Welcome to our Parent Forum page

We greatly value the support and feedback from our parents and know that working together will help us achieve the best for our children.

We meet every half term to discuss events in school, concerns raised, proposed changes and much much more! Please do join us!

Parent Forum Meeting – 31.3.25

Many thanks to the parents that attended. 

-Parents from Foundation Stage asked about reading certificates and why they haven’t started to receive them yet.  Please see below for a previous response to this.

We received questions about the Mighty Oak Awards and reading certificates. Mighty Oak Awards are usually introduced in January as the children are then ready to start attending assembly. In the last few weeks of term Mrs Burrell comes to class to give the children their certificates to further prepare them for this transition. The initial focus for the first weeks is settling the children in and establishing routines, and attending an assembly would have been too challenging for them at this stage. Reading points begin in Year 1, but we celebrate reading every day in class through various activities and praise. In addition, children receive stickers and other rewards for their efforts.

-Parents asked about the order of books.  Books are based on the phonic phase that the children are currently working on and teacher assessments are closely linked to this. 

-Parents asked about clubs for children in Foundation Stage and KS1. 

There are  some clubs that children in KS1 can attend including craft club, signing choir, engineering, football, dodgeball (allocated half termly) and mini mindfulness. 

-Parents asked about swimming lessons for children in KS2.  They were asked to complete a questionnaire about them previously.

Swimming lessons are offered to children in Year 6 in the Summer term for those that cannot yet swim. The lessons that the school are able to offer are considerably more expensive than those that parents are able to access outside of school, therefore parents rarely take up the offer of swimming lessons. 

-Parents asked if girls could wear cycling shorts for PE instead of the football style shorts.

The full uniform list can be seen here https://www.whitecourtschool.co.uk/uniform-information/

It has been agreed recently that leggings can be worn, but cycling shorts are not on the list.

-An item was added to the agenda about the installation of the charging points in the carpark.  Parent asked about how long it would take for us to see a financial benefit from the installation.

The installation of the charging points was funded by a grant, therefore making the costs negligible to the school.  The fences have been added for safeguarding purposes.  This was to prevent accidents happening with children from running around in the car park and cars being damaged.

 Mrs Burrell carries out additional income generation by delivering training to other schools, leadership support to other schools and teaching to avoid paying supply teacher costs.

All of the statutory financial information can be found on the website. https://www.whitecourtschool.co.uk/financial-information/

AOB

-Mrs Burrell asked the group to consider how we could support parents in becoming more engaged with school.  Parents agreed to take this away and ask within their groups.

-Mrs Tindall shared the new parent hub page on the website.  She explained what the page would be used for, and asked for feedback from parents to find out what information would be useful to them.  Parents agreed to share the page in their groups.

Parent Forum – 10.2.25

• Parents asked about whether White Court could be used as a venue to hold Engineering Club during the holidays. 
  • Absolutely! The site manager is going to liaise with the Engineering club manager to sort convenient dates.
• Parents asked about the leaves outside of school and whether something could be done about them.  They explained that they can become slippery when icy and muddy at other times. 
  • The Parish Council are responsible for the pavements around the school, we will pass on these comments to them.
• Parents asked about the Government announcement around free breakfast clubs.  They asked if this will be happening at White Court and when this might happen.  They also asked about how this would work in terms of capacity, would it be open to all, would it need to be booked?
  • Free breakfast clubs are in a pilot stage so there is no further information for schools. As soon as we get more information we will share it with parents.
• Parents asked about the Year 5 residential and some felt that the cost was excessive because of the amount of time that the children are away for. This was compared to other things the children so such as Scout camps etc.  Parents wondered whether they could have a breakdown of costs and asked whether or not the school shopped around for other options.
  • The school is subject to financial audits each year that check we follow ‘Best Value Practice’ this means gaining 3 quotes for all purchases over a given amount. Therefore, we are confident that the offer we are providing is the best value. The breakdown of costs is detailed in the original letter and does include a voluntary contribution, however if parents didn’t pay this voluntary contribution, the school would not have the funds to run the trip. We are aware that many scout and brownie camps are run by volunteers so are likely to be cheaper than professionally run businesses.

AOB

• Mrs Tindall shared information about the new clubs – Craft Club (Friday’s after school) and Signing Choir (Thursday lunchtime – currently full)
• Mrs Tindall shared that the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service will be running a parent session on 10^th March at 2.15.  Mrs Tindall explained that information has already been shared with parents, but asked if this could be further shared on WhatsApp groups.
• Mrs Tindall asked if Monday is the best day for everyone to attend the Parent Forum meeting.  She suggested asking which days/times are best in the WhatsApp group.
• Mrs Burrell asked for parents to be reminded about booking school dinners and breakfast and afterschool club on time, as the office staff are spending a long time having to deal with late bookings. Mrs Burrell asked if WhatsApp groups could be used to support this message.
• Some questions around school dinners were sent in to school.
  • Parents asked about portion sizes for different year groups.  Please see the photos below for reference. KS1 is on the left, KS2 is on the right.
  • The salad bar is available to all children.  KS1 children are helped by their teachers with getting their salad and KS2 children can help themselves.  There is no limit to what they are allowed.
  • KS1 children have their food plated up for them. KS2 children are offered the full menu choice, and it is up to them how much they choose to have i.e pizza and garlic bread.
  • Mrs Burrell has worked with a group of children to plan the menu.
• The school will soon be part of a playtime scheme called Opal, which will give children the opportunity to take part in different play activities at break and lunchtimes.  Children will be heavily involved in helping to decide what activities take place.  This should hopefully be starting in the Summer term. 

Parent Forum Minutes - 9/12/24

Parent Forum meeting minutes – 9/12/24

Thank you to the parents that attended this morning.

• Thank you to FOWCS for the fantastic Christmas Fayre. The final amount will be announced soon.  Members of FOWCS were given great feedback from parents about the children that helped on the evening.  They were told that the children behaved brilliantly and were really helpful. Completely agree! It was a fabulous evening that clearly had a HUGE amount of effort put into it.
• A parent submitted a question about running a Netball club in school.  Mrs Tindall asked parents to ask if anyone had contacts outside of school who would be able to help us with this.  We are more than happy to host a netball club, if anyone has a contact that would be great.
• Remembrance Day service. A parent said that no children attended from school to lay a wreath and wondered why this was.  Mrs Urling-Brown offered to support the school with this next year. Thank you Mrs Urling-Brown, that would be greatly appreciated.
• PE kits.  Parents asked if leggings are ok for girls to wear, rather than jogging bottoms.  Parents suggested that leggings are cheaper to purchase than jogging bottoms. Children are welcome to wear navy leggings rather than jogging bottoms, we can add this to the uniform list. A reminder that leggings and ‘base layers’ are not to be worn under shorts and T-shirts. Track suits should be worn if children are cold.
• Shoes in Winter – Parents asked whether children are able to wear boots.  They understand that boots are not on the uniform list, but wondered why this was. Children are very welcome to wear boots to school and change into their school shoes when they arrive. Boots are not part of the school uniform.
• A parent asked if communication had been sent to Foundation parents about previous questions. Mrs Tindall confirmed this had been sent. Yes, this was sent via email.
• A parent asked if the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service workshop went ahead.  Mrs Tindall confirmed that it did, but wasn’t well attended.  Mrs Tindall agreed to look into future dates for these.
• We spoke about information that could be included in a new starter pack for Foundation parents.  Parent forum to find out what information may be useful to include.

Next meeting to be held on 10/2/25 at 9.10am.  This will be confirmed closer to the time via email and by the school newsletter.

Parent forum - 30th April 2024

Thank you to the parents who attended the meeting this morning.

Website - Feedback was positive about the streamlined website and the inclusive of pages on the newsletter

House points - We will be working with the school council to re-launch the houses and rewards for the winning house. Watch this space for further information..

Information for new parents - the members of the parent forum are collating a list of information for parents new to the school to give information about all areas of the school. A google document is being set up for all members to contribute to, this will be shared at the new parent meeting.

Newsletter - the newsletter will include a section for the parent forum each week.

Christmas concert - we will be sharing alternatives to the Christmas concert to ensure parents don't miss out on seeing their children perform in school.

AOB:

Additional clubs - Mini mindfulness is doing really well! Engineering for kids is coming soon...

Website - pages should be updated every week, please share with Mrs Burrell if you have any questions or concerns about your class page.

Support staff moves - Parents raised that they were unaware of a member of support staff leaving FS. Mrs Burrell explained that support staff are regularly moved based on the needs of the children and in future parents would like a greater understanding of the important role support staff play in school. In addition, if we are aware that staff are leaving prior to their departure we will endeavour to inform parents in a timely manner.

Fundraising - A HUGE thanks to FoWCS for their fundraising efforts for the outdoor classroom! Please can everyone share on their social media platforms.

Lunchtime play - Parents shared that midday staff have told children they cannot play with others outside their year group. Whilst we encourage children to play with others in their year group, they can play with anyone. We try to avoid mixing of year groups to reduce any incidents as we have found in the past that smaller children can be at risk if they join in older children's games.

Next meeting - Wednesday 10th July at 9:10am

Parent Forum Meeting - Tuesday 19th March 2024

Thank you to Helena, Eleanor, Jemma, Amy, Lauren, Kerry, Emma, Kelly and Sharon for attending the meeting with Mrs Tindall.  Mrs Burrell sent her apologies as she was teaching.

The following items were discussed:

Website

The school website was discussed. It was felt that navigation of it was still difficult so this will be reviewed.  It was also felt that some class pages were not updated as regularly as others - the expectation is that there will be a weekly update for each class. It was asked if a search function could be added, that just searched the school website and not google, however this isn’t possible on the platform. It was asked if term dates could be added to the main page for ease of access and this will be changed. It was asked whether a printable version of the school calendar could be made available – these are available on request from the school office.

Newsletter

Feedback for the newsletter was positive. Everyone liked the new layout, and particularly liked the spotlight section. Parents asked if the spotlight could also be used for house points with a focus on children who had earned several that week. Parents liked the FAQ section and had other suggestions. Suggestions included:

-Parents to be made aware that absence could be reported on the Gateway app.

-Parents to be made aware that term dates are available on the Gateway app.

-House points – how do the children earn them etc.

Clubs

There was lots of feedback regarding clubs.  Many parents were unaware that teachers are giving up their own time as good will to deliver these, but appreciated the time they did give.  Feedback from year groups included parents not being aware that the clubs were now spread out over the week, all clubs information can be found here. Parents would like more sports clubs including netball. They felt that there was a heavy focus on Football. Parents and children were happy with Dodgeball, and a big shout out was given to Christian for his football club. One parent said that her child had been really inspired by Christian. There was a discussion around the structure of the clubs and whether some clubs could have a project/goal in mind for the children to complete.  We also talked about why clubs are not currently offered to KS1 children – this is due to capacity. Parents asked whether a closing date for children choosing clubs was needed, especially if all the spaces hadn’t been taken – teachers have to prepare resources so numbers of children attending was important to know before the club starts.

Community

We have now started to develop our links with the community and events are being planned for the future. Emma has been in touch with Suzanne who organises the Christmas tree festival and they are looking forward to White Court joining in.  Emma will share contact details nearer the time.

AOB

• Parents asked if the extension to the school day will be happening in September. As it is not currently statutory, this change will not be going ahead yet.
• Parent forum members asked whether it would be useful for them to put together a list of useful information for new parents joining the school, to include information regarding house points, volunteering etc. It was agreed that we would start to put this together at our next meeting.
• Parents asked if they would be able to have a breakdown of reading levels – coloured bands and numbers/letters so that they can support children at home. The reading team will feedback at the next meeting.
• We talked about volunteers coming into school. Volunteer days from larger companies was mentioned and we discussed parents using these days to come into school to help. Parents asked if a volunteering tab could be added to the school gateway so they could let the school know when they are available to help – this will be explored.
• Is there a list of donations that the school currently needs that parents could help with – suggestions included books, art and craft materials etc. Mrs Tindall said that she would investigate this further.
• Parents asked about the KS2 carol concert for this year. Could an alternative be planned in case of bad weather? Alternative options are being explored.
• The friendship bench was discussed, and parents felt children were more aware of this. It was asked whether the benches could be decorated to make them more obvious to the children. Ideas for decoration are welcome.
• One member praised Quiet club and said that it had really helped her child.
• Parents asked whether children had been reminded in class to add house points to the class pot for homework etc. This has been shared with teachers and will be added to the school newsletter.
• Members asked whether a link to the parent forum website page could be added to the newsletter. This will be added in the summer term.

Next meeting will be held on Tuesday 30th April at 9.10am

Parent Forum meeting - Tuesday 6th February 2024.

Thank you to Kelly Ambrose, Sharon Urling-Brown, Emma Armstrong, Jemma Staken and Kerry Knowles for attending the meeting with Mrs Burrell, Mrs Tindall (our pastoral lead) and Mrs Burton (Esther out therapeutic mentor). 

The following items were discussed:

School newsletter

A new format was shared and discussed and will be implemented after half term. Mighty Oak awards were discussed and an idea raised to add reasons for some of them. It was highlighted that the information was better presented in a maximum of 4 sides. Dates that change could be highlighted for ease. Parent forum members are seeking feedback from their year groups on the newsletter.

School website

Use of the website was discussed and parents agreed that it was used on occasion but not regularly. Navigation was raised as an area for development as drop down menus are not always clear. Parents would like more 'quick links' on the homepage. Parent forum members are seeking feedback from their year groups on the website.

Clubs

Uptake on clubs has been low this term and all members were unsure why. The online booking was positive, as were the varying days, times and club types. Parent forum members are seeking feedback from their year groups on clubs and Mrs Burrell will be speaking to the school council.

AOB

• Community links were discussed and Sharon is going to liaise with the parish council and community association to support the school in engaging in a wider variety of community events and activities.
• The cost of wrap around care was discussed. The school financial regulations do not allow school to 'make money' from parents so breakfast and after school club run at a break even/occasional loss. The legal ratio for childcare in schools is 1 adult to 30 children, however at White Court we operate a much smaller ratio to ensure higher supervision, this is reflected in the cost.
• The friendship bench was discussed and Mrs Burrell is going to investigate monitors and staff allocated to support.
• Consistency across classrooms with job share teachers was discussed. Year managers oversee communication, planning and all events - please contact year managers or SLT links for any concerns.
• House points were discussed and parents raised questions on how they were awarded and what the rewards were. Mrs Burrell will raise with the school council and add further information to a newsletter.
• Behaviour of children outside of school whilst still in school uniform was discussed and Mrs Burrell took the action to ask teachers to remind the children of proper conduct.
• Parents raised questions around ways that volunteers can help in school - Mrs Burrell will add information to the newsletter.
• An agenda will be shared and prepared for the next meeting and a form will be added to the parent forum page.
• There was some lovely feedback from a parent who shared how happy her children were at the school which was very gratefully received!