We are the Bridge Parent Council
YOUR NEWSLETTER
This is the first Parent Council Newsletter which will
become a regular feature of our work and our
communication to our parents at the Bridge Learning
Campus.
Some of you will know (and some will not) that the
Parent Council (PC) has been going since last
September and we have been involved in a number of
initiatives that have helped to develop the campus and
the opportunities for our children.
We have one Parent Council for the Bridge as a whole
and we therefore get involved in things right across the
age range.
This is your newsletter and we want to use it to show
you who we are; what we do and invite you to come
along to one of our meetings in the future – you will be
made very welcome.
Tracy Ames
Our Purpose
Very simply our purpose is to help improve the day to day
school lives of our children and therefore to support the
schools in helping to provide our children with the best of
opportunities.
What we are not is a body of parents looking for an easy
way of complaining about things. We do of course question
and ask senior staff about school policy, but actually most
of our work involves senior staff across the campus ASKING
us about things or ideas they may have.
Therefore the PC is about improving things and we have a
legal position. It is our council and therefore as parents we
agree the agendas and the items to be discussed and we
invite key staff to talk through things.
Who are we?
The Parent Council has a direct link through to the
Governing Body and the Chair of the Council is a Governor.
o Tracey Ames is the Chairperson
o Tracey is supported as a campus
link by Sarah Cheshire.
o We have about a dozen other
parents who regularly attend our
council meetings. There is no limit
on the number of parents that can
become members of the council & we would like as
many as possible to get involved.
o We try to ensure that we get parents from the different
phases so that all ages are represented.
What has happened so far?
We started meeting in March 2009 and have been
involved in consultation over some important campus
developments:
o Sharing concerns over the new buildings/campus
& ways to improve things
o The move towards the new phase curriculum
o Understanding the reporting structures & being
consulted on ideas for improvements
o Supporting changes in policies, such as
behaviour & attendance.
o Met with other professionals to look at ideas for
our new school website.
Communication?
At Parent Council meetings we have been discussing
the need for good communication between home and
school.
Like any organisation we have by no means got it
right! We wish to establish an accurate, timely and
appropriate system that meets our needs and those of
the students and their parents/carers to ensure that all
information is shared with the right people in the
easiest way. We believe that the more information
that is available to parents the more involved they will
be in the development and learning of their child.
Effective two-way communication should:
Support the campus’ vision of having close links
with parents and the wider community.
 Contribute to raising standards of learning and
teaching.
 Play a key role in the smooth running of the
campus.
Urgent
or
difficult
messages
are
best
communicated face to face or by telephone rather
than by email, text or letter.

Parents need to know who is the best person to
speak with, and, who is dealing with any
incident/concern. We will be making a commitment
that all communication is “time scaled”.
The
Parents Council have told the campus that a
response of “I will get back to by end of week” is
better than the blank “leave it with me and I‘ll let
you know.”
What do you think?
Come along to Parent Council meetings, or make a
member aware of your feelings, so your word can be
heard.
Dates for your diary!
Date
Tuesday 21st September
Time
Venue
3.45-5.30pm
Wednesday 6th October
7.00-8.30pm
Parents Room – Primary
(crèche)
Professional
Development
Centre - PDC
Wednesday 17th November
Tuesday 23rd November
7.00-8.30pm
PDC
3.45-5.30pm
Tuesday 18th January
3.45-5.30pm
Parents
(crèche)
Parents
(crèche)
Wednesday 26th January
Tuesday 22nd March
7.00-8.30pm
PDC
3.45-5.30pm
Parents
(crèche)
Wendesday 30th March
Wednesday 18th May
Tuesday 5th July
7.00-8.30pm
PDC
PDC
3.45-5.30pm
Parents
(crèche)
Wednesday 13th July
7.00-8.30pm
PDC
7.00-8.30pm
Room
–
Primary
Room
–
Primary
Room
–
Primary
Room
–
Primary