how well do you feel that your child settled into primary 1?€¦ · web viewmy daughter came for a...

HERMITAGE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL Hermitage Park, Edinburgh, EH6 8HD

March 2016

Parent Questionnaire – Transition to Primary 1 Summary of Responses

We had a total of 14 responses. Thank you so much for taking the time to offer us your views.

1. Transition activities: Regular visits to library resource area, gym hall and dining hall Eating their snack in the dining hall at the dining tables Walks around the school Attendance at assembly Opportunities to visit primary 1 class when it is empty Opportunities to work with primary 1 children during the school day Visits to the infant playground Sports practices in the upper playground

Website: www.hermitagepark.edin.sch.ukEmail: [email protected] Tel: 0131 554 2952

1. How well do you feel that your child settled into primary 1?

Great Difficulty - 0 Difficulty- 1 Well - 3 Very Well - 10

Comments:

My daughter came for a different nursery and didn’t’ know anyone. Though she eventually settled well and I think the teachers were great; I think a ‘buddy’ would’ve helped massively in those first 2 weeks.

I had worried about my child being 4 and going to school a she still favoured afternoon naps. School worked through this and never made it an issue. She absolutely adores school and her teachers have been brilliant.

Much better than expected, thanks to the transition process and Miss Brown. Considering my daughter didn’t attend the school nursery and know anyone in her class

she has settle in great. The three transition visits really helped and she was excited to start. The teachers were friendly and welcoming and my daughter instantly liked them.

As a more sensitive wee boy, my child settled well with the continued support from the teaching staff.

My child tends to adopt well to most situations so I knew she would take school in her stride.

Very well for my child He knew the school because of the time in nursery. He enjoys school a lot. I think the nursery do a great job in preparing the children for P1. Plus having an older

sister in the school definitely helps with knowledge/ awareness. Miss Brown has made is rally warm, welcoming experience and has great method in encouraging them to learn the school ‘etiquette’

What we will do:

We will organise for named buddies from primary 5 to support children. These buddies will be able to continue supporting, where necessary for a 3 year period.

mailto:[email protected]


Meet the teacher session before the summer holidays Primary 7 buddies working in the nursery Role play area set up in the nursery – School classroom Link project work with primary 1 – People Who Help Us

Do you have any further suggestions of activities that we may consider to support the transition of children from Nursery to Primary 1?

All of the above are for children transitioning from HP Nursery. But as far as I was aware nothing like the above activities were available to children from other nurseries. I realise I could’ve asked about them myself but I didn’t know they were available. A buddy (not necessarily P7, maybe P4 or 5) would’ve been great, especially for children completely new to the school.

As we came from a different nursery transition was minimal. The open day/ fair was perfect for Josie as she saw school as fun & sociable and we were able to join in too. Bouncy ship & ‘Elsa’ were top dog!

A P7 named buddy to help P1 kids if needed. A parent and child lunch visit to show both parent and child how the school lunch system works and to

see and sample school lunches. No further suggestions, but I was not aware of most of these activities taking place – I have ticked those that I was aware of (regular visits to library resource area, gym hall and dining hall; eating their snack in the dining hall at the dining tables; Role play area set up in the nursery – School classroom

Using school toilets Maybe more use of the school toilets This was very useful and reassuring for me

What we will do:

Named buddy (see above) Liaise with catering service to provide a school lunch for parents and children as part of the

transition activities. During visits to school classrooms, gym hall etc introduce school toilets to children Increase visits for children who do not attend Hermitage Park Nursery from 3 to 4 to allow for

greater variety of experiences e.g. playground, library resource area, gym hall, dining hall, toilets etc.

2. Did you attend the parent information event held in June?

Yes - 11 No - 3

How useful/ informative did you find this event in supporting your child with their transition to primary 1? How can we develop this event?

The event was very informative and provided me with all the info I needed – especially since it’s my first child going to school

I think that it was quite helpful. As a parent new to the school I think it would’ve helped to see the classroom and maybe lunch room just to have been able to have conversations with my daughter about it – where she sat, where she had lunch etc.

It was great for general information. Very; invaluable being informed on the process. Very informative lots of useful information and opportunities to ask questions. I liked how we got to




view uniform and see sizes before ordering. I particularly liked after parents had a chance to have a coffee and get to know each other. It made me as a parent feel welcome and relaxed.

Not sure if it helped my child but it was useful for me. I would have liked to spend some time in the classroom when the children actually started school.

Helped me visualise where they would be so we could talk about it more. This helped me talk to my kids about moving as visually I knew where they would be. Teachers are other staff members were very helpful. Useful

What we will do:

Continue to offer parent information events in June Unfortunately as these meetings take place during the school day, it is impossible for parents/

carers to visit the classroom and dining hall as children are being taught. It is proposed that we hold one of the sessions at the end of the school day.

Our experience has shown that for some children, parents/ carers coming into the classroom on the first morning as quite stressful and therefore we discourage this. However we are always keen for parents/ carers to be part of school life. Next session we organise a soft start/ finish system for parents/ carer to come into school to work alongside their children.

3. Did you attend the Curriculum parent information event held in August? (please circle)

Yes - 7 No - 7

How useful/ informative did you find this event in supporting your child in their learning? How can we develop this event?

Useful Very informative It was extremely helpful This was fabulous. The only think I would add to this is information about Jolly Phonics and how

parents can aces this online. It’s so easy and really helped Josie get excited about sharing her new learning experiences at home – in a fun way. All the songs available for anyone and it shows parents what the actions, words, tune and how they say the ‘sound’

Useful to know what your child will be focussing on as often they don’t give much info. It was brilliant – great to find out about how homework etc works. I liked how we got to see some

of the numeracy and literacy activities it was great to be able to relate to what my daughter had been speaking about.

Very useful, lots of ideas to use at home. The event itself was good as it was but I think greater communication between classroom and home is the best way of supporting learning.

What we will do:

Continue to offer Curriculum parent information events in August Prepare a fact sheet of useful resources that can help support learning at home.

4. Did you attend the Literacy and Numeracy parent workshops which were held in September and October? (please circle)




Yes - 10 No - 4

How useful/ informative did you find this event in supporting your child in their learning? How can we develop this event?

Informative, but it would be great to hear what else children will be learning related to other subjects – geography, history etc even if it is very basic

I attended literacy only. It was good to see the teachers in action and my child in the classroom environment.

I found the literacy and numeracy workshops very helpful. Would love another. These were the best experiences. For me I was desperate to actually see what my child was doing. It

really helped her to explain her school days to me as she knew I could picture the layout, activities etc. Fantastic seeing your child in the classroom, seeing how they learn and interact and how great Miss

Brown is at engaging the children. Got good understanding to what was taught in class. Again brilliant to get these opportunities. I really enjoyed watching how literacy and numeracy is taught

in such a fun educational way. It helped me see how to support my daughter’s learning at home. I feel confident and happy that my daughter is being taught in a wonderful environment by great teachers.

Again, not sure it helped my child, but I found it extremely useful and informative seeing how the classroom functions – I would welcome more opportunities like this (provided they are communicated well in advance)

It was very useful to see what the children are learning. I think this event, it is good to be more often. Helps me mirror the teaching methods of home. This is a great help to see the methods and we can reflect this at home

What we will do:

Continue to offer Literacy & Numeracy workshops during the first term Hold a topic based workshop later in the school session




Any other comments?

Although my daughter settled after 2 weeks – which is relatively short – the first 2 weeks were very tough. I would have loved for her to have a had a buddy. I think it would have made a massive difference. It was also pretty chaotic at lining up time as the P1 queue merged with the P2 queue. I think this made it more difficult for children unfamiliar with the school to remain in the line.

I have been so impressed with the way school have managed 35 kids with 2 teachers. It has actually enhanced the opportunities for pupils who have needed extra support and input to gain this. The active learning games, organisation a, creative ways of consolidating learning and encouraging pupils to be independent, work in pairs and share ideas in groups/ class has been absolutely wonderful. I know how hard it is to organise for such a broad range of children and their abilities as well as accommodating different learning styles. I see many classrooms round the city in my job and I was delighted to see that my child’s is exemplar! I’d like to come in and take photos of some of the ideas to share around schools!! THANKYOU!

The playground assistants should be split up over the length of the playground to ensure they can see what is going on instead of standing in a huddle chatting!

Thanks for the opportunities to take part in these events. My son started in 2013 and compared to his transition visit 2015 was far more positive.

My son likes this school and I can see very big progress within his early education. Much as the school has a ‘open door’ policy, I feel that parents are kept at arm’s length, this even

begins in the nursery school. I would welcome more opportunities to get involved. It is helpful to jet into the classroom as when you can see the children in place it opens up more

conversations about how they are managing with their peg/ tray etc.

What we will do:

All playground assistants have been allocated areas of the playground to support. However, on occasion they may have to pass information about a child; this should only take a short amount of time if necessary.

Next session we organise a soft start/ finish system for parents/ carer to come into school to work alongside their children

Named buddy (see above)



how well do you feel that your child settled into primary 1?€¦ · web viewmy daughter came for a...

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