Primary Parental Support Welcoming Parents

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

0004 10:00:17:21 10:00:19:22

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