Award-winning scheme welcomes parents into Shoreham school

Buckingham Park Primary School, in Buckingham Road, achieved the Leading Parent Partnership Award in November after more than 15 months of hard work from office staff, teachers, governors and parents under deputy head Karyn Astle’s co-ordination. (continued below)

Ms Astle said the school was ‘very proud’ of the partnership, a key aspect of which involes inviting parents to join in with a morning class.

“Sometimes it’s not clear how parents can help their children or what goes on in school,” she said.

“We wanted to break down the barriers and welcome parents in. We’ve got nothing to hide.

“The parents love being in the classroom and seeing what the environment is like, and the children love having their parents in.”

The increased communication with parents has resulted in pupil attendance improving and more parents choosing the school as their first choice, she added.

Becky Sykes, chair of governors and mother of two, said the ‘Stay and Do’ mornings worked on a rolling basis, with parents invited in on different week days to allow more to fit the sessions around work commitments.

“We’re learning from parent feedback,” she said, adding that responses on the scheme collected from parents evening had been ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

The school also holds courses for parents, such as first aid, and once a term family members and carers are invited to a class assembly, where pupils give presentations on what they have learned during the term.

Mother-of-two Carrie Marples watched her excited daughter’s year three class assembly based around the topic of China on Tuesday morning.

Being welcomed into the school was ‘brilliant’, she said: “It’s nice to get more involved and see what they’re doing in the classroom.

“You get more of an idea of what you can do at home.

“And the children really like it – I’m not allowed to miss a session.”

The school holds the award for three years, over which it hopes to continue and develop the scheme further.

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