Primary Parental Support – Welcoming Parents
0001 10:00:08:23 10:00:10:12
Hi. Upstairs...
0002 10:00:10:12 10:00:14:08
(narrator) It's parents' evening at
BruceGroveSchool in North London,
0003 10:00:14:08 10:00:17:21
and head teacher Geraldine Waterman
and her deputy are at the door
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to welcome their guests.
0005 10:00:19:22 10:00:22:02
(Geraldine)
At the first point of call,
0006 10:00:22:02 10:00:24:24
the parents have got to see
a positive, smiling person.
0007 10:00:24:24 10:00:27:21
Someone who they are able
to approach.
0008 10:00:27:21 10:00:31:18
So both myself and my deputy
are very proactive on that front.
0009 10:00:31:18 10:00:33:09
It's in the top hall.
0010 10:00:35:07 10:00:38:11
One of the key things
when I came into the school was
0011 10:00:38:11 10:00:41:06
to open the school up
to parents more,
0012 10:00:41:06 10:00:44:15
because the school
didn't have an open-door policy
0013 10:00:44:15 10:00:46:19
as far as parents were concerned.
0014 10:00:46:19 10:00:49:04
And there's a lot of research
to suggest that
0015 10:00:49:04 10:00:51:16
the more you involve parents
in their education,
0016 10:00:51:16 10:00:53:16
the better children do.
0017 10:00:53:16 10:00:55:16
We have the launch evening,
0018 10:00:55:16 10:00:59:16
and it's really to get as many
parents in as we possibly can.
0019 10:00:59:16 10:01:01:21
We want to establish
the fact straightaway
0020 10:01:01:21 10:01:04:18
that it's a partnership
between them and the school.
0021 10:01:05:10 10:01:09:24
Could I just have your attention,
ladies and gentlemen and children?
0022 10:01:09:24 10:01:13:04
Nice to see you all.
Welcome to Bruce Grove.
0023 10:01:13:04 10:01:15:13
(Geraldine) It always
starts quite formally -
0024 10:01:15:13 10:01:18:19
you go through the things you
are pushing that particular year.
0025 10:01:18:19 10:01:22:07
So this year, the skipping,
the whole healthy school agenda.
0026 10:01:22:18 10:01:27:18
The school has bought every child
in the school a skipping rope.
0027 10:01:27:18 10:01:29:20
This is part of an attempt
0028 10:01:29:20 10:01:33:03
to make all the children
more active at playtime.
0029 10:01:33:03 10:01:37:03
So they're being encouraged to do
all sorts of skipping activities.
0030 10:01:37:03 10:01:40:14
Now, to get you a little bit active,
0031 10:01:40:14 10:01:44:11
we're going to, first of all,
just do what's called "cross-pull".
0032 10:01:44:11 10:01:47:09
So you're going to cross
one hand over to the other knee.
0033 10:01:47:09 10:01:49:15
Then, if you want to be
a little more active,
0034 10:01:49:15 10:01:53:13
we use our elbow
and we cross over, like this.
0035 10:01:53:13 10:01:54:13
OK?
0036 10:01:54:13 10:01:57:12
So can I ask the children -
who should know how to do it -
0037 10:01:57:12 10:02:02:17
and all the adults to stand up,
please, and let's have a go. OK?
0038 10:02:02:17 10:02:05:07
No sitting down allowed. Come on.
0039 10:02:05:07 10:02:10:14
Are we ready? OK, let's start
with just our hands. Cross-pull.
0040 10:02:11:08 10:02:12:23
That's it.
0041 10:02:15:19 10:02:17:09
That's it.
0042 10:02:18:02 10:02:20:09
OK. And now with our elbows.
0043 10:02:32:10 10:02:37:05
OK, thank you. Just sit down,
please. Thank you very much.
0044 10:02:39:01 10:02:42:07
Then they go and meet the teachers,
who are able to put forward
0045 10:02:42:07 10:02:44:17
what they're going to
be doing during the year,
0046 10:02:44:17 10:02:49:16
and push things like homework and
reading together and those things.
0047 10:02:49:16 10:02:52:00
(teacher) We do all change together,
0048 10:02:52:00 10:02:54:16
so if you know it's PE day,
0049 10:02:54:16 10:02:58:20
you can make sure
they've got their vest and things on
0050 10:02:58:20 10:03:03:08
so they're not exposing everything
if they don't want to.
0051 10:03:03:08 10:03:08:02
When they do come home, OK,
for you to write a little comment
0052 10:03:08:02 10:03:11:14
just so I can check
when they come back, OK,
0053 10:03:11:15 10:03:13:24
to see that
(1) you've read with them
0054 10:03:13:24 10:03:19:06
and (2) that we're basically on the
same page, on the same wavelength.
0055 10:03:19:06 10:03:23:11
We are split between the next-door
classroom, my classroom,
0056 10:03:23:11 10:03:26:01
and there's two rooms...
one room is used up there.
0057 10:03:26:01 10:03:29:21
So do the children from
the two different Year 5 mingle?
0058 10:03:29:21 10:03:32:20
- They do that, yes.
- Oh, that's good.
0059 10:03:32:20 10:03:35:10
It takes a while.
We put them in their groups and say,
0060 10:03:35:10 10:03:36:21
"You go here, you go there",
0061 10:03:36:21 10:03:39:16
and after a while
they can do it automatically.
0062 10:03:39:16 10:03:41:19
(teacher)
It's a non-threatening format
0063 10:03:41:19 10:03:45:04
because you're not being asked to
discuss your child in any detail.
0064 10:03:45:04 10:03:47:14
It's unlikely that any specifics
will be raised
0065 10:03:47:14 10:03:50:02
about your child's behaviour.
0066 10:03:50:02 10:03:52:08
So parents generally enjoy that.
0067 10:03:52:08 10:03:55:17
I was thinking, how are we going
to battle the actual reading?
0068 10:03:55:17 10:03:59:17
How do I get her to learn to read?
It's not all about memorising.
0069 10:03:59:17 10:04:02:08
What is the key to understanding?
0070 10:04:02:08 10:04:04:23
And now that
you're using this method,
0071 10:04:04:23 10:04:07:06
for me, it's fantastic.
Honestly, it is.
0072 10:04:07:06 10:04:10:23
There's a drama club.
I'm not sure about a dance one.
0073 10:04:13:05 10:04:14:23
(teacher makes hissing sound)
0074 10:04:14:23 10:04:17:16
- (woman) Snake.
- Snake. A snake.
0075 10:04:19:18 10:04:22:07
- Ssssss...
- Snake.
0076 10:04:22:07 10:04:25:04
Good girl. What is this?
0077 10:04:25:04 10:04:26:20
A flower.
0078 10:04:26:20 10:04:31:10
Year 6 is a really important year -
their final year of primary school.
0079 10:04:31:10 10:04:34:07
And in May next year
they'll be doing SATs.
0080 10:04:34:07 10:04:40:15
So, to that end, we're going to
step up our demands on the children
0081 10:04:40:15 10:04:43:01
in terms of what
we expect from them.
0082 10:04:43:01 10:04:44:21
In Year 6 I expect children
0083 10:04:44:21 10:04:47:01
to follow the rules
of the school in a class.
0084 10:04:47:01 10:04:50:10
The class rules are displayed
on the wall. They know the rules.
0085 10:04:50:10 10:04:53:22
They've actually signed a contract
with me for good behaviour.
0086 10:04:53:22 10:04:57:00
They have to come to school
regularly, pay attention in class
0087 10:04:57:00 10:04:58:20
and not distract other children.
0088 10:04:58:20 10:05:02:23
We have a high mobility -
approximately 35% turnover a year.
0089 10:05:02:23 10:05:04:19
So we have almost a revolving door.
0090 10:05:04:19 10:05:07:02
There are children
in and out the whole time.
0091 10:05:07:02 10:05:08:13
So, unlike many schools,
0092 10:05:08:13 10:05:12:01
we have a high casual admission rate
through the school year.
0093 10:05:14:05 10:05:17:17
(narrator) The school's admission
routine plays an important part
0094 10:05:17:17 10:05:19:16
in welcoming parents.
0095 10:05:19:16 10:05:22:14
Here, the nursery teacher
and nursery nurse
0096 10:05:22:14 10:05:24:23
are off to make a home visit
to a parent
0097 10:05:24:23 10:05:28:08
who wants a place at the school
for her child.
0098 10:05:28:08 10:05:31:06
(Geraldine) In September,
we set aside two to three weeks
0099 10:05:31:06 10:05:32:22
for home visits to take place.
0100 10:05:32:22 10:05:36:04
Always two members of staff,
for safety reasons.
0101 10:05:38:02 10:05:42:07
When we visit you, we will give you
your start date for the nursery,
0102 10:05:42:07 10:05:43:19
and that kind of seals it,
0103 10:05:43:19 10:05:48:19
so they know they can't start
until that visit has happened.
0104 10:05:49:14 10:05:52:19
Hi. We've come to do the visit,
for the nursery.
0105 10:05:52:19 10:05:53:19
Hello!
0106 10:05:53:19 10:05:56:23
(Geraldine) But also, the nursery
teacher and nursery nurse
0107 10:05:56:23 10:05:58:24
get a sense of the family,
0108 10:05:58:24 10:06:02:16
how the child plays,
the level of English acquisition.
0109 10:06:02:16 10:06:05:16
I'm just going to go through
a few things about Nuhan
0110 10:06:05:16 10:06:07:21
and the kind of things
she likes to do at home,
0111 10:06:07:21 10:06:11:09
anything she doesn't like,
things that she's interested in.
0112 10:06:11:09 10:06:14:22
So if you could just give me
a summary of the kind of things...
0113 10:06:14:22 10:06:17:17
Well, she's been
to playgroup before...
0114 10:06:17:17 10:06:19:12
- She has been to playgroup?
- Yeah.
0115 10:06:19:12 10:06:23:23
- She went to a creche before that.
- So she's been at home since then.
0116 10:06:23:23 10:06:27:06
She seems all right. What sort of
things is she interested in?
0117 10:06:27:06 10:06:31:01
- What does she like to play with?
- She likes doing a lot of things.
0118 10:06:31:01 10:06:36:01
We do a lot of stuff at home
as well, like painting, Play-Doh...
0119 10:06:36:01 10:06:38:00
We're a bit creative.
0120 10:06:38:23 10:06:42:17
That's great. Does she like going
out in the outdoors? Walks, or...
0121 10:06:42:17 10:06:45:22
- Yeah, the park.
- She likes the park.
0122 10:06:45:22 10:06:47:22
Can I just ask
if she's toilet-trained,
0123 10:06:47:22 10:06:51:07
- if she's wearing nappies at all?
- She's really good at that.
0124 10:06:51:07 10:06:54:24
So she's not wearing nappies at all
any more. That's brilliant.
0125 10:06:54:24 10:06:57:16
And what language
do you speak to her in?
0126 10:06:57:16 10:07:03:01
We speak Arabic at home, but she's
caught English up from other kids.
0127 10:07:03:01 10:07:06:16
- From playgroup.
- Does she speak much English?
0128 10:07:06:16 10:07:08:17
Does she always
speak to you in Arabic?
0129 10:07:08:17 10:07:10:19
- Yeah.
- OK.
0130 10:07:10:19 10:07:13:02
But she speaks to her friends
some phrases?
0131 10:07:13:02 10:07:17:22
Or when... She plays with Barbies
a lot and she talks to herself...
0132 10:07:17:22 10:07:21:14
- And she makes it up.
- She's an only child, so it's hard.
0133 10:07:21:24 10:07:26:10
One, two, three, four, five.
0134 10:07:26:10 10:07:28:01
Five. This hand?
0135 10:07:28:01 10:07:30:14
- S...
- One, seven...
0136 10:07:30:14 10:07:35:23
- Six.
- Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
0137 10:07:35:23 10:07:38:12
(gasps) Well done! Good girl.
0138 10:07:38:12 10:07:42:24
She was really confident
with her puzzle.
0139 10:07:42:24 10:07:47:04
A bit difficult with the English
pronunciation of different items.
0140 10:07:47:04 10:07:50:06
But she knew it in Turkish
and she knew what to do with it.
0141 10:07:50:06 10:07:54:22
She was drawing those faces and
saying all the names in English.
0142 10:07:54:22 10:07:58:16
And then again,
she could count to ten.
0143 10:08:02:07 10:08:05:07
(narrator) At Bruce Grove
they're also happy for parents
0144 10:08:05:07 10:08:09:07
to come in to the school
during the day.
0145 10:08:09:07 10:08:12:00
(Geraldine) At a quarter to nine
my deputy or I
0146 10:08:12:00 10:08:15:18
go into one of the Key Stage 1
or Key Stage 2 playgrounds.
0147 10:08:15:18 10:08:19:12
Come over to our line now.
That's it.
0148 10:08:19:12 10:08:22:01
But also we go out
and engage with the parents.
0149 10:08:22:01 10:08:24:07
We chat to the parents,
ask them how they are.
0150 10:08:24:07 10:08:29:12
If there's a problem, they might
come and talk to us about it then.
0151 10:08:31:00 10:08:33:15
Some of the parents
will come in with the children,
0152 10:08:33:15 10:08:35:12
particularly the younger children,
0153 10:08:35:12 10:08:38:02
and we positively encourage
that in reception,
0154 10:08:38:02 10:08:41:03
that they come in
and join in with the games.
0155 10:08:44:14 10:08:48:00
Some of the parents - cos we do have
an issue with children being late -
0156 10:08:48:00 10:08:50:20
will then bring their children in
a few minutes late.
0157 10:08:50:20 10:08:55:15
But we try to encourage them
to come in and to get involved.
0158 10:08:58:12 10:09:00:17
Obviously schools have to be mindful
0159 10:09:00:17 10:09:02:05
of health and safety issues,
0160 10:09:02:05 10:09:04:05
and with children in the building,
0161 10:09:04:05 10:09:07:20
you do have to secure the school
against wandering adults.
0162 10:09:07:20 10:09:10:13
But the reality is,
at the beginning and end of the day
0163 10:09:10:13 10:09:13:17
there is an expectation that
some parents will come in and out.
0164 10:09:13:17 10:09:16:04
So we accept that,
but there are members of staff
0165 10:09:16:04 10:09:18:24
who are designated out
on the corridors at those times
0166 10:09:18:24 10:09:23:12
so if we see anybody that we think
doesn't fit with any of our children
0167 10:09:23:12 10:09:25:10
something would be done to stop it.
0168 10:09:25:10 10:09:29:12
And the children are safe because
there are other school adults about
0169 10:09:29:12 10:09:31:24
and the children would know
to go to them.
0170 10:09:31:24 10:09:35:14
(narrator) And after school,
a social event for parents.
0171 10:09:35:14 10:09:37:14
(Geraldine) The social occasion
0172 10:09:37:14 10:09:41:24
was to try and promote the
Parent Teacher Friend Association,
0173 10:09:41:24 10:09:47:24
but also to relaunch
the Parent Council for this year.
0174 10:09:49:00 10:09:52:05
This evening is basically
so we can expand our association.
0175 10:09:52:05 10:09:53:22
It's very small at the moment.
0176 10:09:53:22 10:09:57:10
Also, we have a lot of cultures
within the school,
0177 10:09:57:10 10:10:00:22
so it's nice to open it out
and get the other parents involved.
0178 10:10:00:22 10:10:05:10
Thank you for coming this evening.
This is a very informal gathering,
0179 10:10:05:10 10:10:08:16
because we're trying
to get new members
0180 10:10:08:16 10:10:11:19
for our Parent Teachers
Friends Association.
0181 10:10:11:19 10:10:16:06
There are two parents here -
Deena and Sarah.
0182 10:10:16:06 10:10:17:14
They will take names,
0183 10:10:17:14 10:10:21:06
because the more people that help,
the more ideas we have,
0184 10:10:21:06 10:10:25:11
the better able we will be to give
you what you want from the school.
0185 10:10:25:11 10:10:26:21
So please join.
0186 10:10:26:21 10:10:32:01
Enjoy yourselves but don't forget to
give your names to Deena or Sarah.
0187 10:10:32:01 10:10:37:16
I want you to explain to the ladies
here what the PTFA is all about,
0188 10:10:37:16 10:10:40:01
which is what I explained
to you earlier.
0189 10:10:40:01 10:10:43:21
And explain to them
that we feel it's really important
0190 10:10:43:21 10:10:49:12
that we have parents
from different cultural backgrounds,
0191 10:10:49:12 10:10:52:04
like Turkish and Somali
and whatever,
0192 10:10:52:04 10:10:56:21
so that we can learn about
every culture and make it fun
0193 10:10:56:21 10:11:00:06
and raise money
for the school and the children.
0194 10:11:00:06 10:11:03:04
It brings home into the school,
0195 10:11:03:04 10:11:05:17
and parents become
friendly with each other
0196 10:11:05:17 10:11:09:10
and the school is not
such a no-entry place,
0197 10:11:09:10 10:11:11:23
not a place where you just
drop your children off.
0198 10:11:11:23 10:11:13:19
It becomes a second home.
0199 10:11:13:19 10:11:17:24
We need someone from each class.
We need one parent.
0200 10:11:17:24 10:11:20:20
With the Parent Council
it's opening the opportunities
0201 10:11:20:20 10:11:25:06
to run English classes...
Whatever they choose.
0202 10:11:25:06 10:11:29:05
Why don't you become
the class representative
0203 10:11:29:05 10:11:31:18
for the Parent Council?
0204 10:11:31:18 10:11:33:07
Because then you can do these.
0205 10:11:33:07 10:11:37:09
We can do workshops on photography,
or do things on sports.
0206 10:11:37:09 10:11:40:01
OK, but mostly...
I have a little child...
0207 10:11:40:01 10:11:43:12
That's fine. They're welcome.
You can bring them.
0208 10:11:43:12 10:11:46:24
By being a member
of the Parent Council,
0209 10:11:46:24 10:11:49:19
then you are giving these ideas
for the school,
0210 10:11:49:19 10:11:52:04
and then they can
put these into place for us.
0211 10:11:52:04 10:11:55:08
(narrator) It's also something
teachers are invited to join.
0212 10:11:55:08 10:12:01:24
It's just so that we've got staff
on site to help behind the tuck,
0213 10:12:01:24 10:12:07:11
to help pull the parents in,
because you see them day in day out,
0214 10:12:07:11 10:12:10:06
and just views and ideas
that you're covering in school
0215 10:12:10:06 10:12:13:19
that we could maybe do a function on
of an evening, and things like that.
0216 10:12:17:14 10:12:20:22
It's more or less
an open-door policy here.
0217 10:12:20:22 10:12:24:09
And if we can't see them,
we arrange times when we can.
0218 10:12:24:09 10:12:28:14
So... And we're just stepping up,
making it a more sociable event.
0219 10:12:28:14 10:12:32:14
Not just, like...
educationwise, you know.
0220 10:12:32:14 10:12:35:21
Sort of just getting parents
involved in school a bit more.
0221 10:12:35:21 10:12:41:05
(Geraldine) It's developed in a much
more informal way than we'd thought.
0222 10:12:41:05 10:12:44:05
I think if we'd pursued
this very formal
0223 10:12:44:05 10:12:47:14
"You've got to meet every half term
as a Parent Council",
0224 10:12:47:14 10:12:49:15
it probably would have
ground to a halt
0225 10:12:49:15 10:12:51:18
and we wouldn't
have got anywhere with it.
0226 10:12:51:18 10:12:55:24
So we've embarked rather on these
few parents who are quite active
0227 10:12:55:24 10:12:58:16
coming to tell us
what other parents want.
0228 10:12:58:16 10:13:02:05
Sh... ut. Shut. Good.
0229 10:13:02:23 10:13:05:00
Fish. Dish.
0230 10:13:05:00 10:13:08:20
(narrator) And these are some of the
wide range of classes and activities
0231 10:13:08:20 10:13:14:21
provided at Bruce Grove to involve
parents in the life of the school.
0232 10:13:14:21 10:13:17:00
..45, 50.
0233 10:13:17:00 10:13:21:06
What language do they speak
in your country?
0234 10:13:21:06 10:13:23:16
Turkish and Kurdish.
0235 10:13:23:16 10:13:24:21
OK!
0236 10:13:24:21 10:13:27:16
And instead of that,
they've got a broken heart.
0237 10:13:27:16 10:13:29:08
(all) Aww!
0238 10:13:29:08 10:13:32:12
- And it all happened so fast.
- I'm so destructive.
0239 10:13:32:12 10:13:34:22
(lively music)
0240 10:13:34:22 10:13:36:16
Come on! Come on! Come on!
0241 10:13:36:16 10:13:38:10
Reach up, reach up, reach up!
0242 10:13:42:21 10:13:43:21
That's it!
0243 10:13:54:15 10:13:57:04
Visiontext Subtitles:
Doreen Trenerry
0244 10:13:57:04 10:13:59:04