Engaging parents
Contents
Building relationships with parents
8
articles
- 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 advice around conducting home visits in the EYFS, as well as examples of policies from other schools.
- 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.
Information and guidance for parents
3
articles
- How to review your school uniform policy Follow these steps to make sure your uniform policy is in line with the DfE's 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 Be clear what the DfE's statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform means for your school and what you need to do to comply.
Letters to parents
18
articles
- 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).
- Behaviour incidents: letters to parents Use our template letters to communicate behaviour incidents with parents. See examples of letters from schools, and find out how to adapt your letters for pupils with 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.
Parental consent and responsibility
2
articles
- Educational visits: do we need parental consent? Find out which trips require parental consent and who can give this consent, along with 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.
PTAs and events for families
4
articles
- Organising a school event: what to consider Be confident you've got everything covered so your event runs smoothly. Get up to speed with how to keep on top of health and safety, what you can charge for, any insurance or licences needed, and data protection issues around photos and videos.
- Parent forum: guidance and templates Get advice on how to run a parent forum. Understand how you can use them to engage with your wider school community and how to get parents involved. Find everything you need to get set up, including a model terms of reference and a template agenda.
- Parents on school trips: guidance and templates Get tips on how best to support parent volunteers on school trips. Download our template letter to recruit volunteers, as well as a pack of resources to help make sure parents feel fully confident on the trip.
Pupil reports and parents' evenings
8
articles
- 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 to parents.
- 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 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.
Resolving issues with parents
9
articles
- 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.
- 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.