Although there are many advantages to using writing as a way of communicating with parents, practitioners must understand that not all parents are at ease with the written language. P, Tassoni, 2005,diploma in childcare and education.
Being the youngest at school
Children have to face going from being the oldest at primary school to being the youngest at a much larger school. Parents sometimes worry that their child is not ready to take on the challenges of secondary school life. So choosing a secondary school that both your child and you are happy with can reassure all of you that they will be well supported as they grow up and will do well in their new school.
Starting secondary school is a significant time in a child’s life and can be daunting. It marks a passage into adolescence and requires major adjustments in children:
- from being the oldest to being the youngest
- to finding their way around a large school
- with different teachers for different subjects
- carrying their bags from classroom to classroom.
They have to remember:
- books
- the right kit for the right days
- and are getting used to new and different homework arrangements
Why I did not include certain areas
I did not include wrap around care as I thought it really related to parents whose child is just starting primary school. The secondary schools are less likely to have links with nurseries than primary schools do. My primary school does not run an after school club but they do take the children to the local nursery after school is finished. I did fully cover what is expected of the children as this varies from school to school and I wanted my booklet to cover general aspects of what may be expected. I could have also included useful websites but I did consider that not all parents have access to the internet either at home or without an added expense.
Parents Feedback
See appendix 3 for blank copy of questionnaire
See appendix 4 for returned copies of questionnaire
QU 1 Did you find the booklet helpful?
5 of 6 parents answered yes I said not but offered no comment as to why
QU 2 Did you understand the booklet?
5 said yes, 1 said no, the comment was that I had used words they could not understand. See point 1 in critical evaluation.
QU 3 Did I include any information that you did not need to know about?
4 parents said no, 2 said yes their comments were that I had included too much information on uniform.
QU 4 Would you want any information on any different areas?
5 parents said no, 1 parent answered yes the comment was that I did not cover dress code. See point 2 in critical evaluation.
QU 5 do you think that this booklet will help your child through the transition of moving schools
5 parents answered yes, 1 answered no they wanted more information on how the primary school helps the child in Year 6. See point 3 in critical evaluation.
QU 6 Is there anything you would change?
All 6 answered no
QU 7 Did your child like their pullout?
All 6 answered yes
QU 8 Did your child want any more information included?
5 said no, 1 said yes their child wanted more information on making friends. See point 4 in critical evaluation.
QU 9 Is there any thing I missed in their booklet?
5 said no, 1 said yes that I could have thought that children may want to swap name and address details. See point 5 in critical evaluation.
QU 10 is there anything you would change/
All answered no.
Critical evaluation
After receiving the feedback from parent I have broken their comment into points and written my comment. I would say that getting the feedback from the parents was the hardest thing although I put I date to say when I needed their feedback back by I still ended up asking for it as I had still to receive them all back.
Point 1. This relates to me using educational jargon, not all parents will be familiar with language that is in schools. To prevent this from happening I should have used both the full word and its jargon.
Not all parents may be able to read or understand the language. P,Tasssoni
Point 2, I chose not to cover dress code as this varies between different school and I wanted to use general information that does not change on depending what your choice of school is.
Point 3, I would advise this parent to contact their child’s class teacher to find out what else they cover whist in Year 6. I did not want to give any other ways the schools help as most parents can fid this information out during parents evening.
Point 4, I did include a section on tips for making friends, that was given to me during class as a resource3 to use for my booklet. The parent can find out more information by accessing the website I included.
Point 5, I would say that it will depend on how your own child feels, I know my son would not do this with the whole year group but may with certain friends. I would advise that if that is how this child feels than she should do it but not all children will do this.
To make my booklet as assessable to as many parents I could have said that it is available in other formats such as Braille, audio, large print and available to be translated into different foreign languages. As we live in a multi cultural society and by not doing this it would be limited to parents whose first language is English.
Conclusion
I found producing this booklet really interested and it made me think how hard it is for parents and children during this stage of their development, you have consider their feelings when you are making choices for them. Generally most of my parents did not write any real criticism to my booklet which did not help when having to critically have to assess myself. I would say that overall the hardest bit of this was getting the questionnaire back in the first place I actually sent out 12 questionnaires and only managed to get 6 back even though I had put a date and I had to chase several parents up a couple of times.
References
APPENDIXES
Appendix 2
Transition and starting school
NEEDS OF PARENTS
NEEDS OF CHILD
UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS
TRAVELLING
SCHOOL DAY TIMING
BOOKLETS
VISITS
BEHAVIOUR-BULLYING-PASTORAL
TRANSFER OF SENCO
INCLUSION
ILLNESS-WHAT TO DO-MEDICINE POLICY
PARENTS EVENING – REPORTS
REASSURANCE- WHO TO CONTACT AND WHEN
WRAP AROUND CARE
HOMEWORK EXPECTIONS
D OF E – TIMETABLE- EACH CHILD SHOULD RECEIVE
TESTING & MONITORING- SATS
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF CHILD
GETTING LOST - INFO
CATCHING THE BUS
TIMETABLE
BEING ORGANISED
UNIFORM- TIES AND SHOES
MONEY
EMERGENCY NUMBERS AND MONEY
HOMEWORK
BEING WITH THEIR FRIENDS
BODY CHANGES
BULLYING
BACK TO BEING THE YOUNGEST
LOCKERS
CORE SUBJECTS AT KEY STAGE 3
REASSURANCE
PEG- CLASSROOM
LUNCHTIME
TOILETS
TEACHERS AND HELPERS
BEING INDEPENDENT
LABELLING CLOTHES
LEAVING MUM AND DAD – SEPARATION – COMFORTERS
APPENDIX 3
TO PARENTS,
CAU YOU HAVE A LOOK AT MY BOOKLET AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW. INSIDE THE BOOKLET I HAVE INCLUDED A SECTION FOR YOUR CHILD AND COULD YOU HELP THEM ANSWER QUESTION 7 – 10 CAN YOU WRITE THE ANSWERS FOR THEM. COULD YOU PLEASE RETURN IT TO ME BY THE 6TH OF NOVEMBER.
Question 1 Did you find the booklet helpful ?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 2 Did you understand the booklet?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 3 Did I include any information that you did not need to know about?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 4 Would you want any information on any different areas?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 5 Do you think that this booklet will help your child through the transition of moving schools?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 6 Is there anything you would change?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 7 Did your child like their pullout?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 8 Did your child want any more information included?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 9 Is there any thing I missed in their booklet?
Yes
No
Comments
Question 10 is there anything you would change?
Yes
No
Comments
