BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
At Long Lane we prioritise excellent relationships with all stakeholders to ensure consistency and maintain high standards across all the areas we offer. We are committed to putting children at the heart of every decision we make, whilst listening to them and their carers.
Working Together
We build strong relationships with parents by recognising that they are the experts on their children, while the school brings expertise in teaching, learning, and the curriculum. By valuing and combining this knowledge, we work in partnership to ensure each child’s individual needs, strengths, and interests are understood and supported.
We actively encourage open communication and collaboration with parents so that together we can make informed decisions that promote both academic success and personal wellbeing. Through this shared approach, we aim to provide the best possible education for every child, creating an environment where they can thrive, feel confident, and be happy.
Parent Involvement
Parents play a vital role in our school community, and we offer a wide range of opportunities for them to get involved in ways that suit their time, interests, and circumstances. From helping in school, attending performances and events, supporting home learning, and joining parent workshops and groups, there are many ways to engage with school life. We recognise that families have different commitments, including work and other responsibilities, and we are mindful of the many pressures parents face.
As a school community, we value every contribution, no matter how big or small, and aim to ensure that all parents feel welcome, included, and connected – whether they are able to be involved regularly or only when their schedule allows.
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We often ask parents for their views to support decisions we make in school through questionnaires and have our own PALS parent group that meet once per short term in order to discuss general school matters to ensure good communication between parents and school and to ensure that all stakeholders are listened to. Please see PALS information below.
PALS (Parents as Liaisons in School)
PALS (Parents as Liaisons with School) is a group of parents that meets with the Headteacher each short term to discuss any topics arising within the school operational system. It is an opportunity for parents to raise concerns, find out about how and why decisions are made and to work with the school to find solutions that support all stakeholders and remain in the best interests of all pupils.
Learning Partnerships – school and home
A strong home–school partnership is essential to supporting every child’s academic and social development. As a school, we are committed to an equitable approach that recognises the diverse needs and circumstances of our families, and we take a therapeutic approach to home learning that prioritises wellbeing, relationships, and achievable progress.
Parents and carers play a vital role in their children’s education, and when families and school work together with shared expectations and open communication, students are best placed to thrive. By working collaboratively, we can foster confidence, resilience, and meaningful learning, enabling strong academic growth alongside positive social and emotional development. Please see our Home Learning Page.
Being Part of the PTA
When your child joins Long Lane you automatically become a member of the PTA (Parent Teachers Association). This means that you are part of a great community of parents who come together to support the school in a number of ways.
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Whether you are able to give time to support directly with the PTA committee, can support and help at events or are supporting by attending and donating, you will be welcomed into the school community. You can find out more about what is happening with the PTA and volunteer to help through the 'Class list' app.
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Please see more information about the PTA here.
Welcome Time & Open Classrooms
We love to invite parents to spend time with their children in class. Apart from the many events that we hold for parents such as Reading Breakfasts, Collaborative Learning, Coffee Mornings and Parent Appreciation Mornings, each class will have a number of Welcome Time events in the school year.
From Parent voice, we have organised our Welcome Time Sessions into three types of events;
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Collaborative – this is where parents are invited into their child's class to share a collaborative experience or activity with them.
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Showcase – this where pupils wish to share an exhibition or performance of something they have been working on (musical or dramatic performance, writing showcase or exhibition of art/D and T).
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CPD – this is where the school will share some insight on an aspect of learning including some initial CPD in the hall followed by open classrooms to see this aspect of learning in action across the school.
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The school usually holds 2 or 3 CPD Welcome Time events per year and each class will host 1 collaborative and 1 showcase per year. These will be communicated through the dates list sent to parents each term.
Parent Learning Tours
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School tours aren't just for new parents. We are so proud of our school that we encourage parents to come and view the wonderful learning in our school many times during the year. It is important that, as a parent, you get to see the reality of our learning in and out of the classroom and have a good understanding of how your children spend their day.
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Our staff welcome visitors and are used to visitors and other adults visiting them to see the great learning taking place. Children are excited to be visited by SLT and take pride in speaking about what they are doing.​
We believe that children need to be able to talk about their learning, the purpose, pre-learning, what tools help them, and where their learning is going. This is all part of taking accountability and being an 'active learner'. ​
Our learning ambassadors are key to this as we encourage all our children to answer questions about their learning on a regular basis. Any child can be a Learning Ambassador, they are different everytime and they are volunteers. For many, this shows courage and resilience.