At Piota, we believe that building positive relationships with parents is the key to pupil success. Getting parents on-side and helping them to feel valued by the school will get them invested in their child’s success and this will have a positive impact on pupil outcomes.
Improving communication with parents drives attendance and punctuality, homework completion and even exam results. So how can you harness this powerful tool?
Invite parents to school (and not just for parents evenings)
There are plenty of opportunities throughout the year to create a stronger community ethos in your school. Why not invite parents to help mark an awareness or fundraising day? Children in Need and Red Nose Day are just two options.
If parents are used to coming into school for positive experiences, they are far more likely to attend academic review days and parents evenings.
Ask the parents what they want
Before you organise any event aimed at parents, it might be a good idea to find out what they want!
If parents have been involved in the planning, they are far more likely to attend. Many parents will have had negative experiences at school themselves, and so they may feel vulnerable when it comes to communicating with you.
Build a positive relationship by asking parents for input on a regular basis. A simple parent survey is a highly effective way to do this (and can easily be achieved using a school app).
Building positive relationships with parents by sharing good news
We all know that pupils respond well to positive feedback. Parents do too! Encourage your teaching staff to share pupils’ successes with parents on a regular basis, no matter how big or small.
If parents are used to being contacted by your school, they will engage more with what you have to say, even when it isn’t what they want to hear. Get into a habit of sharing good news with parents on a regular basis so that they are more receptive when you need to have difficult conversations with them.
Building positive relationships with parents will help to grow a supportive school community where staff and parents work together to bring about the best outcomes for the pupils.
How are you building a positive school community? We would love to hear more on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
