The Tell Them From Me Survey is an opportunity for parents to give feedback about our school to support us in celebrating areas of strength, as well as identifying areas for improvement. 

Thank you to the 72 parents who completed the survey.

Some aspects we would like to highlight can be found below. Note that our school mean is first, followed by the region mean in brackets. 

Some common themes that came from the open-response section of the survey are listed below, along with information to help support each:

Areas of Strength:

(1) Students Feel Safe and Supported

An overwhelming theme in the feedback provided was that parents felt their child was safe and supported at school. 

(2) Welcoming Catholic School Community

Parents feel that our staff model Catholic values and that there is a strong sense of our school being a faith-filled community. Parents noted that they felt welcomed and a sense of belonging. We continue to encourage our student's and their families to attend a weekend Mass, and also unpack the Sunday Gospel each week with the students. 

(3) Positive Relationships 

Parents expressed that positive, respectful relationships exist between staff and students and that their child’s teacher knows their child and how they learn best. 

(4) Diverse Learning Needs

Also reiterated at our Parent Listening Assemblies, these survey results suggest that parents feel that the diverse learning needs of our students are a priority and that this is an area that we have made significant gains in. 

(5) Special Events

It was noted that parents are very pleased with the variety of events and opportunities we provide at a school level e.g. Easter Hat Parade, Mothers/Fathers Day Events etc. Parents feel that the sense of community is a clear priority at our school and we do lots of work in fostering belonging and connectedness.  

Areas for Improvement: 

(1) Communication About Learning

Parents are requesting greater sharing of learning between home and classroom. This correlates with the feedback we gained through the Parent Listening Assemblies. In response to this request, all classes K-6, will be utilising the Seesaw platform from Week 1, Term 3. Each student will share a minimum of 1 piece of work with their family each week. We encourage all families to discuss this piece of learning each week and prioritise this learning conversation. More information about this will be shared prior to the commencement of Term 3.

As per Diocesan guidelines, Academic Reports are published twice each year (End of Term 2, End of Term 4) and there is an opportunity to meet with the teacher following each of these. Outside of these two reporting periods, a teacher will make contact with parents should there be a need. We always encourage parents that if you wish to have an update on your child’s learning or have a general check-in on progress (academic or otherwise), please know that you are able to arrange this directly with your child’s class teacher at any time. 

A selection of workbooks are also sent home in Term 2 and Term 3 to share students' learning with their families. We encourage all families to spend some time talking with their child about their work, what they have learnt, what they find challenging etc. Spending this quality time with your child, prioritising conversations about learning, are critical in the progress and development of your child, not only in learning, but also in their faith and wellbeing. 

(2) Communication (Compass, Newsletters, Social Media)

We received a variety of feedback about general communication including:

• Weekly social media posts are beneficial and useful

• Excellent communication on Compass - parents feel well informed 

• Allowing Compass alerts to always be accessible and not expire: The expiry on compass alert coincide with the conclusion of events. Keeping all compass alerts with no expiry makes it extremely difficult to navigate the mass of information. 

• Limit to only the School Newsletter, no need for the term Grade Newsletter as it’s too much information: The Grade newsletter (1 per term) is a way to keep parents informed about the learning that will take place each term, whereas the School Newsletter contains general information, upcoming events etc. 

• Too much information is sent on Compass: It is important that all necessary information is communicated via Compass.

• Event information is shared too late: Information regarding events is given when available and we always aim to give families as much notice as possible. A helpful tip would be for you to subscribe to the school calendar so that you have event dates well ahead of time. Some dates, depending on what they are, are entered for the full year at the beginning of Term 1. Information on how to subscribe to the school calendar is linked in an article below. 

It is clear from the feedback that parents have different preferences that suit their particular lifestyle, work habits etc. We always aim to keep our parent community well-informed and to be clear and transparent in our communication. We will continue to send important notices via Compass and we encourage families to read our fortnightly newsletter and follow our social media pages for the most up-to date information. 

Items for Clarification:

(1) Why do we teach Religious Education?

As a very proud, Catholic school community, our faith and the teachings of our Church are at the heart of what we do every day. This is in addition to the mandated teaching of the Syllabus in all Key Learning Areas. 

(2) Reports 

Reporting expectations are set by the Diocese and we are instructed as to what must be included (e.g. Semester 1 - no general comment, only English/Maths/RE Learning Gains and Areas for Growth). Reports are written at the end of Term 2 and again at the end of Term 4. Information/updates outside of this time can be sought directly with the class teacher. 

(3) Communication Regarding Behaviour

Feedback around consistency in the management of behaviour was highlighted, as well as the need for the school to communicate whose responsibility it is to contact parents in these instances.

Our PB4L procedures were updated at the beginning of 2025 and communicated with all families via the newsletter in Term 1, Week 2. This year we have made changes to ensure there is greater consistency and transparency, and that parents are contacted more regularly than in previous years about low-level behaviours. 

We regularly review our procedures and new updates will be provided when needed.