COMMUNICATION

We value relationships with parents and provide a number of ways to keep you updated on your child’s progress and to cover important issues.

Firefly is the school’s secure website where you can read up to date regular information about your child, their progress and information relating to their class. It is the main route of communication between school and home.

As a parent at Wakefield Girls’ you will be given a username and password to access Firefly.

You will find copies of all letters which have been emailed/sent home and invitations to events as well as up to date information about your daughter’s progress from her teachers. You can access your daughter's timetable, homework tasks and photo galleries from trips and events on Firefly. We also share resources and information so you can support learning outside the classroom.

Each day the children bring home their ‘Home Book’ or ‘Homework Diary’ with information about homework and/or reading. Some parents use this to let the school know any information e.g. staying to After School Care. Parents are able to email staff direct.

We will send any letters with information related to your child via FireFly. You will receive an email alert when there is a letter waiting for you. We try to send all correspondence through a weekly contact on Thursdays.

It is essential that we have at least two up to date contact numbers in case of emergency. We check this every summer with parents but request that you inform the school office if / when details change.

We provide two Parents’ Evenings to enable parents to discuss their child’s individual progress with the Class Teacher. They take place in the Autumn and Spring Terms.

We are always available if parents wish to discuss any matters with us and encourage parents to get in touch as soon as possible if there are any concerns.

We keep parents updated about the life of the school through news featured on our website, on facebook, instagram and twitter. Please follow us @WGHSYorkshire.

We also produce an annual school magazine, The Review, which will be shared electronically with all students at the start of the autumn term. The magazine is packed with information about life at Wakefield Girls' and includes details of academic, cultural and sporting activities, competitions, creative writing, staff updates, university news and art work.

We provide a Spring Term Report and a Summer Term Report so that you are aware of your child’s progress in order to support them fully. Please respond immediately with any queries or concerns following reports. Class Teachers discuss the students’ reports individually with them, to assist understanding and individual learning. All reports include an achievement grade which is a combination of the terms work and summative assessment results, as well as an effort grade. The summer report includes a grade indicating your daughter's organisational skills, level of participation in class and whether or not she is meeting work deadlines.

The achievement grade reflects the teacher's assessment of your daughter's performance based on homework, classwork, any assessments and any other appropriate information.

Effort grades represent staff opinion of how hard an individual has worked throughout the year irrespective of attainment.

The attainment grade scale used for marking your child’s work is:

A1 Attainment is outstanding A2 Attainment is excellent A3 Attainment is very good B1 Attainment is good B2 Attainment is creditable C Attainment is acceptable D Attainment is unsatisfactory - Not applicable or not able to give a grade

Rather than pressure students in Year 6 with SAT examinations, it is our practice to continue to enjoy learning. Our regular monitoring means students are prepared ready for transition to Seniors without needing to sit a formal examination. Students wishing to be considered for an academic scholarship are welcome to sit the 11+ entrance exam.