‘We all know that children learn best when parents and teachers work together to encourage and support them.’ Robert Rosenthal.

Indeed, the positive involvement of parents is essential and we appreciate the commitment of time and energy made by parents, grandparents and other key figures in the lives of our pupils. An effective partnership between home and School helps the children achieve more. By consistently completing tasks at home, such as reading or spelling, the children will become more self-disciplined and their levels of self-esteem will rise, both of which will have a positive impact on their motivation and aspirations at school. 

Nurturing strong and secure links between home and School enables parents to follow their child’s development and gain insight into what their child is learning.  This awareness of ‘what, why and how’ is likely to help our children to confidently consolidate and extend their learning at home. ‘Singing from the same hymn-sheet’ is important; consistency of approach enables children to feel safe and secure when taking ‘learning risks’ or when facing challenges. 

At SVPS, we share our Programmes of Study on the Parent Portal at the beginning of every term and in Pre-Prep, these now include higher order questions, linked with our topics for you to discuss at home around the kitchen table.  We also build the foundations of our children’s learning, by coming together to find out how best we can support our children, both inside the classroom and when they go home.

On Tuesday evening, we had an excellent turnout for the Pre-Prep ‘How to Support Your Child’s Learning’ workshop. The staff covered a range of topics to help assist parents at home, such as reading, spelling and, of course, times tables and division. We hope that our parents found this a useful evening; I know that our teachers relished the opportunity to work with you. Please do look on the Parent Portal for all the handouts that were there on the night and do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you would like to chat about any of the topics covered during the evening. 

Miss McCarmick, Head of Pre-Prep