Kirkland and Rowell report 2010-Parents
Headlines
- 413 parents completed the questionnaire – 34.4% which is considered to be a good response for parental surveys
- 79% gave a very good overall performance score (up from 76% in 2009)
- There were no areas where results had declined from the last survey
- 24% said the school had improved over the last year
- 2% thought that the school’s performance was worse (down from 6% in 2009)
- 2% of new parents who responded thought that the school had not lived up to expectations (down from 7% in 2009)
- 20% had said school was better than they expected (28% in 2009)
Academic
- Parents who responded are most happy with the delivery of Media studies, German and Graphic Products
- Parents, who responded, are least happy with the delivery of PDC, Diplomas and ICT
- Since the last survey Maths (6.9% better), DT (6.4%) and Music (18.4% better) received significantly higher scores.
Non Academic
Parents, who responded, are most happy with School Facilities, Control of Bullying and School Security.
Parents who responded are least happy with Exam Results, School Communication and Social Health Education.
Higher scores than last year were received for Control of Bullying, Availability of Resources, Developing Moral Values, Teaching Quality, Choice of Subjects, Tailoring Workloads to Child’s Needs and Ability, Parents Evenings and Regular Marking of Work and Caring Teachers, which had the biggest improvement.
Parents, who responded, rated their top priority of importance as School Discipline and ranked it as the 8th thing that we do well. (2009-10th)
Every Child Matters (ECM) Outcomes
All ECM outcomes were graded by parents as Good, except “treating all students fairly and equally” and “Control and prevention of bullying” which parents rated as Outstanding
The top five parental priorities for improvement were School communication, teaching quality, levels of homework, developing potential, developing confidence.
Parents’ comments
Most comments were positive:
“I am sure that choosing Mangotsfield has been the right decision and we were thrilled when our son was offered a place”
“Thank the teachers for their care in my son’s welfare I know he is in safe hands.”
“The school has been fantastic in meeting my son’s needs”
“Your achievements over the past couple of years with my son have been outstanding. You have far exceeded our expectations”
“My son is happy here and he understands the work and is learning more than he did when at primary school. I would highly recommend this school”
“My child is very happy at the school. Before he attended I did have some concerns about exam results (stats etc) but hoped levels/standards would improve due to the new headteacher. Luckily Mangotsfield has improved drastically and we are very happy with it! Good reputation and future for Mangotsfield”
“Mangotsfield has given fantastic support to my daughter, she has far exceeded her expected grades and that is down to the teaching staff. Thank you”
“Overall we’re satisfied with the start our daughter has made. The school has lived up to our expectations”
“Have always been pleased with how all three of my children have been treated and achieved in school life at Mangotsfield”
“Mangotsfield is a great school. Very pleased with it.”
“Very happy with her progress so far in Yr 7”
“Thank you for asking me to complete a questionnaire – I think it shows what type of school you are”
“My daughter is doing really well and I am pleased with her and the school”
“Very pleased with the school in general. Everyone is very approachable”
“Thank you to all the staff who go out of their way to do activities outside of school time”
“A positive start to Mangotsfield. Pleasing reports and parents evening. I felt the tutor gave adequate time, support and information and equally afforded the same to both student and parents”
“Overall I am really happy with Mangotsfield school and have been for the past two years”
“My daughter has settled in really well and enjoying the whole school environment” Very Happy”
"We are pleased with both our childrens’ progress”
“Good sports facilities”
“Thanks so far”
“we are really pleased about the school and really cannot think of any negatives to write about”
Other comments:
- 9 concerned over quality of teaching in some subjects
- 1 parent concerned over the use of supply teachers
- 7 parents believed communication needed to improve
- 2 parents requested more feedback on their child’s progress
- 8 parents commented on disruptive behaviour of some students and the seeming lack of control and consistency
- 5 parents considered homework to be inconsistent and insufficient
- 4 parents thought that uniform needed to be more strictly enforced
Survey Results for 2009
152 questionnaires completed, representing 16.3% of parents
Overall performance score was 76% which is above the National Average. Year 9 parents scored the school the lowest of any year group.
25% of parents said the school had improved over the last year and only 6% thought that the school’s performance was worse.
Of new parents, only 7% thought that the school had not lived up to their expectations whilst 28% said that the school was better than they had expected.
74.5% of parents said their child enjoyed coming to school (above the National Average).
Parents are most happy with:
- German – 68% of parents very happy about German
- English – 71% of parents very happy about English
- French – 60.8% of parents very happy about French
- School Facilities - 76.3% very happy
- Truancy Control - 76.8% very happy
- School Security - 72.7% very happy
Parents are least happy with:
- Music - 21.8% of parents were very unhappy about Music
- PDC – 11.6% of parents were very unhappy about PDC
- RM - 11.7% of parents were very unhappy about RM
- Choice of subject - 7.1% unhappy
- Levels of homework - 20.5% very unhappy
- Exam results - 7.9% very unhappy
- Regular marking of students’ work - 23% unhappy
Parents’ top priorities for improvement are:
“Levels of Homework” - 14% very unhappy (National Average result is 9%).
“School Communication” - 19.8% very unhappy.
(boys’ parents also voted for Control of Bullying).
Parent Priorities:
Parents’ priorities change over time.
Parents of Year 7 students thought that school communication, social health education and computer access were more important in Year 7 and parents of Year 9 and Year 10 students thought that developing confidence and careers advice was more important.
Parents of boys thought that developing potential was more important and parents of girls rated truancy control higher than boys.
Level of Challenge
In all year groups, Parents thought their child was not pushed enough.
Year 7- 39.6%, Year 8 - 53.2%, Year 9 - 58.5%, Year 10 - 60%. All responses are higher than National Average, especially in:
- Maths
- English
- French
- Science
- History
French and German also had the highest percentage of parents saying they were pushed too hard (3%).
Other Information
- Feeder schools: Other 49.7%, Mangotsfield 16.8%, St Stephens 12.8%, Pucklechurch 10.1%, Kingsforest 5.4%, Barley Close 5.4%.
- Perceptions of the school: 20% of parents whose feeder primary school was Mangotsfield Primary said that Mangotsfield Secondary was better than they perceived it before they arrived.
- Other schools considered: Other 11.8%, Downend 10.5%, Ridings 6.6% . Most students (65%) didn’t consider another school.
- Reasons for attending: Location 35%, Family attended 20%, Reputation 17%, Academic Standards 13%, Visit/open evening/brochure 10%, First choice said no 5%, Facilities 3%, Specialist Status 1%.
Homework
- Only parents of Year 7 students thought that the level of homework was sufficient.
- Parents estimated that their children spent 2.88 hours a week on homework, the National Average is 4.6 hours.
- There is a dip in hours in Year 8.
- Girls completed more hours of homework than boys but still significantly less than the National Average in all years.
- A small minority of students spend up to 10-12 hours a week in Year 7 and Year 10.
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