… from the newsletter notes of Head Teacher John Boyce
At Garin we try hard to be approachable and to be responsive to our community. The normal person people talk to is often our Head Teacher John Boyce, and he makes a point of thanking people who come in with a problem.
He does that for two reasons: it is hard to make a complaint (because all of us worry that we might face conflict and nobody likes that!). And if we are a real school-based community, he sees it as important that parents and students are able to contribute to the development of the school.
And raising a concern is the most effective way to make sure the school knows there is a problem. Too often people who have a problem with something at a school, they don’t tell the school; they tell other people.
That way schools lose: they can’t fix it because they don’t know-and when people say negative things, the students hear that and they start to think their school is second-best and so their learning suffers.
And the parent loses: because nothing happens to remedy the situation or prevent it happening again.
At Garin we want a win-win. We want students to recognise that Garin has employed an excellent group of teachers, and we want our community to be happy with us and proud of us.
If you have a concern with something the school is doing, please see either a teacher or Mr Boyce. The Board has requirements of what Mr Boyce needs to do about that if you see him.
You could also see a Board member, but the Board will normally refer that straight back to the school.
If you have a concern about the Head Teacher, you can either see him directly-or you should see the Board Chairperson. The Board has a policy of what that person needs to do next.
Some parents worry that if they complain, their children will suffer. That will never be the case at Garin. We welcome your concerns, and the time we like them is early, before a small problem gets blown out of proportion.
We have a simple “Effectiveness Check” form which lets us know when things haven’t gone as well as we would like. They are available at our office you you can get a copy here.