachers in July.

Reports three times a year giving attainment, effort and target.

I'm happy with that but it sounds as if yours may not be as organised. It is very different from primary school but I still feel as if I know what's going on when now.

News about stuff I need to know about comes by email (upcoming events DD is eligible for, reminders about payments etc). If there's not much of that, I would share your concern.

In terms of "news", there is a termly newsletter which has all the "good news" stories, reviews of special events etc. Yes, it's not very frequent, but it's a jolly good read when it arrives (probably 20 pages long). Whereas in Primary we had a weekly newsletter which was lovely but pretty repetitive. Swings and roundabouts.

It is even worse at college!

When my DCs were at school I used to check website for info re parents evening and other news.

Sports fixtures were on a need to know basis as in 'mum I have a match tomorrow'

Calendar on website also had parents evening and mock exams

We get an email every week which has links to all the letters that have gone out that week and who they've gone to (so things like "letter about second form trip", "letter about sixth form rugby tournament"). Often there isn't one which applies to DS as it is a school wide generic email, but I think this is a good system because it means I know we haven't missed anything.

At the start of the year we get a booklet which has known calendar dates for the entire year. Obviously things can change but it means we know when things like the main summer concert will be way in advance.

How did you find out reports had been delayed?

We get a newsletter each half term, academic markers updated half termly on ParentPortal, letters home for sports fixtures my DD is involved in and ditto for any trips and other groups etc. that are part of her school life. Staff leavers and starters are in the newsletter with a bit of a blurb, as are reports on sports results and other events. It really is enough.

OP sounds as if she lacks faith in the school, to be honest.

I think you have unrealistically high expectations. In my experience this level of communication is pretty typical.

we get a newsletter every week - includes sports fixtures information, clubs, things students can put themselves forward for. We also have an online student information system - I can log in and get current information about DS's attendance/whether late for class. It also gives some homework and progress information but not much yet as it's relatively new and I think not all teachers use it yet - but I think it's great that I can check whether DS is right when he ays he has no homework. Also had letters, a progress report and there will be a parents evening after half term.