Policy into practice - Parents in schools
Anne Longfield
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The issue: Parental involvement in their children's education is vital. However, in today's busy world, where complex pressures and hectic schedules can make active involvement challenging, we need to think creatively about how to make this happen.
Where we get it right the rewards for children, families and schools are great. A study by the then Department for Education and Skills revealed that 72 per cent of parents wanted more involvement in schools, while research carried out by Ofsted found that "schools that work closely and effectively with parents have improved levels of achievement, more positive pupil attitudes and behaviour". While many schools have a Parent Teacher Association, it is great to see schools and parents really taking the initiative to work together closely to enhance the learning experience of children.
CASE STUDY 1
Windsor and Maidenhead's Dads Into Schools Day is a well-established scheme. Infant, primary and middle schools all get involved, with fathers and grandfathers going into schools to get more involved and learn more about how their children's and grandchildren's schools are run on a day-to-day basis.
The new "pupils" get involved and join the children for a range of curriculum activities including reading, IT and sport. Dads into Schools Day provides a rare opportunity for fathers and grandfathers to share a variety of learning experiences with their children with the aim of strengthening young people's enthusiasm for learning at home.
CASE STUDY 2
The Parent Promoters Foundation (PPF) has taken parental participation to new heights. In 2005 the charity obtained consent to establish a new school in partnership with the local authority. The Elmgreen School is currently unique in being the only "parent promoted" school in Britain.
The PPF appoints a quarter of the school's governing body, which sets the strategic framework of the school, and promotes its vision. The original ethos of engaging parents is continued with family conference weeks in place of traditional parents' evenings, close links between tutors and parents, and a web portal to enable dialogue. A laptop library will also begin this autumn to train parents in computing so they can help their children with homework. The PPF runs regular workshops for parents to meet, exchange ideas and essentially mentor each other to maintain a crucial support network.
- Anne Longfield is chief executive of 4Children.