Engaging parents
8 articles
Building relationships with parents
- Engaging parents with EAL: strategies Use our practical strategies to engage effectively with parents who have English as an additional language (EAL). Help them become a part of the school community and provide support for them and their children.
- EYFS: home visits Find out when and how to conduct home visits in the EYFS, with guidance and examples of how schools carry out visits.
- Get your community on board with your approach to anti-racism Not all school communities will be eager to talk about racism and racial justice. Find out how you can encourage resistant members of your community to engage with any anti-racism work you’re doing.
- Headteacher's welcome presentation to parents Whether you're a new headteacher or an existing head welcoming new parents, find out what to include in your welcome presentation and get advice on other ways you can introduce yourself to parents and pupils.
- How to make your holiday celebrations inclusive Find out how to include pupils from all religious backgrounds, whichever holidays or festivals you're celebrating. Our tips will help you be respectful of other traditions and avoid conflict with parents.
- Parental engagement: guidance and examples UpdatedTake a look at practical strategies to engage parents with their child's learning and your school community, including examples from different schools and a trust.
- Relationships and sex education (RSE): consultation toolkit The current RSE requirements fully come into force from 1 September 2021. If you're updating your curriculum or policy, and need to carry out consultations with parents, pupils or staff, we have tips and resources to help you get it done - either in person or remotely.
- RSE: handling objections from parents Your school's RSE requirements are a sensitive subject, so you might have to field objections from parents. Learn about the most common ones and how to handle them.
3 articles
Information and guidance for parents
- How to review your school uniform policy Follow these steps to make sure your uniform policy is in line with the DfE's new statutory guidance on uniform costs. Use our cost ready-reckoner, policy audit and consultation guidance to help you develop a policy that works for your school and provides value for money.
- School uniform Use our resources to help you comply with the new statutory guidance on school uniform and make sure you're securing best value for money for parents.
- Statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform The DfE has published new statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform. Find out what this guidance means for your school and what you need to do to comply.
16 articles
Letters to parents
- Absence, attendance and punctuality: template letters to parents Use our template letters to help you address attendance issues such as unauthorised absence and poor punctuality. See examples of letters from primary and secondary schools, and find out how to adapt your letters for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).
- Dealing with abusive or aggressive parents: guidance and letters You can ban a parent or a visitor from your school premises for abusive or aggressive behaviour. Find out the process, see examples of letters to send to parents and steps you can take to reduce this behaviour.
- End-of-term gift-giving: template letter to parents At certain times of the year, parents and pupils may wish to give your staff a little something to show their appreciation. Use our template letter to let them know what's appropriate, and find out how to keep exchanges safe in light of the pandemic.
- Headteacher leaving letters: examples Telling parents that you're leaving your school is an important message to get right. Use the advice from our expert and examples from schools in this article to help inform your letter to parents.
- Lockdown procedures: informing parents and pupils Follow our guidance when discussing lockdown procedures with your pupils. Download our template letter to parents and read examples of letters from primary and secondary schools.
- New headteachers' letters to parents Use our template to create a new headteacher's letter to send to your parents. Read advice on what the letter should cover, and see an example of a letter sent by a new head in another school.
- Newsletters: template and what to include Use our template to create your own newsletter. Also, find tips on the what the contents of a newsletter should be, and how best to write and distribute it.
- Nut-free schools: letters to parents Find examples of notices you can send to parents to let them know about your school's no-nuts approach if you have pupils with allergies.
- Online safety: resources for parents Help parents keep their children safe online with these resources. Download parent factsheets on Fortnite and YouTube, see examples of letters to parents, and read our tips on working with parents with EAL.
- Parent governor/trustee elections: documents If you're responsible for organising parent governor/trustee elections, use our template documents to save you time and make sure the process runs smoothly. Download our template letters to parents, ballot paper and candidate form.
- Phonics screening check: information for parents Use our phonics screening check factsheet to explain the process to parents, including when they'll receive results and how they can help their child prepare at home. We also link to examples of how schools display this information online.
- Poor behaviour: letters to parents Download our template letters you can send to parents about poor pupil behaviour. See also examples from schools.
- Pupil premium and FSM registration: template letter to parents Boost your pupil premium funding with our template letter that encourages parents to register their children for free school meals (FSM).
- Residential trips: examples of letters to parents Read examples of letters to parents about residential trips from primary and secondary schools and a MAT.
- Staffing changes: letter to parents Download our template letter to inform parents about staffing changes in your school. You'll also find examples from other schools.
- Uniform policy change: letter to parents Use our template letter to communicate changes to your uniform policy so parents understand how you're securing best value for money and know when the changes will come into force.
2 articles
Parental consent and responsibility
- Educational visits: do we need parental consent? Find out which trips require parental consent and who can give this consent, including advice on separated parents and parents who withhold permission.
- Multi-purpose parental consent forms Use our multi-purpose parental consent form covering consent for on-site activities, administering non-prescription medicines, emergency release and communication preferences. Find links to DfE parental consent forms that you can use for off-site activities and prescription medicines, and see examples of consent forms used by other schools.
3 articles
PTAs and events for families
- Parent teacher association (PTA): guidance Learn about how to set up a PTA, register it as a charity and see examples of PTA constitutions from primary and secondary schools.
- Poll results: parents taking photos at festive events Should parents be allowed to take photos of their own children at school events?
- What to consider before running your school event Be confident you've got everything covered before your school event so it runs smoothly. Get up to speed with how to keep on top of health and safety, what you can charge for, whether you need additional insurance or licences, and how to manage data protection around photos and videos taken at the event.
8 articles
Pupil reports and parents' evenings
- 5 tips to reduce your pupil report workload See examples of time-saving report-writing strategies from other schools, alongside advice on how to improve your reporting processes.
- EYFS: how to report to parents All early years providers must report to parents at age 2 and at the end of the EYFS. Find out what you need to include in these reports for the progress check at age 2 and the EYFS profile, and use our templates - based on the 2021 EYFS framework - to help you write them.
- Free your teachers from report-writing frenzy: a case study Hazelbury Primary School has replaced traditional end-of-year reports with pupil-authored learning journals. Teachers have better work-life balance, the headteacher saves over 400 hours a year and parents get all the information they need. Here's how you could achieve this too.
- How to run a virtual parents' evening If you want to give a virtual parents' evening a try, follow our advice to make sure your event runs smoothly. Plus, see examples from schools that have already hosted one.
- Making parents' evening more inclusive Get maximum engagement from your school community by making parents' evening accessible and inclusive. Download and share our parents' questions form and understand your responsibilities to make reasonable adjustments.
- Parent consultation evenings: requirements You need to provide at least 1 opportunity per year for parents to discuss pupil progress with a teacher. Get guidance on how you might do this.
- Pupil reports to parents: checklist and templates Use our checklist to make sure your annual reports meet statutory requirements, and see what extra information you need to include at the end of KS1 and KS2. Download our templates and adapt them to suit your needs.
- Supporting teachers at parents' evening Reduce the stress around parents’ evenings with expert advice on planning and running the event. Download and share our top tips on effective parent/teacher conversations and a talking points template to help staff scaffold effective discussions.
10 articles
Resolving issues with parents
- 5 tips for effective parent communication Use these tips to help improve communication with parents in your school.
- Aggressive parents: zero tolerance posters Find out what to include on posters to remind visitors and parents that aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated. See examples from schools.
- Complaints procedures: guidance (academies) Get to grips with the ESFA's best practice advice on managing school complaints, and learn what to consider as you develop your complaints procedure.
- Complaints procedures: guidance (maintained) Get to grips with the DfE's best practice advice on managing school complaints, and learn what to consider as you develop your complaints procedure.
- Handling persistent or aggressive complaints from parents Read about best practice for dealing with persistent or aggressive complaints from parents. Find out how to use your complaints procedure to close a complaint and stop responding.
- Handling requests to withdraw pupils on religious grounds If parents wish to withdraw their child from a subject due to their faith, read our article for help with finding a compromise.
- Parents' complaints about other families: how to respond Get expert advice to help you respond with confidence to complaints from parents about other pupils and parents.
- Parents recording conversations with staff Data protection legislation does not apply to parents recording meetings for their own personal use. Find out how you can deal with parents who want to record conversations.
- Separated parents: rights and responsibilities All parents have a right to participate in decisions about their child's education. Understand what your school has a responsibility to do, and how to avoid common conflicts.
- Social media: how to deal with negative comments or behaviour by parents Use our internet acceptable use agreement to help prevent inappropriate social media use by parents and to make your school's expectations clear. Get tips on how to deal with incidents and problems online, and download our template letters to parents.
