Our Guide to Parent Concerns About School

It is perfectly normal to have concerns about your child at school. You want the best for your children and for them to ultimately be happy – so do we! It can be easy to feel helpless when your child goes to school and you take a step back. We have created this guide for parent concerns, to support you and your child as they head off to a new school.

Friendships

Quite often when starting a new school, it’s the worry of children not making friends. You can read our tips for making friends in a new school here. Sometimes there may be an issue within friendship groups, it is quite often at school age for personalities to clash and even the closest of friends can fall out. Friendship fallouts or even bullying can be something that teachers are unaware of and only as a parent you hear from your child about their unhappiness. This can be helped by calling the school, or contacting a specific member of staff, you can find our staff contact list here. Making the teachers aware of any fallouts can really help ease the tension. We can allow time to initiate talks between the students or monitor the situation as in time as the pupils may talk amongst themselves and make up. You can be assured that with our Anti-Bullying Policy any further issues will not be tolerated, so your child will be in a safe and friendly school environment.

Quality of Education

Another concern that you may have is the quality of teaching. When you’re not in the classroom with your children it’s hard to understand the quality of education your child is receiving. There are many ways to ensure your child is getting the very best of the education available. Open days are a great way to come in and speak to your child’s teachers to get a feel for the level of learning in the classroom. A tell-tale sign of how well your child is being educated is by their performance. If your child is getting good grades, you know there is sufficient learning available. However, if your child is underperforming there may be a few reasons why, make sure to communicate with your child to find out any areas they may be struggling in, it may be a case of them needing extra time for tasks or further support which can be provided. Our teachers are always available to email if you need to request further support in class or school activities.

Returning to School

If your child is just starting a new school or returning after the summer holidays, it’s normal to be concerned about how well they will settle in and adjust to the new routine. If you’re not sure how to make that start a little easier you can read on tips for returning to school after the summer holidays here for an easy transition into the start of school.

Your child’s health

A big concern for every parent is their child’s health at school. With the COVID-19 pandemic, physical health and hygiene has become a major priority for parents and pupils. At SISD we have two school clinics that are fully equipped for students. One located on the ground floor of the primary building and the other in the Sports Complex. They are both open at 7:30am till the end of school day they can treat any injuries and illnesses that have occurred at school. We also have a strict illness policy, if your child is unwell, they should stay at home until they are deemed fit enough to return, to prevent any spread of illnesses. As well as your child’s health we also strive for a healthy diet. The excellent nutrition from our SwissCanocia gourmet food canteen that serves at our school, gives your child everything they need. The Canonica restaurant and catering LCC provides the best of school catering. Menus are designed with nutrition specialists to ensure the best quality is provided for your children. There is a 12-week rotation to ensure the right balance in nutrition.

Who can you talk to?

At Swiss International Scientific School, we have a great team of friendly and professional teachers. You can choose to speak to those closest to your children, whether that’s a subject teacher or head of year, there is always someone you can contact about any concerns. If you have any concerns or queries about our admissions, our Head of Admissions, Alison Roberts can talk to you about the process and answer any questions you may have. The Head of Boarding Ashley Fitzgibbons will be able to settle your mind on anything you need to know about day and weekly boarding. At SISD, there is always someone you can speak to about any questions or concerns you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact us. Your child’s happiness is as important to us as it is to you!