Good two-way communication between families and schools is key to ensuring children's success at school. The more relevant information each party has, the better equipped they will each be to support the child.

At Bloxham, we begin our academic year with an after-school, "Meet the Teacher" session. This enables our parents to understand classroom expectations and find out more about the year's curriculum, including homework.

As we move through the year, there will then be a number of formal opportunities to gain feedback on your child's attainment and progress from your child's class teacher.

 

T1	T2	T3	T4	T5	T6
Open Classrooms	Autumn Term Reports	Open Classrooms	Spring Term Reports		Open Classrooms
Online Consultation Evening		Online Consultation Evening			Transition Meetings
					End of year reports

                       

Children with an Education Health Care Plan and some children with specific SEND needs will have additional meetings. These will be held with our Inclusion Manager and relevant teaching staff.

In addition to formal meetings, class teachers are generally available between 3:15 and 3:30 for a quick catch up. We ask that where families would like to request an additional meeting/appointment, these are booked in advance via the office. 

If you simply want to find out about general life in school, then you are already in the right place! Our website provides comprehensive information about our curriculum, calendar and policies or in addition please check out our Threads feed. 

Should you have a concern or are unhappy about something which has/has not taken place, we would encourage you to discuss this with us at the earliest opportunity.  Please see our communication structure for details of how to get in contact. 

Working with Separated Families

We know that when parents separate, this can be difficult  during the initial stages of the split. This is very often traumatic for any children concerned and unfortunately, these personal family problems can impact life at school.

The Education Act 1996 defines a parent as:

• All natural parents, including those that are not married;

 • Any person who has parental responsibility but is not a natural parent e.g. a legally appointed guardian or the Local Authority named in a Care Order or step-parent.

• Any person who has care of a child i.e. a person with whom the child resides and who looks after the child irrespective of the relationship.

Parents as defined above are entitled to share in the decisions that are made about their child and to be treated equally by the School, unless a court order restricts these rights.

The information provided to the School when the child was enroled detailing whether parents have parental responsibility for the child will be presumed to be correct unless a court order or original birth certificate proving otherwise is provided. Similarly, the information provided on the address(es) where the child resides will be presumed to be correct unless a court order proving otherwise is provided.

At Bloxham CE Primary, our sole wish is to promote the best interests of the child, working in partnership with all parents unless otherwise directed by a court order. Upon receipt of any court order restricting access to a parent, the School retains the right to consult the appropriate authorities before taking immediate action. The School is only obliged to comply with an order if it is properly notified and has received a copy for its files, and only to the extent that it relates to the School. The School also has no responsibility for enforcing any court order. In the event that the School is not informed of the existence of such an order, neither parent will have rights superior to the other.

Parents are encouraged to resolve contact issues without involving the School directly. The interests of the child will always be paramount when deciding whether to accommodate a request from an estranged parent.

Change in Circumstance

• It is the responsibility of the parents to inform the School when there is a change in family circumstances. The School needs to be kept up to date with contact details, arrangements for collecting children and emergencies.

• We encourage parents to tell us at an early stage if there is a change in family circumstances. Whenever possible, staff will be informed of such changes so that suitable support can be offered. We will, however, recognise the sensitivity of some situations and maintain the level of confidentiality requested by parents as far as possible

 

We will hold two parents evening appointments per child each academic year. Parents evenings are held online and we ask that separated parents attend the same appointment, unless there is a court order which prohibits this.

 

We expect that parents should liaise and communicate directly with each other in matters such as the ordering of School photographs; tickets for performances and other instances. Where one parent raises a concern with the school, it is the responsibility of that parent to liaise and communicate this to the other parent. Where liaison between individuals is not possible due to a court order for example, the School may mediate to ensure that  PR rights are upheld.

Consent For activities and outings.

We will seek consent from the resident parent but would encourage both parents to discuss the activity.