During this term, we sought your feedback through a short survey on both Uniform (jackets) and the use of cellphones at school. The response to the survey has been overwhelming, a very high response rate, thank you.

Dear Parents, Whānau, students and staff.  During term 4, we sought your feedback through a short survey on both Uniform (jackets) and the use of cellphones at school. The response to the survey has been overwhelming, a very high response rate, thank you. Respondents: 239 students, 99 families, and 31 Staff completed the survey, not all groups answered all questions.

Overall there emerged a clear view concerning jackets and the use of cellular phones, these are shown in the graphs which follow. The comment sections (too many comments to repeat here) have common and strongly linked themes, these have been summarised and shared in the summary below.

The school will now be considering carefully the results and shall communicate any decisions made to the school community before the end of the school year.

Uniform

1.Optional warm waterproof Jacket. Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Summary: There is a clear preference for an optional warm waterproof jacket from all groups, staff, students and whānau.

2.Logo on Jacket

Parent/whānau response:

Summary: There is a slight overall preference for a logo on the jacket, the “I don’t mind either way” question featured prominently.

Summary - Uniform written responses

The following questions were asked requiring a written response, questions for some groups varied based on audience i.e students compared to staff.

A. (Parents/whānau, 17 responses) Are there any other items of uniform you consider worth investigating?

Responses were varied, parents/whānau were generally against Hoodies, this came out clearly in the responses, but did, however, suggested a school scarf be considered, and beanies less so. A few comments mentioned white socks for girls, rain hoods for the jacket, and tracksuits with logos, these were mainly one-off suggestions. Other than to add scarves and reject hoodies there were no other strong themes.

B. (Students, 66 responses) Are there any other items of uniform you consider worth investigating?

Some students mentioned leather sandals, hoodies and bucket hats. These items were evenly spread across the comments sections. Some students suggested hoodies should only be allowed with sports teams but said a tracksuit could do the same thing. Requests for a scarf were mentioned a number of times.

C. (Staff, 11 responses) Are there any other items of uniform you consider worth investigating?

Staff comments indicated a scarf could be considered and felt hoodies were not a good choice, particularly in wet weather. Some staff cautioned on the potential cost for a jacket suggesting it needs to be affordable and slightly in favour of a school logo. The comments were again varied with no clear preference other than consideration for a scarf.

Cellphones

1.Should cellphones be permitted at school by students?

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Summary: The majority of parents and staff did not feel cellphones should be at school. Students opinions were split across cellphone usage with 42.9% saying yes and 34% no with “ensure” at 23.1%.

The “Unsure” question was higher than expected from students and staff.

An additional question was asked of students, the results were more clear cut.

Should cellphones be allowed in class?

Summary - Cellular phones written responses

The following questions were asked requiring a written response, questions for some groups varied based on audience i.e students compared to staff.

Pro’s of having a cellphone at school.

Students:

Students were generic in their response, they mainly said cellphones are useful for contacting parents in an emergency or for after school changes to activities. A minority of students said they used cellular phones for schoolwork, i.e to access email and documents or use the video, picture functions.

Parents/whānau:

A small percentage of parents felt cellphones were needed for emergencies and to contact students during the school day, the vast majority of parents, however, did not agree, and suggested the office should be the contact point for information exchange during school time. Most parents were adamant there was no place for a cellphone at school.

Staff:

Most staff felt a cellular phone was not needed at school but did say on occasion they are useful to record pictures and evidence of school work, this was however not common or needed across most subject areas.

Con’s of having a cellphone at school.

Students:

A very strong theme came from students in particular with the majority of students saying cellphones were a significant distraction in class, used for social media (Instagram, Facebook, snap chat, gaming and music), and in some instances to harass another student. Students generally agreed cellphones were not being used appropriately and distracted them from their learning.

Parents and Staff

Parents and staff were strongly against cellphone use in class and less so out of class time.