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It has been a few months since we have written to you and there has been a lot going on in school for us to report back on.
Thank you to all parents and carers who attended the school production “Little Shop of Horrors”. It really was a fantastic performance, and we are excited for the next show which will be in the autumn term, next academic year.
As we mentioned in our previous correspondence the school is hosting a number of parent/carer events throughout the year to enable us to get into school and meet staff. Please do make use of these opportunities. This half term there will be another ‘tea, toast and talk’ session and will be hosted in the LRC. It will be a ‘tea, toast, talk and take a book’ (!) morning where you can pop in either by yourself or with your child and take a book home with you.
A lot of staff have given up time in their Easter holidays to deliver additional revision sessions for Y11 pupils. There is a full revision programme in the lead up to the exams and Miss Jardine has shared the ‘maximising achievement’ programme with all parents and carers, as well as pupils. This is a great offer; please make sure that your child fully invests in it.
A number of parents have contacted us about shelter around the site for pupils to stand under and we are pleased to tell you that over the Easter holidays canopies were attached to the side of the design and technology building. We have attached a photo for you. These came at a considerable cost and as school budgets are struggling nationally and in particularly across Cheshire East, we are not in a position to provide any seats/tables at present. If you can make a donation or know of a pub, for example that perhaps has some outside tables/chairs it no longer needs, please get in touch with Mrs O’Neill.
A reminder that the school gates close at 8:38am and that if your child is knowingly running late, they should access the site by the front entrance. Pupils will not be able to come onto the site before 8:00am, unless they have a supervised session with a member of staff. If your child is on site before 8:25am they should go to the canteen but a reminder that staff supervision starts at 8:30am.
We have been contacted by a significant number of parents/carers who have expressed concern about various negative Facebook posts about the school, which they strongly disagree with. They have asked whether there is any way that they can share their positive feedback rather than engaging with social media. To this end, we have created a MS Form (link below) for you to provide this feedback which will then be shared accordingly on a newly created section on the school website. Alsager School – MS Form Positive Feedback
The school will never respond to online comments, and we urge all parents to contact the school to air any concerns. Members of staff are always available to meet, and we encourage you to engage in face-to-face meetings to avoid issues escalating.
We need to ensure that we are role modelling the behaviours we want to see in our children. As parent governors we come into school frequently and chat to the staff and many are reporting that they are receiving very demanding emails from parents, and in many cases, parents have been quick to defend their child before being in receipt of all of the facts. We work very closely with the staff and we know that they work hard to create an invitational, kind environment. We ask that all communication is measured, that you seek to resolve any issues amicably and if that still does not resolve the issue that you use the Trust’s complaints policy accordingly.
The senior leadership team is currently looking at the possibility of changing certain elements of the school day. One area is to move form time to the start of the day. This would mean a change to lunchtime arrangements. As a trial run, over the next few weeks, all pupils will have lunch at the same time. Next week year 7 pupils will start their lunch at a slightly earlier time, but they are hopeful that it will work. Please do not worry about the possibility of your child not getting lunch. Staff will ensure that this does not happen.
We will write to you before the end of the academic year, but if you have anything you wish for us as parent governors to raise with the school, please do get in touch with us. You can do this by using the link, Parent/carer communication with PARENT GOVERNORS which is also available on the school website. A reminder that this is not part of the complaints’ procedure, but we do liaise closely with the leadership team when issues are raised and either a parent governor or a member of the senior leadership team will respond to you, whichever is most appropriate.
We wish you all a happy summer term.
Parent Governors
Alsager School
Mrs A Wheaver, Mr A Brindley & Mr A Pilbury
Good afternoon,
We hope that you have had a relaxing half term.
Firstly, can we thank all parents who have been in touch with us this term.
A number of you have contacted us and the school about the uniform policy. As a result, a couple of amendments have been made to the uniform policy. It has been updated on the website. Knee length grey tailored shorts have been added and black socks for PE can be long plain black socks (they no longer need the ALSAGER text down the calf)
Some concern has been expressed at governor meetings about some parents telling their child that they must not do sanctions such as detentions. This causes significant disruption to the running of the school. I am sure most of us chose Alsager School for the high standards that it has. The school does legally have the right to discipline pupils, so we ask that you support the school.
As a governing body we recently reviewed the critical incident policy and have requested that the school practices a lockdown procedure. Mrs O’Neill will share details with parents/carers and pupils this half term. A number of local schools have had to implement their lockdown procedures and we think it makes sense to have a practice with the whole school.
Last term there were a number of events for parents at school. Most of the feedback we have had about parents’ evenings is that parents prefer the online format, but parents still want to be able to come into school. Please do come into school when events are on and support the work of the staff. Both the ‘preparing to perform’ and KS3 showcase were really well attended.
Parent governors have been involved this term in the QA process in school, have reviewed the school improvement plan and helped set the targets for this academic year.
In order to continue to celebrate success the school has introduced a platinum ticket. You will receive an email if your child has got one. As our children get older, they become more reluctant to talk to us about school, so this provides the perfect opportunity to chat about what they have been doing.
A reminder of the need to be civil and respectful with any correspondence with the school. Work with the school to address any concerns you have. If there is something that you are not happy with or have a concern, the procedure should be to contact the subject teacher/faculty lead in the first instance, then SLT link and if it still remains unresolved make an appointment to speak with Mrs O’Neill. The chair of governors will deal with any concerns that Mrs O’Neill has not been able to resolve. The governance email address should not be used as part of the complaints policy. Please do not use social media platforms to comment on the school.
A number of governors met last half term to determine how the Parents in Partnership donations should be spent. We decided to invest in a range of equipment and experiences such as reader pens and a visiting author. If you are able to make a donation, or know of former students who may be in a position to donate, please access the website and click on the DONATE tab. You can make a one-off payment or monthly donations.
There is lots going on this half term, keep an eye out on social media for any updates.
Should you wish to contact us as your parent governors, please do so by using the link: Parent/carer communication with PARENT GOVERNORS
A reminder that this is not part of the complaints’ procedure, but we do liaise closely with the leadership team when issues are raised and either a parent governor or a member of the senior leadership team will respond to you, whichever is most appropriate.
Have a lovely weekend.
Parent Governors, Alsager School
Mr Colin Christian, Mrs Anna Wheaver, Mr Andrew Brindley, Mr Andrew Pilbury, Mrs Liz Hancock
It has been a while since we last wrote to you; we have all been heavily involved with a variety of activities in school. For those of us who are linked to a curriculum area, we have played an integral part of the quality assurance process and had the privilege of being in lessons, talking to pupils and staff. We have been into maths, art, design and technology and computer studies lessons and it really has been a trip down memory lane for us, with all of us wishing we could return to school. We have seen outstanding behaviour in lessons and around the site and carefully planned and well sequenced lessons. The curriculum leaders we have spoken with have a good grasp of what they are doing well and what their next steps are. We have also been able to talk with students and gauge what they think is working well and areas they would like to see improved. They have said that they love lessons and appreciate the support of their teachers. They have said that when staff are made aware of ‘peer conflict’ that it is dealt with.
We felt there was a generalisation of the word ‘bullying’ which covered one off incidents or on-going issues. I think this will be something that we can support the school in working on. Some pupils used the word ‘snitch’ and when we spoke to senior leaders, they said this has been raised in other schools as well. It is really important for us as the adults in our children’s lives to reinforce the importance of talking to the adults when things are not right; letting them know what is going on so that we can give them strategies to deal with it and for sanctions to be put in place where appropriate. The school has brought in some external agencies to address social issues. As parent governors, we would urge you to seize any opportunities your child gets to take part in these. Please do not view them as a criticism of your child. Mrs Brazier is liaising regularly with PC Cornell who is able to come in and deliver talks and do workshops with pupils. He will also be putting on workshops for parents. It would be great to have a great turnout. Details will be shared by the school. Equally, if you are an expert in an area that you feel parents would benefit from, please get in touch with us, the parent governors, and arrangements can be made for you to deliver a talk or a workshop.
Whenever we are in school, we always remark on how large the school site is. The recent safeguarding audit highlighted the number of staff patrolling the site and pupils commented on staff being visible and present in hi viz jackets.
The canteen is a busy area. Some pupils told us that they would like to be able to eat in a quieter area and as a response, the school has been able to re-open The Shack; an area in the D and T quad, which sells a range of food at break and lunch.
The impact of strike action has been raised by governors. Leadership are aware of the frustration but a gentle reminder that this is not a school issue but a national one. As Mrs O’Neill said in a previous message, please do contact your local MP. Our pupils do deserve the best education driven by outstanding teachers.
Should you wish to contact us as your parent governors, please do so by using the link: Parent/carer communication with PARENT GOVERNORS
A reminder that this is not part of the complaints procedure, but we do liaise closely with the leadership team when issues are raised and either parent governors or a member of the senior leadership team will respond to you, whichever is most appropriate.
Parent Governors, Alsager School
Mr Colin Christian, Mrs Anna Wheaver, Mr Andrew Brindley, Mr Andrew Pilbury, Mrs Liz Hancock
Dear Parent/Carer
As the end of the academic year draws near, we would like to thank all parents and carers for their support. This has been the first complete year, without lockdown disruption, for everyone in schools since 2018/19.
A few parents have contacted us about trips, particularly expressing concern over the cost of the residential trips that have been launched this year. We have shared this with the school; part of the rationale behind SPIRIT week is to ensure that all students have access to enrichment activities, regardless of cost. There are a number of trips planned for next year ranging from a geography trip to Sorrento to theatre trips. As parents we do have responsibility to manage our children’s expectations. School trips are hard work for staff, they are certainly not a holiday. If your child is unsuccessful in securing a place on a trip, please respect the school’s decision and manage their disappointment at home.
A few months ago, a group of parents met with Mrs O’Neill to discuss ways in which the school could support pupils from diverse backgrounds. One of the suggestions to record names phonetically on the register has been implemented. All staff have access to this on Sims.
At the start of the academic year the school will be holding transition evenings, where they will share key information which is relevant to each year group. You will find out about the curriculum, reporting systems and the priorities for the year. These have been recorded in the past two years but will be ‘live’ again this year. It would be great to see as many parents/carers as possible. Parent Governors will also be present, so you can all put a face to our names!
The key dates for your diary are:
Once again, thank you for all of your support this year and have a lovely summer.
Please use the link below to contact us:
Parent/carer communication with PARENT GOVERNORS
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Parent Governors, Alsager School
Mr Colin Christian, Mrs Anna Wheaver, Mr Andrew Brindley & Mr Andrew Pilbury
Dear Parent/Carer
In order to improve communication from the elected parent governors to all of our parent/carers, we will be updating you on a half termly basis, addressing points raised from governor meetings and any feedback from parents/carers. A reminder that the Microsoft Form can be found on the website under the ‘Contact’ option. The form is where parents/carers have the opportunity to communicate with the elected parent governors. A gentle reminder that it isn’t a forum to raise complaints.
A number of parents expressed disappointment that the prom was not being organised for Y11 this year. This had been discussed at the start of the academic year when the landscape around these kinds of events was uncertain and the decision was made not to have a prom to avoid any potential disappointment later. The pastoral team who organise this have been short staffed all year. The school fully understands how disappointing this is and did not make the decision lightly.
Governors are linked to faculty areas and have had the opportunity to go into lessons this half term. Behaviour around the school is excellent; there is a purposeful atmosphere and pupils are engaged in their learning. It has been a pleasure to see. Whilst walking round the school, governors commented on the use of bag racks and the school is working to improve the number of racks and making them weatherproof.
Part of our responsibility as parent governors is to be mindful of the wellbeing of all staff. Staff at Alsager School work exceptionally hard; there are over 1500 students and whilst they may not always get things right, they deserve to be treated with respect. Please be mindful of the language used in any communication.
Please continue to contact your parent governors on the link below:
Parent/carer communication with PARENT GOVERNORS
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
The Parent Governors, Alsager School
Mr Colin Christian, Mrs Anna Wheaver, Mr Andrew Brindley & Mr Andrew Pilbury
