A Parent’s Guide Series Volunteering as a Parent Getting Involved at School: Information for the Parent Helper
Introduction: Thank you for volunteering to be a parent helper. There are a number of ways that you can get involved in your child’s class or another class in the Key Stage. Whether you can commit to weekly Reading/Numeracy/ Topic sessions, come in to share your expertise during a special event or even accompany your child’s class on a trip out of school, we are very grateful for your time. Confidentiality Any information that you come across about the academic achievement or personal circumstances of the children in school is strictly confidential and should not be shared with anyone outside of the school. On arrival to school, please see the guard to sign in and take a visitor’s badge. The badge should be visible at all times when in school and should be returned to the guard on your departure. When you are given an individual or a group to work with, please learn the names of the children in your care and introduce yourself to them so that they understand how they should address you; Mr/Mrs/first name. At all times, be aware of who you are working with and the number of children in your group. If on a trip outside school, regularly count the children to ensure all are with you. DO…. • Ask the children their names and share your name with them • Find positive comments to make to the child/children you are working with • Ask open ended questions • Try to involve all of the children (if you are working in a group) • Give children time to think about answers to questions • Ask the teacher if you are unsure of anything DON’T…. • Shout at a child • Encourage physical contact • Leave children unattended • Compare children to others in the class/their siblings • Use negative comments (‘You are wrong!’ ‘You are bad!’ etc.) Behaviour Please follow the school guidelines for behaviour. The school has a no shouting policy and firmly promotes positive behaviour. Aim to catch a child displaying a desired behaviour and comment on it. For example, • • •
‘_________ is waiting very nicely.’ ‘Well done_________, you are using your indoor voice.’ ‘I am so impressed that you are tidying away your equipment___.’
Marbles can be awarded for good manners, for waiting patiently for a turn, for tidying up etc. House points can be awarded for good effort during an activity. Usually only one or two house points are given to an individual at a time.
Reading helpers When working with beginner readers it is important to let them do the work! Don’t be tempted to read the sentence for them and allow them to simply repeat it. The children have been taught to use their phonic knowledge to help them sound out unfamiliar words. Let the child hold the book and let them turn the pages themselves. Encourage them to comment on the characters, setting and the plot of the story. Encourage them to interact with the pictures. There is often text in the pictures too. Encourage them to share their opinion and ask what they liked/disliked about the book. Ask them about the book – fiction/ nonfiction/poetry/play Useful questions (Looking at the cover/blurb) What do you think this book will be about? What kind of book do you think it is? What do you think will happen next? What punctuation can you see on this page? Can you change your voice to show when a character is speaking? What did you like about this book? Topic helpers Topic work can include Art, Geography, History, Science, ICT and more. The children are learning the skills that they need to help them plan, predict, investigate, record, explain, present….It is important to encourage the children to find out the answers and share their ideas and opinions. Useful questions What do you think will happen? Why? Why do you think that happened? If we didn’t have (light/electricity/food/water) what do you think the world would be like? How can you record what you found out? What would you do differently next time? Numeracy helpers It is important to note that a correct answer is not all we are looking for. Children’s understanding of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ is of great significance. Some children may be good at calculating answers to addition/ subtraction/ multiplication questions and we aim to encourage them (and all other children) to talk about how they got to their answers and to increase their ability to apply these skills to real life situations and problems. Useful questions Is that the only possible answer? How can you be sure? Can you describe how you got that answer? How can you check your answer? Can you estimate? How do you know that? Why is it….. and not…..? Thanks again for your support and we hope you enjoy your time as a Parent Volunteer!!
No. 1, Changkat Bukit Utama, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47800 Malaysia +6 03 7727 7775 - admissions@britishschool.edu.my - info@britishschool.edu.my