It can be tough trying to figure out if you’re doing the right thing by your students, and parents can often have this same worry. When teachers and parents work together, the issues that children face can be dramatically reduced. So just how do we work with parents effectively?
In the classroom, everything we do is to help the student succeed in all aspects of their life. One of the keys to pupil success is the involvement of the parent or guardians at home. Their input can have a profound effect on not only the student but the parents and educators too.
Students who have more engaged parents are often more likely to have higher attendance, higher homework completion rate and higher self-esteem. Studies have also shown that these students have more advanced social skills which means they often find new things (like being in a school environment for the first time when young) much easier than others.
For parents, being engaged with their child’s schooling gives them a lot more confidence in their parenting skills. They’re also able to understand the school curriculum more and provide support to the student in their schooling.
The benefits for educators are undeniable, it’s been proven that school staff have a higher job satisfaction rate when parents are involved, and some stress can be reduced. It’s also known that local communities think higher of schools who have involved parents, which might increase admission rates.
The benefits of parental engagement are undeniable, but it can be tricky to know where to begin with boosting the relationship with your student’s parents. Communication is key to any relationship, and this relationship is no different. If you can find interesting ways to communicate with parents and guardians, you’ll find it will really help. Why not send emails and texts to parents using Teachers2Parents? You can send home certificates for good behaviour, have a short video call, or even use an agenda where you can exchange important messages.
For many schools, manual processes are the norm, and it is due to habit that they continue to be used despite their ineffectiveness. The most common example of this that we see is school staff printing letters, handing them to pupils then crossing their fingers that it makes it home in one piece.
It simply doesn’t have to be this way! Printers will be redundant eventually, and we’ve already seen a huge push away from print over the last decade as smartphone and tablets have become extremely popular. The vast majority of parents would much rather receive an SMS (text message) or an email with the information they need.
Improving communication requires a change of culture, where new solutions are welcomed rather than being stigmatised. A negative culture often arises out of self-doubt, so re-assuring staff that they’re trusted is a great place to start in addressing this. An all-in-one tool like Teachers2Parents or WisePay is pivotal for the modern school, especially in the new educational landscape.
Once you’ve had a few conversations with your team and parents, you must be consistent with your communication so that relationship remains strong. If you can feedback positive praise regularly, this will help to build the students confidence, and the parents’ confidence too! Remember to be persistent, even if you’re not hearing anything back from a parent keep leaving voicemails and sending emails – they will hear what you’re saying eventually.
It’s important to book in parents’ evenings too, you can book these through Teachers2Parents and save time organising the event so you can focus on the important things.