We believe that our children are the most important people and we give all the children lots of opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions and play an active role in the decisions that affect both their learning and wellbeing.
We have lots of ways children can do this including:
- School Council and Anti-bullying Ambassadors
- Spiritual Council
- NYLG (National Young Leadership Group)
Every pupil will have the opportunity to be an ambassador for their school. They will meet regularly with key members of staff and contribute to evaluating impact and implementing changes.
By giving children a voice, they are empowered and have a sense of self-esteem and confidence. They are also able to develop personal, social and communication skills through the many roles on offer.
We value the opinion of all our stakeholders in order to improve our schools and make it an outstanding provision for all. We therefore endeavour to conduct regular parent and pupil questionnaires in order to get feedback about our schools. We have recently sent out parent/carer questionnaires and then to work alongside this we conducted child questionnaires too.
Some of our Year 6 children had this to say about their time at school-July 2026:
On Teaching and Learning
- "They [lessons] are creative and fun."
- "Miss Warner gets everyone involved."
- "If you need help, Miss Warner is there to help you."
- "History and English because they are interesting."
- "Art and PE because they are both creative and practical."
- "Maths because it’s challenging."
On Pastoral Care and Safety
- "The teachers help with our worries."
- "We have a worry monster in class."
- "There is always an adult on duty."
- "I have felt safe and cared for at Mary Howard." (All 6 students surveyed "Strongly Agreed" with this statement).
On School Community and Spirit
- "More year groups so we can stay here for longer."
- "I will miss... the teachers."
- "During your time at Mary Howard what has made you most proud? Improving test results... Artwork... Driving on race day at Greenpower."
100% of leavers strongly agreed that they enjoyed their final year at Mary Howard.
100% of leavers strongly agreed that they were encouraged to achieve and reach their full potential.
100% of leavers strongly agreed that Mary Howard prepared them for the next stage of their education.
100% of leavers strongly agreed that the intervention groups and support they received were helpful.
Leavers 2025: Do you feel safe in school?
'Yes, Because we are a small community, we feel more protected. If you have a worry, you can ask the teacher and if you don’t want to say it out loud, you can put it in the worry monster. We have lock down drills so we know what to do if something did happen.'
What have you enjoyed about your time at Mary Howard?
Leavers July 2025
"English because of the different writing opportunities and amazing books that we read."
"DT - building playground structures."
"Maths because of all the methods we learned and problems that we solved."
"Crime and punishment in history because we have made links across periods of time compared to our current era."
Leavers July 2024
"I enjoyed practical maths lessons"
"I loved having class discussions and debate"
"Worship is enjoyable and the whole school gets involved"
"I have enjoyed writing and the class books we have shared together"
"I have been challenged to improve my learning and skills"
"I will miss how everyone knows each other because it is a small school"