How is My Child Doing at School?

At St Mary's, we understand the importance of maintaining clear and open channels of communication between our staff and the families of our students. We strive to keep parents informed and involved in their child's educational journey, ensuring that both home and school work together to support our students' learning and development.

Communication Channels

To facilitate timely and efficient communication, we utilise both School Gateway and Class Dojo, interactive tools that allows parents to stay up-to-date with their child's progress, receive important updates from teachers, and engage with the school community. Class Dojo is user-friendly and can be accessed from any device, making it convenient for parents to receive real-time notifications about their child's classroom achievements and school events.

In addition to Class Dojo, we also send out regular texts via School Gateway to keep parents informed of upcoming events, reminders, and any urgent information. For those who prefer face-to-face communication, our staff are always available for a chat in the playground before and after school. We encourage parents to approach us with any concerns or questions they may have, as we believe that a collaborative approach fosters a positive and productive learning environment for our students.

Parents' Evenings

We encourage all parents to actively participate in our scheduled parents' evenings, which are a cornerstone of our communication strategy. During these sessions, you will have the opportunity to discuss your child's progress with their teachers directly. These meetings are an ideal time to address any concerns, celebrate achievements, and discuss future learning objectives. We believe that a collaborative approach between parents and educators is crucial to the success of our students.

End-of-year reports

In July of every year, parents receive an end-of-year report on their child's progress, efforts, achievements and targets. Parents of children in Years 2-6 will also receive details of children's personalised assessment scores. Parents are invited to discuss the contents of the reports with teachers.

Assessment Processes

We understand the importance of keeping parents informed about their child's academic progress and overall wellbeing at school.

Personalised assessments are mandatory for learners in Years 2 to 9 in maintained schools in Wales. The assessments for Numeracy (Procedural), Numeracy (Reasoning) and Reading are available throughout the year for schools to use to support learners to make progress. The purpose of these assessments is to find out children’s strengths and areas for further development so that their teachers can help them grow their skills. After your child has completed a personalised assessment, their teacher can see feedback on their skills and progress which helps the teacher to plan the next steps for your child’s learning. The children complete the assessments twice per year (once in autumn term and once in the summer term). 

You can find out more about the personalised assessments here (Welsh Government website).

Our commitment at St Mary's is to not only educate but also to foster an environment where every child can thrive. If you have any questions or need further information about your child's performance or our educational approach, please do not hesitate to contact us. Together, we can ensure that your child achieves their full potential.