Engaging parents

Get advice on conducting home visits in the EYFS, and look at examples of policies from other schools.

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.

Whether you're a new headteacher or an existing head welcoming new parents, download our template to help you structure your thoughts and make sure you cover everything you need to.

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.

Follow these steps to make sure your uniform policy is inclusive and in line with the DfE's statutory guidance on uniform costs. Use our cost calculator, policy audit and consultation guidance to help make an effective policy which provides value for money.

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.

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 get guidance on building a trusting relationship with parents/carers.

Get everyone on board with your approach to keeping pupils with allergies safe in school. Find letters, a factsheet and resources aimed at building support and co-operation among pupils, parents and staff.

Use our template letters to communicate about behaviour incidents with parents and carers, and find tips on how to build a trusting relationship with them.

Find out when you need parental consent and what to do when you don’t get it. Use our multi-purpose parental consent form covering on-site and off-site activities, educational visits, administering non-prescription medicines, emergency release and communication preferences.

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.

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.

Use our template letter to help you recruit parent/carer volunteers for school trips. Find tips, and a downloadable guidance pack, to help you make sure they feel fully confident on the trip.

See examples of time-saving report-writing strategies from other schools, with advice on how to streamline and improve your reporting processes to parents and carers.

All early years providers must report to parents/carers when pupils are aged 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 most recent EYFS framework – to help you write them.

You must provide at least 1 opportunity per year for parents/carers to discuss pupil progress with a teacher. Find guidance on how you might do this.

Use these tips to help improve communication with parents in your school.

Read about best practice for dealing with persistent or aggressive complaints. Find out how to use your complaints procedure to close a complaint and stop responding.

If parents wish to withdraw their child from a subject due to their faith, read our article for help with finding a compromise.