An online Parent Survey went ‘live’ on March Tuesday 21st and was open for 10 days until the end of the Term 4. A fantastic 82 responses were given, this is significantly more than the previous survey in 2019, where 56 parents responded to the survey that was sent out in November 2019. (see previous results below.)

This is really appreciated as it gives us an understanding of your thoughts and feelings about school life, and helps us measure the progress we are making and shapes the future direction of the school. Once again thank you for your support in taking the time to complete this is really appreciated.

In this document you will find the responses to a number of the closed questions, before we share some of the positive areas outlined and some of the developmental points made by parents/ carers.

Some key highlights include:

100% agreed and strongly agreed that your child is doing well at St Helen’s. 

96.3% responses (79 respondents)  felt children were happy at school, with only 3 respondents (3.7%) saying their children were not happy.

97.6 % Agreed or Strongly agreed that we try to ensure behaviour is good. (80 respondents the other 2 responses – stated don’t know.

Some of the key responses in the free comments section included: (Names have been taken out.) 

X has really enjoyed her time so far, every teacher has been super great and we feel that she is thriving. As I said to X previously that it’s the team’s excellent teaching and care that shines throughout the school so good to see so many doing well and enjoying their time at St Helens. Many thanks

Keep up the great work! You are a fantastic school!

We are thrilled with St Helens and feel very lucky our children are part if this fantastic school thank you for all you do

 We have been so impressed with St Helen’s and X in particular. Our child loves coming to school and is so enthusiastic about learning.

 I think that the Flying High Ethos is very inspiring and I strongly support the emphasis on values. I think all the staff truly encourage an amazing sense of community.

Fantastic out of school activities on offer this year. Thank you.

Absolutely love what you share about lunchtime’s and loose parts play!

Great school

Thanks for supporting the faith aspect of the school, this is important to us and helps us feel safer with less fear of being ostracised or singled out

Staff encourage him to be aspirational. They are nurturing and approachable when needed.

Love the curriculum showcase, it’s a great opportunity to see how my child is doing and see work from other classes.

My child’s reading has really progressed since using RWI and as a parent it is easy to see which phonics / word groups they are focussing on with their books.

 St Helen's is a great school. The development of all the clubs is fantastic and really enriches the children's lives. Our daughter has enjoyed the development of the OPAL play scheme. She is also really enjoying the maths sessions with the secondary school teacher. The arrival of X has been most welcome and our daughter comes home singing most weeks which is wonderful to hear.

For a more detailed analysis of the survey and to see the developmental points raised please click on the attachment below: 

Parent / Carer's Survey March 2023

Previous Survey: 2019 

In 2019, the school conducted their annual parents’ survey to gather the views and feedback of parents and carers.

The support of parents in taking the time to complete this survey is really appreciated as it gives us a real understanding of your thoughts and feelings about school life, helps us to measure the progress that we are making and shapes the future direction of the school.

Highlights from the 2019 survey

We have analysed the survey as a Senior Leadership Team and with governors and wanted to share with you some of the key areas of progress and also some areas for further development. You can find a copy of our letter to parents here: Parents Survey 2019

• 100% of parents felt their child was happy at St Helen’s
• 100% of parents felt their child was making good progress
• 98% of parents said their child felt safe at St Helen’s
• 100% of parents said their child was taught well (up from 95% in 2017)
• 98% said that pupils are well behaved at St Helen’s
• 100% said that the school was well led and managed
• 82% of parents said that they knew what the governors do (up from 72% in 2015)
• 96% of parents said that the staff have explained to them how to help their child with their learning
• 100% said that they would recommend the school to another parent
• Reception parents said that the recent changes to the reception induction period, including the shortened induction period and the home visits had been well received.

We will continue to review this period for September 2019.

Some quotes from parents:

There were also a number of comments that parents made about the strengths of the school which we wanted to share with the wider community:

‘A great school with excellent teachers. My daughter really enjoys school.’

‘I can’t praise the early years team highly enough. I can’t think of anything else that could have been done to support my son and he is flourishing.’

‘St Helen’s is a lovely school where my children are cared for by people I trust.’

‘My children are so happy at this school, they have run through the gate to go into class from their first weeks right through to year 6 which is testament to how much they enjoy coming to this school! We are extremely fortunate to have such a great school and appreciate all the hard work the leadership team and teachers put in.’

‘Strong sense of community; good teaching and other staff; good leadership and management; excellent outdoor facilities; lots of opportunities for the children to learn outside the classroom.’

‘An outstanding team of teachers that work well together, sharing their strengths and learning from each other. Clear values that the children understand and talk about and demonstrate in their actions.’

‘The nurturing and development of the children as individuals.’

We used an online survey company this year and we have generated a report from this data showing the responses to all of the questions. This report is available to download here.