Forming meaningful relationships with parents to help drive the potential of their children can be a tricky route to navigate at times. Schools can find it challenging to form a bond and engage with parents which can leave children in a vulnerable position in terms of their attendance, behaviour and engagement.
“Since the pandemic, absenteeism has become a stubborn problem in schools disruptive behaviour has become more common. Poor behaviour affects pupils’ and teachers’ experience of school and their ability to learn or teach. There is also more anecdotal evidence of friction between schools and parents, who are increasingly willing to challenge school rules.”
The social contract between parents and the education system has been said to have been “fractured”. We therefore need to implement a suitable solution that can overcome certain barriers parents are facing, and ultimately, improve the educational experiences for children throughout the UK. Let’s look at some strategies you can implement:
1. Open communication with parents
Being able to build trust and rapport with parents is essential if you are to drive success. Ensure that you create open-door policies with them and invite them in to discuss their child’s education. Having this seamless communication portal can alleviate any barriers that may be hindering the progress of a child in education.
2. Identify the root cause of a problem
A child might be exhibiting poor behaviour and this could be due to underlying factors that are subconsciously affecting their learning. Form a discussion with parents to identify what might be troubling their child. This can also be a good opportunity to see what home life is like, but we must ensure we tread carefully here and do not push boundaries too much.
3. Build community
By respecting diversity and integrating a welcoming environment, schools can build a community where parents feel welcomed, respected and more willing to engage in their child’s education. Make sure to truly value a parent’s input on measures within the school as it can help foster a more inclusive and positive environment for all.
4. Collaborative approach to strategies
By working collaboratively with parents, you can implement more suitable strategies and solutions to accommodate a child’s needs. This can coincide with seamless communication and you can integrate flexibility to overcome behavioural or attendance challenges within your school. As the SEND & AP Improvement Plan outlines we need to:
“build parents’ trust: parents and carers experience a fairer, easily navigable system (across education, health and care) that restores their confidence that their children will get the right support, in the right place, at the right time;”
We can raise parents’ confidence by instilling the notion that they can approach the school with any thoughts or concerns they may have.
5. Offer alternatives
There can be many alternatives to help support a parent and form better relationships with them. Offer a different approach to their child’s learning as this could help build their confidence and see education from a different angle.
Since the pandemic, a lot of parents have started to work from home and this has encouraged more children to become absent or misbehave. By offering an alternative, such as an online alternative provision like EDClass, children can find a different approach to their learning. This can initially bolster their education, reintegrate when possible and improve their behaviour for the long term.
There can be multiple ways to integrate a flexible approach to help fulfil potential. If you would like to find out more about how effective EDClass can be as an online alternative provision, call 01909 568338, email mail@edclass.com or enquire for more information here.
