VERY SUCCESSFUL
PARENTS’ FORUM
Report from the Head
On Tuesday, 13th October, the first
Elliott’s Parents’ Forum was held. It was attended by approximately 40
parents, which was a good turn-out for a new initiative. It was chaired by Lorraine
O’Reilly, the Chair of the Interim Executive Board, and John Johnson,
Deputy Director of Wandsworth Children’s Services was also in attendance.
First of all, I gave a short presentation on
two current issues: feedback from the Ofsted Monitoring visit and Building
Schools for the Future. Copies
of these
slides are on the web-site, as is the full Ofsted
Monitoring report.
Following the presentation, there were lots of
questions and comments from the floor and it was a lively evening, with the
wheels oiled a bit by a welcome glass of wine, provided by the Elliott
Supporters!
The general impression given by parents was
that the Ofsted team was right, in that progress certainly is being made. We were pleased to hear that, with a few
exceptions, homework is being given, and that students are happier and more
optimistic.
There were, naturally, lots of questions about
the prospective building programme, and John Johnson was able to answer
these. The main news is that the Local
Authority is trying to bring forward the Elliott programme slightly, so that
work can start on site at the end of 2011.
This isn’t confirmed yet (and also, as parents pointed out,
nothing is secure in the present political climate), but there is a recognition
that the needs here are great, and it would be good to get things going
quickly!
Several parents also expressed their interest
in becoming part of the new Parents’ Council, so if you were unable to
attend last Tuesday, but would like to join this, please do contact Julie Grey,
at the school.
Altogether, we felt, a very successful evening,
which really did feel as if the ‘gap’ between home and school is
narrowing, and that can only be good for our students.
The next
Parents’ Forum on on: TUESDAY,
1ST DECEMBER 6.30 p.m.
in the Upper Foyer.
We hope to see even more of you there!