Barkisland Primary School Parental English
Questionnaire Feedback
Reading
Bug Club
Some parents say their children prefer real books and as a school we support and encourage this too.
Bug Club is another way for children to enjoy reading, access more books or encourage the more
reluctant readers.
The main issue surrounding Bug Club was the inability to access it via and iPad. This is something
we kept pushing for with the suppliers and your child should be able to access their books via the
below link on the iPad. Usernames, passwords and the school username is unchanged. If you need
your child’s username or password again, please contact the class teacher.
www.activelearnprimary.co.uk
The school username is hwgr
Reading homework
An overwhelming majority of parents thought that the reading homework set was just right. This is
such good news for us as teachers because we want to instil that love of reading in children and help
them understand texts in more depth without putting them off.
A couple thought there was too much reading homework and that their child preferred to read
books from home. If your child is struggling to fit the reading set in the time given, please speak to
the class teacher. We will always find time for your child to read in school so that they may enjoy the
weekly Guided Reading sessions.
A couple of parents thought there was not enough. Again, please do speak to the class teacher about
the amount of reading homework sent home. Your child’s teacher will be able to explain the reason
behind the amount they have set.
Does your child enjoy the selection of books they bring home from school?
Again an overwhelming majority of parents said their child enjoys the books brought home. We are
delighted to hear this as we have thought carefully about the books we buy. Many of our books this
year have been purchased by the BSA using the funds you have raised. Without your support and
the BSA this would not be possible.
A few parents said their children did not enjoy the books sent home. We would love to hear any
recommendations from children and parents. In school we try to involve the children as much as we
can in the purchase of new resources. One year, our 5 & 6 children were able to spend money
raised through the book fair on books of their choice.
Barkisland Primary School Parental English
Questionnaire Feedback
What we do well in relation to reading.
Here is a summary of the responses:
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Proper novels
Engaging texts
Good quality text
Good selection/choice
Guided Reading increases confidence
Letting children read at their own pace
No pressure to swap home school books
Learning new and interesting words through reading
Provide a wide range of opportunities to read
Annual Reading Evening
Reading records
Identify those who need support early
How we could improve
Here is a summary of the responses followed by a comment from the school
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Parental involvement: asking parents in to share their favourite books/make suggestions on
books to read/recommendations
This is a great idea and something we will be looking more at doing next year. We intend to hold a
week dedicated to reading with lots of exciting activities planned. One such activity could be to
invite parents in to share their love of reading/favourite books.
 Hold a Reading Club
We held one in the past but unfortunately the uptake was poor. However, this is something we
can certainly look at doing again.
 Rewards for completing books/reading
We know children love awards, certificates and praise and put this into our daily practice.
 Variety of books to interest boys and girls/fiction and non-fiction
Each year we buy new sets of books to try and suit all interests through fiction and non-fiction.
Our class libraries are full of different types of books accessible to our children on a daily basis. In
addition we have topic boxes full of books that match the topic we teach. Children also have
access to these in school daily.
 Bug Club on the iPad
It’s now here! Follow the link at the top of this letter.
 Remind children to bring their books home
At the end of each day children have a routine whereby they are handed out any
letters/homework/books. We like to encourage independence but understand that there are
children who need those extra reminders.
Barkisland Primary School Parental English
Questionnaire Feedback
 More reading aloud
Once the children move into Key Stage 2 there is less emphasis on reading aloud each Guided
Reading session. The focus now switches more to understanding, evaluating, discussing what has
been read. However, children in school have plenty of opportunities to read aloud work
produced, poems learnt, scripts and so on. Our new reading target cards now have a section called
“Super Storyteller”, which means we will be focussing on reading aloud whenever the opportunity
arises.
 Recommended reading lists sent home/on the website
The book trust has a great recommended reading list. Here is the link and we have also put this
on the website. http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/children/100-best-books/
 More 1 to 1 reading
This happens more for the children in Key Stage 1 to build up their confidence, stamina, fluency
and word recognition skills. For those less confident children in Key Stage 2 they will always be
given extra support in relation to reading. This may take the form of 1-1 reading or small group
intervention.
 Key Stage 1 books aren’t great/too easy
If you are finding the books too easy for your child, speak to your child’s class teacher. However,
the books that are sent home are at a level which they can read independently. The teaching and
challenge of reading happens during the Guided Reading sessions.
 Key Stage 2 need a wider choice of books
We continue to build up our bank of books from authors present and past. Our class libraries are
fully stocked with a wide range of authors and genres.
 Children choose own Guided Reading books
For our specific adult led Guided Reading sessions, the books are carefully selected to match the
needs of a group of children and support the National Curriculum objectives.
 Allow home books in school
All children are allowed to bring in books from home to share in class. As children become more
independent at reading, they can bring in a book to keep in their tray in class and read at
registration and other points in the day.
Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar (SPAG)
How confident do you feel to be able to help your child develop their SPAG skills?
There was a mixed response to this question and also depended on the year group of the children.
If you would like to know more about how you can help your child, the class teacher will be able
to offer some guidance and point you in the right direction of recommended texts to use at home.
Do you feel our new approach to spelling has helped improve your child’s
confidence in spelling?
Again there was a mixed response. Some said yes, others said a little. This is the first year we have
had a big focus on spelling and how we teach it in school. There is more information on our
approach on our website. However, if you have found that there hasn’t been much impact on
your child’s spelling, it may be that you see a bigger impact next year as we continue this new
approach. It also has to be remembered, that since the introduction of the New National
Curriculum 2014, there has been an increased expectation on spelling. For example, some words
which were once on the statutory list for Year 5 are now in Year 4. Certain prefixes have moved
into Year 2 from Year 3.
How can we help you support your child in relation to SPAG?
Here is a summary of the responses and school’s comments:
 Have any terminology to be put on the website.
Here is a direct link to some key terminology on our website:
http://www.barkislandcofeschool.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/English_Glossary.pdf
This link takes you to some help in relation to standard English
http://www.barkislandcofeschool.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/Guide-to-STANDARDENGLISH.pdf
 Put links to useful SPAG websites on the school website.
This is something we will do before the end of the academic year.
 Provide parents with a list of spellings
Our new writing target cards have a section on the back named Super Speller. This sets out all the
spelling objectives for the year. Many of you should have received a copy of these target cards for
your child’s current year (except Years 2 & 6 as they are still on the old National Curriculum). In
September you will receive a copy of target cards for your child’s new year group.
As a parent, would you prefer the weekly English homework that is set to be more
of a SPAG focus?
The majority of parents would like some of the work set for home to be a SPAG focus. We will
factor this in over the next academic year. There were a few parents who would like more SPAG
homework. Once we have put some links on our website to recommended SPAG sites, parents
and children will be able to deepen their understanding further or consolidate what is being taught
in class. The teachers are always happy to help and may be able to recommend some good
practice books to use at home.
Handwriting
Impact on handwriting
The majority of the parents feel their children’s handwriting has improved this year. For those
parents who cannot see a difference, this maybe because your child already has a neat and fluent
style or they may need longer to develop. Next year we are continuing with our approach using
Penpals. If you would like to know more/refresh your memory on what this entails, go to our
handwriting page on the website and look under curriculum.
Speaking and Listening
This is an area everyone thought we did well on. As a school we are committed to developing
mature, confident and independent children. We believe every child has the right to an opinion
and to be listened to.
Overall comments:
Here is a summary:
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Some liked our range of resources to support the teaching of English.
Some said our varied approaches to teaching English were good.
We have a structured approach to writing from an early age.
Yearly Reading Evenings are beneficial.
Poetry has hugely improved and we manage to inspire children to read and perform
poetry.
English in general is a strength of the school
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Lots of opportunities for children to follow their interests
Some enjoy hearing children speak about their work in merit assemblies
A couple of responses would like a wider range books (see school’s comment previously)
We hope that you find our responses to your feedback useful, encouraging and supportive.
Many thanks again for completing the questionnaire. We look forward to improving and
enhancing our provision in English for you and your child.