Communication with Parents and Carers Policy
1.
2.
3.
Vision
Our vision is to create a world class education within our academies to enable every pupil
and student to realise their full potential and, in particular, their full academic potential.
Rationale
Working in partnership with parents/carers is an essential element of the Trust’s policy.
Effective communication underpins this partnership and this policy provides a framework
by which every Academy both communicates with, and listens to, the views of the
parents/carers.
Aims
•
To ensure parents/carers are informed of their child’s progress and development.
•
To ensure parents/carers are kept up-to-date with each Academy’s development,
policies and practices.
•
To ensure that parents/carers have a ‘voice’ in their Academy.
•
To ensure that parents/carers feel welcomed into their Academy and have sufficient
opportunities to discuss and review their child’s education.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
CEDAR MOUNT ACADEMY
COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS/CARERS POLICY
1.
Keeping Parents/Carers Informed
1.1
2.
The Academy aims to keep parents and carers informed of what is happening
at the Academy, both with regard to students’ progress and the development
of the Academy. This is done by providing:
•
A termly letter from the Principal which provides information on events,
activities and updates on recent progress within the Academy.
•
A termly magazine, which celebrates the achievements of Academy’s
students.
•
The Cedar Mount Academy website which contains details of:
◦
Key Academy documentation and policy.
◦
The Academy calendar.
◦
Latest news and updates.
◦
Details of curriculum and education arrangements.
◦
Contact details for key members of staff, as well as the Academy
as a whole.
•
Regular Electronic Messaging via our text messaging and e-mail
communication system.
•
Regular progress reports throughout the academic year.
•
A full parents’ consultation evening, annually, for every year group.
•
Events specific to supporting students at key points in their education.
These events include:
◦
An initial Tutor based Parents’ Evening in the first half-term for
Year 7 students.
◦
Options advice and information evening for Year 9 students.
◦
Targeted events for students sitting external examinations.
•
An active Governing Body who produce regular updates throughout the
year.
Keeping the Academy Informed
2.1
We would ask that parents/carers contact the Academy to keep us informed
of the following:
•
Change of home address, telephone number or email address.
•
Any occurrence which could affect your child’s behaviour or ability to
concentrate whilst at the Academy.
•
Absence from the Academy.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
2.2
3.
Contact information is particularly important in case of a medical emergency.
Hospital treatment is usually withheld until a parent/carer is present. The
Academy must be able to reach a named emergency contact at all times.
Who to Contact
3.1
4.
Parents/Carers may need to contact the Academy for a variety of reasons. The
following guidelines are to ensure that parents/carers speak to the most
appropriate person.
3.1.1
In most cases, the first point of contact should be your child’s Head of
House or Assistant Head of House as they can answer most queries
you may have or be able to advise you on which particular member
of staff you should contact.
3.1.2
If your call relates to a particular subject area, then either telephone
the Academy and leave a message for the appropriate Curriculum
Leader or email the subject teacher. Please ensure that you mark
clearly who the email should be directed to.
3.1.3
If your query relates to more general issues about your child, you
should contact the Academy and leave a message for the relevant
Head of House, stating the nature of your query.
3.1.4
If you need to contact the Academy on an urgent matter, you should
telephone or visit the Academy explaining the urgency of your call.
You will be connected to an appropriate Senior Member of staff.
3.1.5
If a parent/carer wishes to speak to a member of staff in person, an
appointment must be made. It is not advisable to arrive at the
Academy and expect a meeting. To arrange a meeting you should
leave a message at the Academy office for the member of staff and
they will contact you to arrange a convenient time.
3.2
The Academy telephone number is: 0161 248 7009.
3.3
The Academy email address is: office@cedarmount.manchester.sch.uk
Partnership with Parents/Carers
4.1
It is widely acknowledged in government guidance, legislation and research
that parents/carers have a key role to play in their child’s education. Early
years provision, schools, academies and Local Authorities are all required to
encourage and make arrangements for parents/carers to contribute to the
shared view of their child’s needs.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
4.2
4.3
5.
The parent/carer of every child of compulsory school age must make sure that
they receive efficient full-time education suitable:
•
To their age, ability and aptitude.
•
To any special educational needs they may have, either by regular
attendance at school, or otherwise.
Parents/carers have a vital role in their child’s education. In working with
schools they should:
•
Communicate regularly with school staff and alert them to any concerns
they have about their child’s learning or provision.
•
Fulfil their obligations under home-academy agreements, which set out
the expectations of both sides.
4.4
By involving parents and carers, they can become valuable co-educators. The
Academy will therefore:
•
Actively seek to work with parents/carers.
•
Value parents/carers strengths, knowledge and experience.
•
Empower parents/carers to contribute to their child’s education and
support.
4.5
The Academy will ensure that they take all reasonable measures to allow all
those with parental responsibility to be informed about, and be involved in,
their child’s education. The Academy will audit existing practice to ensure that
parents/carers:
•
Feel welcomed into the Academy.
•
Receive and understand communications from the Academy.
•
Are supported as educators of their children or as learners themselves.
•
Are involved in Academy life.
Students with SEND
5.1
Supporting Parents/Carers of Children with SEND
5.1.1
The SEND Code of Practice emphasises the importance of positive,
supportive attitudes to parents/carers and user-friendly information
and procedures.
5.1.2
There should be no presumption about what parents/carers can, or
cannot, do to support their child’s learning. Stereotypical views of
parents/carers are unhelpful and should be challenged. All staff
should bear in mind the pressures a parent/carer may be under
because of the child’s needs. Professionals should make efforts to
ensure effective communication with parents/carers.
5.1.3
Staff within the Academy are expected to help parents/carers
understand how to contribute effectively to their child’s education
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
and should make every effort to ensure that parents/carers
understand their rights and responsibilities.
5.1.4
5.2
5.3
All relevant information will be provided in a way that parents/carers
can understand.
The Responsibilities of Parents/Carers
5.2.1
As soon as parents/carers feel that their child may have a special
educational need, and may need different arrangements made for
them:
•
The Academy will listen to, and take parents’/carers’ views and
concerns into account when considering any intervention.
•
When a child is provided with any additional or different
intervention through School Action or School Action Plus,
parents/carers can play a part in the processes of planning and
reviewing their child’s Individual Education Plan.
5.2.2
Parents/Carers can also help the Academy in implementing the
School Action or School Action Plus, for instance by helping their child
with any programmes to be followed at home.
5.2.3
If, despite the additional support provided by the Academy,
parents/carers feel their child needs more help than the intervention
available through School Action Plus, they have the right to ask the
Academy to consider whether it is necessary to carry out a statutory
assessment.
The Responsibilities of the Academy
5.3.1
Within a culture of partnership with parents/carers, Academy staff
will ensure that any concerns they have about the child’s learning will
be discussed at an early stage. Staff will:
•
Discuss concerns in private.
•
Listen carefully to information provided by the parent/carer.
•
Acknowledge the parents’/carers’ expert knowledge of the
child.
•
Respect confidentiality.
•
Actively listen.
•
Show empathy.
•
Be honest.
•
Be positive – focus on the child’s strengths as well as areas of
need.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Be aware that parents/carers may have needs themselves that
may act as a barrier to communications.
Be flexible about arrangements for meetings and
appointments.
Provide opportunities for parents/carers to support their child’s
learning e.g. through their contribution to the child’s Individual
Education Plan (IEP).
Invite views from parents/carers about progress, e.g. at IEP
review meetings.
Provide access to all information and records on their child.
Be clear about what additional support the Academy will
provide to meet the child’s needs and what arrangements will
be put into place to monitor and review progress.
Share with parents/carers records kept of meetings.
5.3.2
Parents/Carers may need time to understand the IEP process. Some
parents/carers may not understand initially that the IEP will only
focus on three or four targets at the most and that prioritising targets
does not mean that the child’s needs will not be met over time.
5.3.3
Where the Academy feels that inadequate progress is being made at
School Action, and want to involve external agencies, they will
carefully explain their reasons and give information about the
external agency to be involved so that parents/carers can give
informed consent to their involvement.
5.3.4
Where outside agencies provide leaflets to explain what their service
can provide, the Academy will ensure that such leaflets are readily
available.
5.3.5
Where the Academy decides to forward documentation to the
Statutory Assessment and Moderating Panel, they will always go
through the documentation carefully with parents/carers inviting
them to contribute their own views. Parents/Carers must sign the
permission form for the documents to be shared with members of
the Panel in order for papers to be considered.
5.3.6
Parents/Carers, of course, are accorded specific rights within the
formal process of the statutory assessment and Annual Reviews of
Statements.
5.3.7
As part of a statutory assessment of a child’s SEND, the
parents/carers will be asked for their advice. Assistance can be given
to parents/carers from school staff. Parental advice is considered,
alongside advice from the Academy and other professionals when
considering the child’s SEND.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
5.3.8
Additional information can be attached to parental advice, e.g. a
private report from a Psychologist or Speech and Language Therapist.
5.3.9
Prior to an Annual Review (to which of course parents/carers must be
invited), the Academy will write to parents/carers and professionals,
seeking written views. Any reports received will be sent out to
parents/carers two weeks before the review. Where necessary, the
Principal will arrange for an interpreter or signer to be present at the
meeting.
5.3.10 The Academy will discuss the child’s needs in positive and
constructive ways, seeking information from the parents only to
inform the Academy as to the steps they will need to take in order to
fully meet the child’s needs. At meetings with the parents regarding
progress, e.g. IEP meetings or Annual Reviews, Academy staff will
focus on the child’s needs, i.e. how the child learns most effectively
and what strategies and interventions help to improve the child’s
learning and development (in all five outcomes as stated in “Every
Child Matters”).
5.3.11 Parents/Carers, of course, are entitled to express a preference for
special provision and their preference has to be given careful
consideration by the Local Authority. If expressed in a meeting, such
views would be carefully recorded by the Academy and included in
documentation sent to the SEND Assessment Team.
5.4
Positive Meetings with Parents/Carers
5.4.1
However confident in their own skills and professional field, some
parents/carers may find meetings and case conferences very
daunting and unfamiliar. Some, or all, of the following will be
undertaken in an effort to create a non-threatening, positive meeting
situation. The Academy staff are expected to:
•
Arrange for parents/carers to be greeted on arrival.
•
Where possible organise a circular seating arrangement for
large groups so that parents/carers and professionals are close,
but not too close (do not have parents/carers on one side of
the room and professionals on the other).
•
Where possible, do not use a table or desk as a protective
barrier.
•
Greet the parents/carers warmly when they enter the room.
•
Allow parents/carers to settle into their seats and take stock of
the room and who is in it before launching into the discussion.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16
May 2012
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6.
Introduce everybody at the meeting – some parents/carers like
to take notes and will need time to write down the names of
those at the meeting.
Adopt a comfortable, relaxed seating position – parents/carers
will note your posture and read meanings into it.
Smile and nod frequently – to encourage everyone’s
involvement.
Listen to the parents – give them time to say what they have
come to say.
Avoid jargon and acronyms.
Give parents/carers the time that was allocated.
Sum up what has been discussed and the action agreed.
Send parents/carers a copy of the agreed action and any formal
record of the meeting.
Accessibility for Communications
6.1
Communications and involvement mean a two-way exchange. Hence the
Academy needs to be able to receive and use material that is provided in a
range of ways.
6.2
The Academy is likely to use existing communications methods, e.g. letters, email, intranet and internet, publications, press releases, other media outlets
(TV and radio), advertising, meetings, one-to-one exchanges, workshops and
seminars, briefings, conferences and presentations, surveys/questionnaires
etc.
6.3
The Academy has a legal duty to anticipate the needs of its service users and
to make adjustments in relation to those needs. Hence, the Academy will be
building adjustments to communications in to routine practices.
6.4
When requests are made, the Academy will meet those needs quickly, delays
can mean that some people are effectively excluded from communications. If
material is requested in Braille, audio tape or in translation, the Academy will
aim to provide such within five to ten working days, other formats should be
provided immediately.
6.5
The Academy will monitor its effectiveness in communicating to improve the
quality of its service, anticipate and plan for needs better and make best use
of its resources.
Date Reviewed by Governors Nov-14
Next Date for Review
Nov-16