FAITH SCHOOLS Assembly corner g to the Bishop


to maintain this. Our goal is not to allow this to drop below 95 per cent. Many people question how we manage to achieve


such high figures and I think it is down to our collaborative and community-inspired approach. Each year group head is extremely proactive about encouraging parents to attend and we find a motivational tool to be competition, with each year group challenged and inspired to achieve the highest level of attendance. Our priority is to educate parents as much as


possible and ensure they understand the achievements and also the pressures their children face, through regular communication. For parents whose commitments mean they


are unable to attend during evening sessions, we offer an alternative appointment during the school day. We try and deliver as much flexibility and accessibility as feasible to ensure our parents can gain access to an appointment. It is during these sessions that issues can be identified, raised and discussed, and solutions provided, and particularly importantly, that praise can be offered and successes celebrated. A culture has been created which deems that attendance at parents’ evenings is the “done” thing.


The future of All Saints With much recent debate and controversy saturating the media with regard to faith schools and how they operate, I would stress that at All Saints, our Catholic status has placed us in a strong position. Our students are taught to respect and value one another. They recognise the power of community, and in today’s society, particularly within a London-based setting, the sense of community can easily be diluted, so our students’ awareness of this and ability to support each other is hugely positive.


SecEd


• Kevin Wilson is headteacher of All Saints Catholic School and Technology College in Dagenham.


it was my role to address this challenge in both an appropriate and sensitive manner. I would reassure those who disagree that we have


a very comprehensive programme for addressing such issues in place, which has the Diocesan seal of approval. It is delivered through the PSHE programme and the religious education scheme of work, and where it occurs in other subject areas, such as science, it will be given an appropriate context. Our students’ overall wellbeing, happiness and


success is always the priority. We want to ensure we support our young people to become well rounded adults, and with our faith status some people struggle to see how this can be done, but it is simply a case of assessing each individual situation.


‘


10 to 12 years ago that we would involve the parents further within the schooling process. The school was, and still is, usually referred to as the


community. We like to deliver a sense of collaboration and inclusion within all that we do. Through promoting a sense of unity, we find the outcome is largely positive. We strive to offer an oasis for learners. The students see the school as somewhere safe in which they can flourish, both academically and personally. To meet our aims for parental engagement, we


initiated numerous small initiatives which involved bringing the parents in, such as a father and son “Reading Together Scheme” held after school hours. This helped instigate the process and coincided with the early days of our primary/secondary liaison work.


Differing opinions were generated as a result of how we handled the situation. One view


expressed was that we were ‘burying our heads in the sand’ and denying our students their


entitlement. As the headteacher, it was my role to address this challenge in both an appropriate and sensitive manner


I felt it extremely important to rectify this and we


are working together in partnership to reach a mutually agreeable solution. In terms of the Bishop’s view on this situation; I


referred the scenario to the Diocese which endorsed my reaction and subsequent action. As a result of our requests for a resolution, two Catholic representatives, one of which is the deputy head, Corinne Adams, have been invited to join the interview panel to ensure a suitable candidate can be recruited to uphold the role of health advisor within a Catholic context. It is important to stress that we fully recognise and


value the importance of providing a health advisor. It is certainly not a case that having such a person goes against the Catholic religion; it is just necessary that the information and guidance offered are in accordance with Catholic beliefs.


Parental engagement All Saints reached a policy decision approximately


SecEd • January 20 2011


We were a vastly oversubscribed school which gave us leverage with the parents in taking greater responsibility. We saw academic standards rise and to fully involve


parents we invited them to celebrate and build on the successes. We wanted to help parents to become fully aware of our expectations for their children and also of how we envisaged they should support their children and the school. Very pastorally orientated, we believe that regular


’


and meaningful communication is essential and strive to interact with parents as frequently as possible. Establishing that line of communication, and building strong relationships with parents is infinitely valuable for everyone; parent, child and educator benefits and this in turn helps us to ensure we deliver the best support to our young people.


Perfect parents’ evening attendance


We are extremely proud of our 97 to 100 per cent attendance rates for parents’ evenings, and endeavour


9


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“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope


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