We’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the key themes from our parent survey which took place earlier this term.  Our staff video version can be viewed here and a transcript of the video is available below.

Hello West Exe families! It's Joe Bispham here, I'm the Deputy Headteacher for Community and Education and I am just sharing with you some of the feedback you gave us on the Edurio parent survey. Thank you so so much for all of you that took the time to provide that really valuable feedback it makes an absolutely huge difference to what we do here and we really really want to be working with the community to ensure that your child's experience at school is the best it possibly can be.

Ric Claydon, Head of Year 7:

We were absolutely thrilled to see that more of you than ever felt really informed and empowered by the work of our attendance team following your feedback last year. We have improved our systems and processes around attendance and we are so pleased that has had the impact we hoped for. We will continue to work hard in this area as children being in school means that they not only get access to all of their brilliant lessons but can also be involved in making memories that will last a lifetime.

Kelsey Flynn, Head of Year 8:

Last year you said communications were coming from too many different places, we listened and streamlined our systems so now that we only have one parent app and a fortnightly Head Teacher update. We're so pleased to hear from you that it's having the desired impact and you're telling us you feel much better informed this year and not overloaded with information. The rewards that celebrate good behaviour are particularly positive and we want to let you know even more about this going forward.

Laura Peacock, Head of Year 10:

Last year you raised your frustration with not always being able to contact the school and we've been working hard behind the scenes to address this. Over October half term, we had a new telephone system installed, that enables us to answer so many more telephone calls. Obviously it's early days yet, but we're already seeing a rise in the number of calls answered and this will remain a focus for us this year so watch this space.

Ric Claydon, Head of Year 7:

You told us that you see lots of opportunities for your child to take part in activities and clubs here at school which we're really pleased to hear. We know that the electives are now just a part of the school culture but there is so much more, from debating to Duke of Edinburgh trips and visits and after school sports clubs. Your children were involved in more than ever before but we are not done yet. We are focusing on widening participation and giving even more experiences that make your child’s school day so special.

Chris Mayes, Head of Year 9:

This year some of you told us that you don't always feel confident supporting your child's learning at home or you can't always see how the school's learning approach fits your individual child's needs.

We are keen to help with both of these things. We are looking at ways to share more tips and ideas with you around your child’s development and learning journey. We'll be back in touch in the summer time about that.

Joe Bispham, Deputy Head Teacher

We really appreciate all your feedback and it really does help us to improve all aspects of the school and help us serve the community much better. Some of these things are much longer projects, they will take time, but there are some really quick things we can do to support for example you told us you wanted more notice on key dates and events and things that are happening so we're adding a key dates document to our website that will be really easy to access for you. On top of all of these exciting changes we are also adding our year group on a page, something we're going to be launching over the next few months and over this year which is going to give you an overview of everything's happening with your child’s year group throughout the year so do watch this space and that will be coming your way soon.

Nicky Lewis, Head of School:

The parent survey is a fantastic listening opportunity for us to hear from you and take action as a direct result, so thank you once again for all of you that participated. However, we don't just listen once a year, if you have any feedback, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, we love to hear from you.