HOPE School Surveys
Survey 2011
The HOPE (Bristol’s Virtual School for Children in Care) 2011 Survey findings
Thank you very much to the 152 of you who took part in the survey we asked you to do last school year. We asked you lots of questions about what you think of school, if you get the support you need, your hopes and plans for the future, Personal Education Plan (PEP) meetings and what out of school activities you do.
Lots of the answers you gave were very much the same as last year, so there was loads of good news but also some things we need to try to do something about, to make things better for you.
What did you tell us?
- Most of you told us you are very good at going to school and lots of you enjoy it, though primary pupils like it more than secondary students. (68% of primary students said you love it, whereas nearly 50% of secondary students only thought school was ‘OK’)
- Almost all of you say you have friends at school, which is great news. About a third of you say you only see your friends at school.
- 39% told us you have been bullied at school. This is a bit lower than last year but still makes us unhappy. We will be talking to the designated teachers and The HOPE Student Council members about this.
- Almost all of you think that other people at school know that you are in care, but most of you don’t think that this makes any difference to how you are treated by teachers or other pupils. Most of your answers about other people knowing said it was a good thing.
- Nearly all of you have someone to go to when you have a problem, although 9 said you don’t go to anyone if you have a problem. If you have a problem and don’t think you can tell anyone, you can email Bev Leeson who works with me in The HOPE and she will try to find out who can help.
- 69 of you said you would like help with school work. Although a few weren’t sure what help you needed and some said you already receive help, others knew exactly what they would like: “Someone to read questions”; “I’d like teachers to set me more work”; “If I’m off sick I’d like for my LSA to help me catch up”; “with maths, English and computer”.
- Almost 80% said your PEP makes a lot of or some difference to supporting you in school. A small number said you don’t attend your PEP meetings because you choose not to. Some of those who do attend said you find the meetings boring but others were more positive e.g. “I like attending to my pep because I get to know what’s going on how I’m doing at school. I also like to ask questions about things I could get involved in”. Suggestions of what might make the PEP meetings better included: “Less people at my meetings”; “to talk more” and “I would like it if more work and games could be arranged in my PEP”.
- Most of you said you take part in after school clubs and activities, but 41 said you don’t go to any after school activities. Sports were the most popular activity followed by Brownies/Guides/Cubs/Scouts/Sea Scouts.
- Almost all of you have great ideas about what you’ll do when you leave school. Top of the list was a “good” job and favourite careers included the police/forces, sport, caring roles and performing arts.
- We were really happy to find out that you believe you will end up doing what you want to do and that your foster carers encourage you to achieve and are proud of your achievements.
- Just over 40 of you expressed an interest in becoming involved with The HOPE Student Council so we will be looking at ways of getting you involved.
What are we going to do next?
- Get in touch with those of you who want to take part in The HOPE Student Council. We have an email group and a small group that meets every few months.
- Let the designated teacher in your school know what you had to say. We have already begun to tell them your main messages, but we need to follow up on particular comments to make sure they know how to help you.
- Let other adults, like your carer, key worker or social worker know what you told us in the survey and how they can help you.
- Make sure that other important adults in your school e.g. governors know about the survey and what it showed.
- Talk to The HOPE Student Council members about bullying and get their ideas of how to try to make this less of a problem.
Thanks again for giving your time to do the survey.
Survey 2010
First, thank you very much to the 168 of you who took part – we think that’s pretty good for the first survey.
So, what did you tell us?
- Most of you told us you are very good at going to school and lots of you enjoy it, though primary pupils like it more than secondary students. (More than 50% of primary students said you love it, whereas nearly 50% of secondary students only thought school was ‘OK’)
- Almost all of you say you have friends at school, which is terrific. Just under half of you say you only see your friends at school.
- Far too many of you (just under half, or 45%) told us you have been bullied at school. Most of you told someone about it and in most cases that stopped the bullying, but in 18 cases it did not.
- 45 of you had been excluded from school and were able to explain why it had happened. That’s important because it should help you to know what not to do next time.
- Almost all of you think that other people at school know that you are in care, but don’t think that this makes any difference to how you are treated by teachers or other pupils. Most of the responses about other people knowing were positive e.g. ‘It’s a good thing that teachers do sometimes they help you out where they wouldn't if you weren't in care’. But some of you felt it wasn’t so good e.g. “because people look down on me and I don’t like it people feel sorry for me and I hate that.”
- You go to a range of people when you have a problem. If it’s a teacher, it is more likely to be your year head or class teacher than the designated teacher. We were worried to find out that a few of you say you don’t go to anyone if you have a problem as we think it’s always good to tell someone. There’s almost certainly something that can be done to help – if you tell.
- School-led after school clubs/activities are used by about half of you. More of you go to clubs/activities in your local area. You don’t seem to be so keen on using homework clubs, either at school or near to where you live.
- We were really pleased to see that many of you have and make use of a quiet space to do your homework, a PC and books and that you have help, if needed, in catching up with school work.
- From what you told us, there are a few things that some of the adults who help you need to get better at e.g. help with school work you’re your carer/key worker; being asked about your future by your carer/key worker or social worker; and your key worker encouraging and believing in you.
- Almost every single one of you has big plans beyond school – we were so pleased to see that! Your plans cover all sorts of things, including a place at university, a job and a family.
- Another brilliant thing is that loads of you believe you are capable of achieving your chosen path; that foster carers encourage you to achieve and are proud of your achievements. We loved the fact that a high number of you felt that the person who inspires you is “me”!
- The final question asked if you would like to join the virtual school council. 87 of you said yes!
What are we going to do now?
- Get in touch with those of you who want to take part in the virtual school council to plan how and when we talk to you and decide what we need to talk about.
- Let the designated teacher in your school know what you had to say. We have already begun to tell them your main messages, but we need to follow up on particular comments to make sure they know how to help you.
- Let other adults, like your carer, key worker or social worker know what the findings told us and how they can help you.
- Make sure that other important adults in your school e.g. governors know about the survey and what it showed.
Finally, for now…
We’ve learnt so much about how you see your experience in school and your hopes for the future. Overall, there are lots of encouraging signs. We all need to try to keep the good things going for you and do better at the things we’re not so good at. Thanks again for giving your time to do the survey and please look out for the next one in March 2011!
