Working in partnership
At Ark Victoria we understand the importance of building strong relationships with our parents. We know that by working together we can ensure all of our pupils achieve their full potential. At the start of each year parents, teachers and pupils sign a home school agreement. This is a joint promise that all of us will put in the time and effort required for our children to succeed. Parents are expected to support children by supervising home learning, ensuring that children attend school and wear the correct uniform.
We are pleased to share the Ark Schools Parent Charter which names our commitment to partnership between school, parents and families. Please find the charter here: Ark Parent Charter
We also have our communication guidance document here to help you find the right person to talk to if you have a query or a concern: Communication guidance
In addition to this, we have our home school agreement which lays our our core ways of working together: Home School Agreement
Family support and guidance
We believe we are a central anchor within our local area, Small Heath, and work with the community in order to best serve its needs. Our approach is to work together with parents and other agencies to try to remove any barriers for families, to provide opportunities, to strengthen relationships, and ensure that every child is able to access school life fully.
Our Community Engagement Lead is central to this offer, connecting members of our community, sharing opportunities and providing access to support as well as acting as a key point of contact for families. Our senior leadership team, the inclusion and pastoral leads are also a vital part of this work, signposting support to families and delivering opportunities personalised to suit the family context.
Practical support
- Pre-loved school uniform: High-quality, good-condition uniform available for families who may need support, ensuring children feel included and prepared for school
- Emergency food parcels: Provided regularly, particularly ahead of school holidays, as well as ongoing support for the most vulnerable families, ensuring consistent access to essential food items
- Housing advice and guidance: including support for furnishing accommodation
Family support and guidance
- Free ESOL classes: We work closely with Solihull College and the University Centre to offer free ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes for parents on our school site, helping them to build confidence and develop their English skills in a familiar and supportive environment.
- Help with forms and appointments: Support with completing applications, booking appointments, and navigating services such as school admissions, housing and benefits
- Wellbeing, housing and local services support: Advice and referrals for housing, financial support and wider services, including support with CV writing, employment and accessing external agencies such as Birmingham Citizens UK
- Parent workshops: Regular sessions covering housing, financial support, wellbeing and curriculum guidance, SEND support, digital literacy, care helping parents to feel confident in supporting their children both at home and in school
Wellbeing and community connection
- Mental health support (Place2Be and the Well-Being Crew): In-school support focused on emotional wellbeing and mental health, including targeted interventions for children who need additional support
- Community events: Community Eid Meals, Summer Fete celebrating the diversity of the community and creating shared experiences for families
Parental engagement
- Parent Community Forum: our parent group who meets with our Community Engagement Lead half-termly
- Parents’ Coffee Morning and advice clinics with senior leaders and members of the Parent Community Forum
- Regular in-school opportunities: Parents are routinely invited into school through assemblies, workshops and events, ensuring they feel part of the school community
- Parent/Carer workshops: Sessions designed to help parents understand what their children are learning and how best to support them at home, particularly in areas such as reading and early language development
- Accessible communication and presence: Staff and leaders are highly visible and easily identifiable at the start and end of the school day, wearing lanyards and high-visibility jackets. This creates regular, informal opportunities for parents and carers to speak with us, ask questions, share information and raise any concerns
Parent workshops
At Ark Victoria, we ensure opportunities are planned for active engagement and meaningful participation of parents in school life.
We hold regular workshops for parents and carers to help parents with their child's learning and development at home and to explain more about the curriculum being followed in school. The children love having the opportunity to share their work with their adult!
We also collect a series of guides and resources that are available on Spark. This covers topics such as supporting your child's learning, keeping safe online, and maintaining good mental health.
Parent voice
Parents and carers are an integral part of our school community, and your feedback forms an essential part of our ongoing development and improvement. We regularly run surveys and sessions to gather your views on the education your child is receiving, and to understand where we can do better.
As well as this, we run a listening campaign on the school gates led by our Community Engagement Lead, Mr Ibrahim, and our Parent Governor, Mrs Khan. By asking parents a few brief questions, we are able to gather important views and information from a wide range of parents across the school.
You can share your feedback via these channels:
- Ofsted's Parent View tool. This survey consists of 12 short questions around topics such as teaching and behaviour, and will feed into our ongoing development plan
- Parent survey which you will receive via e mail
- Directly with a member of our staff. Our Senior Leadership Team are on the school gates before and after school each day.
- The main school office
Parent forums
Each half term, we invite our parents to join us for a coffee morning. These are an opportunity for parents to receive updates about all aspects of school life whilst enjoying a hot drink and a cake! During the coffee morning, we ask members of staff to share curriculum information and events to ensure parents are well informed. We also invite guest speakers and external organisations such as Citizens UK and our local Councillor to talk to parents. They offer support with the community issues parents have raised for example housing and the cost-of-living crisis. The coffee mornings are also an opportunity for parents to ask questions and for support from the school. We listen to parent feedback and use this to shape our upcoming meetings.
Alongside this, we also run a parent forum. The purpose of this is:
- To hear our parents’ voice and strengthen our relationships with parents
- To equip parents with the skills to lead on projects within school through training opportunities.
- To work together, as a school community, to achieve our mission.
- As a platform for parents to exercise their civic responsibility.