IDEA 27
The importance of parent-to-parent work ‘That’s the thing – in primary you knew all the other parents; in secondary, I don’t know any of them.’ You will be aware of the concept of peer coaching among students and staff, and how beneficial such work can be. Equally, new parents can greatly benefit from the wisdom and knowledge of those who have gone before them. There is value in not feeling alone… Parents can take new parents on school tours, answering questions about how things work and passing on tips you hadn’t even thought about. Indeed, some parents prefer to talk to other parents. Parents of older students in the school can help new parents understand changes to exams, assessments and curriculum, passing on the information as it affects parents and families. There are usually some confident parents who are happy to fulfil this role. ∞∞ Peer-to-peer support between parents has been shown to be very effective and supportive, but may not happen by chance, particularly at secondary – as we’ve seen, parents are unlikely to meet at the school gate, for example. ∞∞ There are many ways of facilitating parents mixing with each other: shared meals are often a good way to break the ice. Some schools use ‘pot luck dinners’ where every family brings something to share as a starter. ∞∞ If you do work with parent champions, be sure that they are representative of the parent body as a whole, not just the ‘parents who are always around’. Seek out parents you know are already supporting learning at home, even if they don’t come into school all that often – start the conversation by showing that you appreciate the work they are doing.
Taking it further Consider a formal coaching scheme for parents where ‘newbie parents’ are given an allocated parent mentor to show them the ropes. Remember to evaluate it if you do put such a scheme in place. Consider parental confidence, as that is what matters most!
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IDEA 28
Working together across subjects ‘It’s all so bitty in secondary school – I can’t keep track of it all! Primary was a lot easier.’ One of the things that’s quite clear from the research, as well as from our work with families, is that a lack of consistency across the school is very confusing for parents.
Taking it further Research has shown that teachers rate talking to other teachers as the best form of CPD. Try to ensure that teachers have the space and time to do this – it may need to be engineered into INSET days just by having longer breaks and lunchtimes!
This doesn’t mean that every subject has to do the same thing. For example, if the French department is sending home postcards to praise good work, that doesn’t mean that the English department also has to send postcards, particularly if they have a different use for that budget (such as attending a performance of a play on the A level syllabus). However, what is important is that parents know what each department is doing – otherwise, parents might easily (and understandably) get the idea that their child is doing well in French and not in English (due to a lack of postcards). ∞∞ It’s important that different groups of teachers know what’s going on in different parts of the school – at least in outline form – so that they can answer parents’ questions or direct those questions to the right person. ∞∞ See Idea 46 for our recommendation of a database to share ideas and materials – this should be easy to consult. ∞∞ Sharing what each department or faculty is doing is also a way of sharing good practice. Remember that if you have a vision for working with parents that has been articulated and created by all staff, with input from parents, it is highly likely that consistent approaches to parent–school partnership will be in place and valued.
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