Growing the number of parents who take an active interest in their child’s schooling (and in the school overall) requires putting yourself in their shoes and finding out what barriers they face. Parents often struggle with finding time just as much as schools.
When, where, how?
Since parents and carers can be very busy, they may find it difficult to meet the inflexible times schools sometimes give them for sessions and events. Be as flexible with meeting parents as you can, and consider offering home visits for more challenging cases. Try and give as much advanced notice of events by sharing the school calendar at the beginning of the year.
Additionally, learning to prioritise the type of communication you’re delivering is essential to not overload parents with messages or notifications. Some of them may not often find time to stay up to speed with their child’s school day.
Language barriers
In an increasingly multi-lingual society, parents with limited English can easily become disengaged, even if their children are fluent; this issue varies in severity from school to school. Schools should consider translating their communications, and enlisting the help of a translator for parents’ evenings.
Some software can cut out the hard work; at VenturEd Solutions, our software is able to send out communications in 64 different languages, ensuring everyone can be included in routine and emergency communications without the need for manual translations, which could be time consuming for staff.
Too much jargon
Even if parents are fluent in English, there can still be communication issues where too much jargon is used. We all know that people who work in education love an acronym (“the SLT looked at KS3 for LAC in the MIS to inform the LA…”) but parental communication needs to be as clear and straightforward as possible.
Bad personal experiences
Parents and carers are sometimes reluctant to engage with their children’s school due to their own experiences of school. Some may have found school a daunting, difficult place and still have these feelings. Putting forward a positive, encouraging environment will help bring them into the fold.
Bad Parents’ Evening experiences
One of the main reasons for parents to visit their children’s schools regularly is for Parents’ Evening. For many parents, appointments overrun, leading to other appointments being cut short, and parents can leave the evening with negative feelings towards the school. Think how the process can be improved, both for parents and teachers.
Download our Parental Engagement eBook to learn how to overcome these barriers, as well as the benefits of parental engagement and how to implement your own school’s strategy. And get in touch with us to find out more on how our tools can support your school!
