Parents' Survey 2003

Lionel School

Parents' Survey 2003

This Quality Assurance Parents' Survey was completed by parents of Primary and Secondary pupils anonymously, freely expressing their personal opinions.

MY CHILD	All the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never
enjoys being at school	41	58	1	0
generally finds school work interesting	21	68	11	0
gets an appropriate amount of homework	46	33	21	0
finds the school facilities and accommodation adequate	68	32	0	0
gets to talk to teachers about his/her homework	52	29	18	1
is treated fairly by teachers	76	21	3	0
respects his/her teachers	74	26	0	0
is respected by his/her teachers	65	33	2	0

Comment: The overwhelmingly positive view of parents is that their children are usually happy in school, find school work interesting, and strongly feel that there is a genuine mutual respect between the pupils and teachers. They also state that the pupils are generally very happy with school facilities and accommodation.

COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION	All the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never
School reports give me an accurate and helpful picture of progress	73	23	4	0
I get regular information about my child’s progress	38	42	18	2
Teachers are good at telling me about strengths and weaknesses	56	35	9	0
I am happy about the kinds of things my child is learning	67	29	4	0
I know that if my child is having difficulty he/she will be helped	68	27	5	0
He/she is encouraged to the best of his/her ability	71	26	3	0

Comment: Parents are highly satisfied with the written reports communicated to them by the school, and are very happy with the encouragement and support given to their children.

FORMAL PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS	All the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never
Meetings are arranged within the time slot which I chose	65	29	5	1
The event is well structured and organised	62	30	8	0
I get a chance to see the teachers I want to see	80	18	2	0
I feel I prefer the 4.00 – 7.30pm time slot for parents’ evenings	64	18	11	7
I feel I prefer the 7.00 – 10.30pm time slot for parents’ evenings	14	2	38	46
I get a chance to speak honestly about what concerns me	80	15	5	0
Teachers are frank and helpful with me	76	20	4	0
I come away feeling I have learned something useful	56	38	6	0

Comment: Parents are generally very satisfied with the organisation and usefulness of formal Parents' Evenings. This session, some early Parents' Evenings have been trialled for the first time for Secondary meetings, in addition to the existing early evening Primary meetings. Overall, parents much prefer the earlier meeting times, although the school will continue to hold some Secondary meetings later in the evening to try to accommodate as many differing preferences as possible.

THE SPORSNIS CENTRE	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
should be a good community sports resource	76	24	0	0
should be a good community health resource	66	32	2	0
should be a good community learning resource	66	34	0	0
should be a good community cultural and events resource	67	33	0	0
should be a good tourism resource	51	42	7	0
building work should be started in 2003	71	27	2	0

Comment: To summarise, everyone is enthusiastically looking forward to the opening of the Spòrsnis Centre, with the opening to be as soon as possible .......!

PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL	All the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never
Most parents show support for the school	15	75	10	0
The Handbook has explained the homework policy to me	71	25	4	0
The Handbook has explained the part I can play in my child’s education	69	31	0	0
I feel I can also approach teachers apart from the set Parents Evenings	75	20	5	0
I am confident that I will get a fair hearing if I have to complain	75	20	5	0
The School Board seems to be a useful organisation for the school	55	35	10	0
The PTA seems to be a useful organisation for the school	69	29	2	0

Comment: Many parents support the school practically when they can, and have a confident, secure and trusting relationship with the school. The School Board and the Parent Teacher Association are both valued by parents.

MY CHILD ...	All the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never
should continue to be allowed to drink water with lunch in the canteen	82	17	0	1
should continue to be allowed to drink water in class	65	31	2	2
uses the water bottle supplied by the school for drinking in school	57	28	9	6
feels that there is a good choice of food	42	46	9	3
feels that there is a good choice of drinks	48	46	6	0
should never have cans as a drink option in school	45	35	18	2
feels that cans should never be allowed in school	35	25	32	8
should have access to a canteen ‘healthy snacks’ Tuck Shop at breaks	52	40	8	0
should have access to a drink vending machine in and after school	25	31	36	8

Comment: Parents fully support the school's efforts to provide their children with drinking water whenever practical, and are generally pleased with the choice of food and drinks available every day. A sizeable minority of parents feel that cans never be allowed in school, although in practice no primary child can have any food or drink other than that endorsed by their parents through the school's menu system in any case. However, other parents do value having canned drinks in moderation at times. There is strong support for a new proposal to possibly have a 'healthy snacks' Tuck Shop at break times. It is likely that national moves to have more healthy foods and drinks will be introduced in the near future throughout the Local Authority schools.

WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
There is a good range of extra-curricular activities in the school	34	63	3	0
School buildings are kept clean and in good order	64	36	0	0
If parents complain, teachers just close ranks on us	0	8	83	0
I really feel they know my child as an individual	32	67	1	0
Homework should be spread more evenly across the week	15	52	32	1
Teachers are approachable and sympathetic	36	58	5	1
There are some school rules in the Handbook which I don’t agree with	3	8	83	6
There should be no school uniform	9	7	43	41
Girls should have the option of wearing trousers in school	42	47	5	6
I don't know how I can help my child with his/her school work	9	11	67	13
The Homework Club is a good idea	42	55	3	0
I would like to be more involved in important decisions	12	61	27	0
I would like an explanation about the things pupils do in school	14	62	24	0
The new section on the curriculum in the Handbook is informative	20	77	3	0
You are never made to feel as if you are wasting teachers’ time	23	67	9	1
Teachers are too tolerant of bad behaviour	3	23	70	4
The Head Teacher is reasonably approachable and helpful	26	67	6	1
Letters from the school are generally informative	30	67	3	0
The school website at www.lionelschool.freeuk.com will become useful	33	65	2	0
The school has a good reputation in the community	50	45	5	0
Lionel School should be upgraded to to 4-year Standard Grade status	48	29	17	6
Lionel School should be upgraded to to 6-year Higher status	27	35	26	12

Comment: Parents are very satisfied with the order and cleanliness of the school, and with the general approachability and helpfulness of the staff. The school uniform is well liked, and the option for girls to wear skirts or trousers in school has been generally welcomed. The school's website is perceived by parents as becoming useful, and it has recently been rated as 'excellent' by the National Grid For Learning, Scotland. A large proportion of parents agreed that they would like to see Lionel School upgraded, to at least Standard Grade status. In Shetland, schools are Primary 1 - Secondary 4 so as to support the local rural areas - it is probably not a coincidence that Shetland Council is also an outstandingly successful Local Authority regarding national examination results.

The parents have spoken ....... and here are some of their individual comments:

"Upgrading the school to S4 is an important issue and it would be helpful to parents to know what action can be taken by them to move towards this."
"Feel it would be very good for pupils if Lionel was upgraded to take older students."
"Very satisfied with the education our child is receiving in Lionel secondary school"
"My son has attended two larger schools prior to Lionel, and is happier here than ever before - you have a great school ......... Keep up the good work!"
"Overall, the school and its staff do a very commendable job with the pupils and all activities. Excellent work. Thank you all."
"Following the recent incident of a child being injured coming from school, the issue of supervision of children on the buses should be addressed ....."
"After-school and holiday childcare would be something to think about, since there is a lack of childcare in the area for working parents."
"Although very enjoyable and entertaining, school concerts could be improved by being shorter....."
"A chilled water dispenser would encourage people to drink more."
"I feel strongly that, given the current national campaign for healthier eating, schools should be pro-active by banning cans or high energy drinks ............"
"Please bring back corporal punishment."