Parent Support

At Downlands School we recognise the value of working in partnership with the parents and carers of our pupils, from a child’s first day at school right through to when they leave. We believe that when schools and parents listen to each other and work together, they have a really positive impact on both academic attainment and pupil well-being.

Giving parents a voice on school matters and involvement in decision-making on issues that affect them and their families, enables our school to meet the needs of the military community we serve, more effectively. Our school policies and engagement approaches have a direct impact on families and so those families’ views must be taken into account to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Reaching out to all parents, making sure they know how important they are and how they can best support their child is one of the most important tasks for our school. We seek to create an open, welcoming and supportive culture, providing multiple opportunities for mums, dads and carers to participate in the school life of their child. This might be through celebratory, themed or class assemblies or through joint ventures with different organisations within the military community. 

We actively welcome parents to participate in Family Jigsaw sessions to work with their child having informally found out about and discussed the school’s approach to mental health and well being, behaviour management, RHE ( Relationships and Health Education) and classroom organisation and learning. We offer support when families are experiencing challenging times and seek someone to talk to, to gain advice for their child. If we are unable to meet this need we will facilitate Early Help Family Worker sessions or school nurse appointments and if necessary we will aid referrals to other outside agencies such as specialist teachers, alternative provision providers or Mental Health Support Services

We want to make certain that every child and their family have a positive experience whilst with us at Downlands and to ensure that all their current wellbeing needs are met by working in harmony with their family.