At Northbourne, we value our close links with parents, carers and family members. We strive to nurture and develop these links, as we know that, only by working in partnership with home, will children be able to attain as well as possible at school.
Home-School Agreement
We ask all parents to sign our Home-School Agreement when children start school. This outlines how parents can best support school, and what they can expect from us in return.
Parent and Visitor Code of Conduct
To ensure children and adults who visit our site are safe, we expect parents to adhere to our Parent Code of Conduct at all times.
Parent Volunteers
We value any time parents can spare to help in classrooms and around school. Children love to see their parents being involved and we are grateful for their support and help – our parents are talented in a range of ways and have experiences and backgrounds that can really enrich our curriculum. We are also lucky to have a dedicated and committed team of volunteer readers, whose help in developing our pupils’ love of reading is invaluable. Anyone who is interested in helping in school is asked to speak with their child’s class teacher. Please note, our commitment to safeguarding children means that all volunteers working in school are DBS checked before they start helping us.
Classes regularly make educational visits and local trips, and parental help is much appreciated both by the teachers and the children during these. Requests for help are made through class newsletters or notices displayed outside classrooms.
Communication with Home
We know how busy family life is! To help ensure you get important messages from us, we have a weekly newsletter, the Northbourne News. This is given to the eldest child in each family every Friday, or sent home electronically, via an online system called ParentMail. Copies are also posted on this website. The newsletter contains all kinds of information about what is happening in school as well as useful dates. We always aim to provide plenty of notice of dates, including an annual calendar – see the Dates and Events section for further information.
Class teachers and Mr. Shaughnessy are always happy to talk with parents to discuss any concerns and answer any questions. Mr. Shaughnessy will always try to make time to see parents straight away, and is available to chat at the school gate most mornings, but please check at the office for a suitable time if you would like a longer appointment.
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
The PTA are a hard-working, friendly group of parents and value the contributions of as many people from within the school community as possible. All parents are automatically members of the association. If you are interested in joining the committee, or would like to know more, please pass your details to the office and someone will contact you. We hope you will want to get involved.
The committee is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and consists of parents and teachers. Events are organized throughout the year and the money raised is of tremendous value and benefits all within the school.
Family Information Directory
Oxfordshire County Council publish and continually update a Family Information Directory, providing signposts to activities taking place across the county, including those for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Information is available at the link here.