Year 8 Parent Feedback Questionnaire Results

Year 8 Parent Feedback Questionnaire Results

Recently all parents of Year 8 students were invited to complete a feedback questionnaire about some wellbeing issues that Year 8 commonly experience. I would like to firstly thank all the parents who completed the questionnaire. The information is very helpful in helping us to look out for any issues as they emerge and to tailor our Fortunae wellbeing lessons accordingly.

66% of students were represented by the survey responses.

 

Contentedness

The best news is that parents overwhelmingly felt their children enjoy or are enthusiastic about coming to school at Fort Street. Anxiety, depression and other wellbeing or mental health concerns often start to arise in early adolescence and we are very mindful of identifying this early to direct students to help. Not wanting to come to school can occur for a variety of reasons, but it is an early warning sign that there may be a bigger issue.

Figure 1

 

Peer Friendships

It is also quite normal for students to re-evaluate their friendship groups at the end of Year 7 and through into Year 8. This can be a dramatic process. Friends are a very powerful force in the lives of adolescents. The presence of a trusted circle of friends can help build resilience in young people and provide emotional support when needed.

Figure 2

 

Behavioural Changes and Mood Swings

It is normal for adolescents to experience mood swings as part of their changes into adulthood, however, having trouble coping with everyday activities, frequently seeming down, being frequently tearful or lacking motivation or interest in things they once enjoyed can all be signs of a mental health concern. There are links to a number of government funded services at the bottom of this article that are specifically established to help students. In addition to a GP or counsellor, students or parents can also contact myself or any of the school executive if they are concerned about their child’s emotional wellbeing. Any teachers working as part of the school’s wellbeing staff will ensure students are connected to people who are qualified to help.

Figure 3

 

Bullying

Thankfully, there were only 5 parents who expressed some concern in regards to bullying and only 1 parent who was aware of an experience with bullying. Bullying is taken very seriously at Fort Street and the teachers and wellbeing team work hard to prevent bullying and put in place disciplinary and restorative actions which will reduce it in the future. However, we cannot act if we are not made aware of events of bullying. If you become aware of any bullying issues, I would encourage you to report this using our bullying reporting form or encourage your child to do so.

Figure 4

 

Student Workload

Nearly 20% of parents indicated some concern about their child’s ability to manage their time to complete homework and assessments. This is concerning and will need some further investigation. Fort Street recommends that Year 7 and 8 students aim to complete around 1 hour per night. While Year 9 and 10 students aim for around 2 hours per night. There are also certain times in the term which may be busier or less busy than this. The results indicated that around 23% of students work for less than 30 minutes per night, while 26% of students work for more than 1.5 hours.

Figure 5
Figure 6

 

Screentime

Around half of parents were a little concerned or concerned by the use of screen time in their child’s schooling. With mobile phones and social media causing most concern. Several parents noted the use of games, YouTube and Social media being used by students in classrooms. I would strongly urge parents to report this to the teacher, Head Teacher or myself so it can be addressed as this is not permitted at Fort Street.

The eSafety Commissioner recommends a number of parental control methods to monitor online content. The DET wifi network will block most malicious content, however, students can access content through their mobile phone’s internet connection. Teacher’s will monitor this in a classroom, but the only 100% effective change is that students do not have mobile phones in classrooms.

Figure 7

 

There were also a number of important pieces of feedback about school policies, classroom behaviour and assessment tasks. These were all insightful into the experience of our Year 8 students and the information has been passed to the senior executive to begin a discussion about teaching and learning strategies used at Fort Street.

If you would like any advice about any of the topics raised in the questionnaire or would like to talk to someone about your child’s experiences during Year 8, please feel free to contact me at david.latimer@det.nsw.edu.au or (02) 8585 1600.

 

Kind regards

David Latimer

Year 8 Year Advisor

 

 

 

Important Links

Parentline  — 1300 1300 52

Beyondblue — 1300 22 4636

Headspace —1800 650 980

Kids Helpline — 1800 55 1800

 

References

Health Direct (2021). Emotional changes in puberty. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/emotional-changes-puberty

World Health Organization (2021, 17 November). Mental health of adolescents. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health

Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. (n.d.) Mental health – adolescents. https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Mentalhealthadolescents/

eSafety Commissioner (n.d.) Parental controls. https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/parental-controls

ReachOut (n.d.) How to communicate effectively with your teenager. https://parents.au.reachout.com/skills-to-build/connecting-and-communicating/things-to-try-effective-communication/how-to-communicate-effectively-with-your-teenager