Many thanks to all the Year 13 parents who completed our survey after their review appointments with Post 16 personal tutors. The results of this survey were overwhelmingly positive, with 98% of parents saying their child is happy and feels safe in the Sixth Form.
Almost all parents (94%) agreed that the school has high expectations for their child, with 96% agreeing that their child does well at the school and 94% agreeing that they are kept up to date with their child’s progress, with 95% saying they are kept up to date with what their child is studying. This last figure is remarkably high, compared to Year 12 parents, which may reflect that fact that Year 13 have already had their parents’ evening this school year, while the Year 12 one is not until next month.
98% agreed that there is a good range of post 16 subjects and extra-curricular activities for students. Surprisingly, only 86% agreed that the school supports students’ wider development beyond taught qualifications, through things like progression activities, tutorials, assemblies, citizenship and the registration programme. This is a lower percentage than in the Year 12 survey, perhaps a reflection of the fact that Year 13 students don’t have a weekly timetabled citizenship session and more tutorials are devoted to UCAS completion in the autumn term. This is something we can look at for next year, although students do report that they appreciate the tutorial time that is devoted to supporting them with their university applications. As an aside, we have sent off 306 UCAS applications by the deadline this year, showing that university progression still significantly dominates our students’ progression plans. Parents are reminded that students receive fortnightly progression notices, advertising a wide range of progression opportunities, including apprenticeship provider and workplace activities, and parents are copied into these updates too via School Comms.
Only a tiny number of parents felt the questions regarding the effectiveness with which the school deals with bullying and supports students with SEND needs were relevant to their own children, but of those that did respond, most were happy with the support. Finally, only 8 parents out of a year group of well over 300 said they wouldn’t recommend the school to others.