Better Parent Engagement

#UKEdChat session 512 – Joined up thinking between home and school is often heralded as one of the key factors to success. Yet, as both a teacher and a parent, I know that the relationship between teachers and parents is not always at the forefront of minds, especially when life gets busy. While we want pupils to develop the skills and hone the responsibilities to be an effective ‘go-between’ for teachers and parents, the relationship is so important that direct and regular contact is vital.

The current coronavirus pandemic has shifted the relationship, and this is set to evolve still further once schools open their doors fully once again. With social pressure placed on parents to ‘be the teacher’ for their children while the lockdown is in effect, schools and teachers have a unique opportunity to develop a lasting positive impact to support both parents and pupils when they are learning remotely, but there is a real danger that lasting damage to an already complex teacher-parent relationship if appropriate educational support and communication are not forthcoming.

In the #UKEdChat discussion on Thursday 16th July 2020 at 8pm (UK), and during our free UKEdChat After Hours Webinar at 9pm we discussed how to develop better engagement with parents and carers, how to improve both ways of communication between home and school, and how to be responsive to the needs of both children and parents in our local communities.

Questions

1. How would you characterise the current level of engagement with parents/carers (a) in your school and (b) in schools in general?
2. What improvements in parental engagement have you seen in your own school in recent times, before the lockdown?
3. How has lockdown affected parental engagement and how has the relationship changed? Has it been overall positive or negative?
4. What should be the basic expectations for parents from teachers, and for teachers from parents?
5. What is your next step to improve parental engagement, and how will this be achieved? Has this changed because of remote learning?
6. What strategies to build parental engagement have you seen, but do not work, and why?
7. How can schools communicate better to improve parental engagement?
8. What advice would you give new teachers to help them develop better parental engagement?

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