Parents
The work of the school requires the full support of parents. Regular parents' evenings are provided for parents to meet members of staff in order to discuss the individual progress of their child. Special interviews are arranged on request with Head of Year, Directors of Subject, Assistant Vice Principals, Vice Principals or the Principal. You will receive a report on your child each term. Two of these will be interim progress reports and one will be a full pupil profile for each subject they study.
Parents are invited to all school activities, games and athletic functions, concerts, prize giving and parents' evenings. These dates can be viewed on our events calendar.
Parents are invited to contact the school over any matters of concern. We always try to see parents as soon as possible by appointment. Parents are encouraged to support the work of the school by checking what homework has been allocated on Class Charts. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact us.
You Said.We Did.
(Updated February 2024)
You said - We would like to attend our child's parents' evening.
We did - We have organised a series of online, virtual Parents' Evenings for all year groups.
You said - That you were sceptical about how virtual parents' evenings would work.
We did - We provided guidance and support to parents and CPD for teachers. You then said that the event was 'very well organised, slick, the teachers were very well prepared and this was the best parents' evening you had been to.'
You said - We could not attend your child's parents' evening.
We did - Our Head of Year generated a report about your child by the subject teachers.
You said - I never see the letters that are sent home with my child.
We did - We launched a policy to move away from paper where possible and increasingly use the School App, email and messaging system to ensure that messages arrive directly to the parent/carer.
You said - We would like to know more about extracurricular activities.
We did - There is a section on our website which outlines all of our current extracurricular activities.
You said - We do not understand the effort grade on my child's report.
We did - We have put grade descriptors and explanatory notes to explain your child's effort grade (1-4) on the report.
You said - We want more ways to get information about what is happening at school.
We did - We have a new website which is updated regularly and we now have a social media page on Facebook.
You said - My daughter is unable to log on to the websites needed to complete the homework.
We did - If there are any reasons that your child is having difficulty accessing the online homework please inform the Academy so that we can rectify the problems as soon as possible.
You said - I am worried in case my child encounters bullying.
We did - At CVEA we do not tolerate bullying and have a rigorous anti-bullying policy. We have several mechanisms in place to support children and prevent this happening. If your child is worried about this, they should speak to a member of staff immediately. Sometimes children mistake the comments made during the normal making and breaking of friendships at school as bullying, however we also support the social and emotional development of our students to be able to cope with this aspect of growing up.
You said - My daughter seems to be doing really well in school. Will she be moved up a set?
We did - We regularly test students to judge their progress. We use the data to make set changes each term if necessary. If she has outperformed other students there is a good chance she will move into a higher set.
You said - I am worried that my daughter is not eating properly. How do I find out what she is doing at school?
We did - We have a cashless catering system that records every purchase a child makes and when. Children are encouraged to buy healthy meal options. We can print out your daughter's purchase history. Money can be loaded onto their accounts via direct debit so that parents always have peace of mind that students are not spending the money on fizzy drinks on the way to school.
You said - My child struggles with formal exams and I am worried how he will do at GCSE.
We did - We have introduced formal sit down exams for every year to help prepare students get used them. These exams are timetable each year and students receive revision materials to help them prepare at home. We aim to replicate the GCSE experience so students can get used to it from an early age.
You said - I would like more career advice in Year 10 and 11.
We did - There are lots of opportunities at CVEA for IAG and careers for all year groups. Please see the plasma screens, the website and the board, which is outside D01. Also ask Mrs McDermott for any up and coming events.
You said - I feel that more emphasis is being made on uniform than before.
We did - Our uniform policy reflects the standards set in employment regarding business dress. The high expectations that we have for our students and their uniform is what the parents and the community asked for when we opened in 2009 and we still maintain this high.
Parental Newsletters
Parental Information
Virtual Parents' Evenings launched at CVEA
We continue to host our parents' evenings at CVEA on School Cloud. This meant that appointments can be made to suite your availability and completely removed the need to queue up. In a post-event survey, 100% of parents reported that the system was simple to arrange appointments and to attend the parents' evening video calls. In addition, 83% of parents requested that this model be used for future events.
Here is a selection of comments made by our parents and carers about the virtual parents' evening.
- Happy with this system, well organised.
- Was very impressed with how the parents evening took place. ran very smoothly and I got to speak with all the teachers without any issues.
- I was a bit sceptical as to how it would work. Had no problems and it was easy to navigate. Maybe this is the forward!
- I think the process was slick and easy to access.
- I thought you did a great job thank you.
- Fantastic idea and I loved that everything was on time and we could attend at home so there was no childcare issue. Was lovely to put a face to the teachers too.
- The virtual parents evening went really well and came at a really good time. The staff did a great job.
- Best parents evening attended! Spoke to every one of my son's teachers, something I've never been able to do at any of my other parent evenings; I've had two daughters attend CVEA in past years.
Questionnaire for parents and carers - January 2024
| Statement | Strongly agree(%) | Agree(%) | Disagree(%) | Strongly disagree (%) | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | My child is happy at this school. | 45 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | The child feels safe at this school. | 49 | 51 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved. | 43 | 52 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively. | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| My child has not been bullied. | 80% | |||||
| 5 | The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year. | 34 | 59 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | When I have raised concerns with the school, they have been dealt with properly. | 41 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| I have not raised concerns. | 23% | |||||
| 7 | Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)? (yes or no) |
YES 17% |
||||
| If YES to Question 7, how strongly do you agree with this statement: 'My child has SEND, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed?' | 38 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8 | The school has high expectations for my child. | 49 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | My child does well at this school. | 53 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | The school lets me know how my child is doing. | 49 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school. | 51 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school. | 56 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | The school supports my child's wider personal development. | 43 | 49 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 14 | Would you recommend this school to another parent? |
YES 99% |
No 1% |
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Parent Zone
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