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Parent Partnership Handbook

Minutes of Meetings 2023-2024

 

Loving & Learning together as Jesus taught us

Aim

We at St Catherine’s feel passionately that parents and the school should work in partnership together to ensure the best education for our children. The Parent Partnership Group is an opportunity for parents and staff to work together to assist the school in developing practices and processes to enhance a positive and productive school experience. We want all our children to benefit from this positive partnership.

The Class parent Representative (CPR)

The Class parent Representative (CPR) is a valued member of our school community and the time and commitment each rep is prepared to give is very much appreciated. Each class will have one parent rep – two reps in each year group to share the role. However one representative from each year group is necessary for each meeting. We expect up to 8 parents only for each meeting so that items on the agenda can be discussed in one hour.

 

Tasks and Roles of a Class Parent Representative

  • The role of the Class Parent Representative (CPR) is to promote parent involvement in St Catherine’s School community.
  • The CPR will welcome new parents and assist them in getting to know other parents and feel part of the school community.
  • Organise a class contact list for families who would like to share their contact details.
  • Provide opportunities for all parents in your class to feel they are valued members of the class community and are welcome to be involved in any way they are able e.g. informal social gatherings such as coffee morning at school or at a local coffee shop or a play date in a local park.
  • Encourage parents to be involved in school life eg. Christmas & Summer Fairs, Quiz nights, and other class or school fundraisers.
  • Meet with the teacher as necessary by appointment to clarify class needs.
  • The CPR has the authority to signpost parents to the correct person in the school if they have a query or direct them to the newsletter or website for further information.
  • The newsletter is a great discussion starting point to consider what activities your class is involved in and the necessary parent helpers required for that event.
  • Communicate with your Class Representative Partner from the other year group class, the class teacher and other parents regularly.

The half termly meetings are only a small part of the role for the CPR – when we do have meetings please be aware of the following:

  • Be prepared to share suggestions, ideas for initiatives and events in the school that will enhance the children’s experience at St Catherine’s. Try not to do this the few days before. Try to do this between meetings so that suggestions can be thought through
  • Be mindful of the length of time given to the meeting. To keep to the agenda and to listen to others suggestions.
  • Actively support the schools procedures and policies – have a lead by example approach

What does the group do?

  • Facilitate a positive partnership between the school and the parents.
  • Bring suggestions and ideas to the meeting to discuss new initiatives
  • Be given the opportunity to gather and represent parent’s views when asked for by the Headteacher.
  • Work in partnership with the Headteacher in a positive manner
  • Communicate outcomes of the Class Parent Rep meeting with parents
  • If agreed by the class, collect voluntary contributions on the behalf of the parents at events/end of year.

What the group does not do:

  • Email parents’ concerns to the Headteacher
  • The agenda is set by the Headteacher based on any initiatives the school are introducing or specific suggestions communicated in advance by the CPRs or any items the Headteacher would like the parents view on. We cannot accommodate all the parents’ questions or queries that are emailed to the CPR as the meeting cannot accommodate them.
  • The group does not bring or discuss any parental concerns
  • The group does not bring forward individual parent/child issues. This should be addressed through the normal procedures – in the first instance see the child’s class teacher, if not resolved then the Key Stage Leader then the AH, DHT or HT
  • Our partnership does not replace the Schools Complaints procedure
  • Discuss a child’s individual needs

When do we meet?

  • Once every half term for one hour.
  • The meeting will usually begin at 8:30am and finish at 9:30am. Any items that are not discussed on the agenda will be discussed at the following meeting if appropriate.

Feedback to Parents

Each Class Rep is responsible for communicating the ideas and the decisions made in the meetings to the parents in each class. However one class representative’s communication can sound very different from another class representative.

With this in mind each representative will take turns typing up a feedback sheet for parents with bullet points. This must be sent to the Headteacher for accuracy purposes. The feedback sheet will then be sent to all Class Representatives to forward to all the parents in the class.

Data protection and confidentiality

Class Parent Representatives are provided with a list of the email addresses for their class.  This is sensitive personal information and will be handled confidentially. St Catherine’s recognises and respects the privacy of all members of the school community and is committed to protecting the privacy of all our families.  Representatives must ensure that when sending class emails, all addresses are entered in the ‘BCC’ box in order to guarantee that email addresses remain private and are not seen or accessed by the other recipients.

This is a valued position at St Catherine’s which is appreciated by the Headteacher, deputy and all the staff in the school. We hope this partnership is positive so that all children at St Catherine’s will enjoy their time here.