Leading Parent Partnership Award St Malachy’s R.C. Primary School

THE LEADING PARENT PARTNERSHIP AWARD (LPPA) At St Malachy’s we are very proud of our working relationships with parents, however as a school we are always dedicated to develop all aspects of our home-school partnership. A parent’s involvement in their child’s learning really does make a difference and the LPPA is away to show our commitment to giving our parents the tools and support that they need to ensure their child achieves their full potential 1.During the past ten years, national and international research has concluded that the engagement of parents in vital to the education of children and young people. As they spend only 15 per cent of their time in school, and six times longer out of it. 2. Professor Charles Desforges also concludes that “it is what parents do, not who they are, that matters”. Being poor is not a barrier to parental involvement

How does the LPPA work? Working effectively with parents and carers to help them to support their children’s learning and development is crucial, right through from Nursery to Year 6 and beyond LPPA Programme helps schools to enhance their existing work with parents and carers. Encouraging the use of a wide range of communicating strategies, from the traditional newsletter to the school’s virtual learning environment. Getting to know parents needs Giving guidance for simple but creative ways of providing curriculum information and practical advice that will enable parents and carers to support their children’s learning. Developing joint parent and child enrichment activities, so that parents, carers and their children can enjoy learning together. Developing effective management strategies to build a sustainable approach to parent partnership across the school. Providing evidence that meets Ofsted’s requirement for parental engagement.  

The LPPA Framework The award takes 18 months to complete, a portfolio of work is complete as evidence. At the end of the process there is an inspection of school and each of the elements of LPPA programme is assessed through the portfolio of evidence and interviews with all parties involved The Framework of Objectives: Each element of the LPPA Programme is based around the 10 Objectives of the LPPA Framework. These are the key areas through which high quality parent partnership is delivered

LPPA Objectives Objective 1: Commitment -Commitment of all key partners Objective 2: Planning -Planning to deliver and maintain the LPPA. Objective 3: Welcome and communications -Ensuring a welcoming environment and communication systems that respond to parent/carer needs. Objective 4: Lifelong learning for parents and carers- Provision of learning opportunities for parents to support their child’s and their own learning. Objective 5: Enrichment activities – joint parent and child learning -A programme of enrichment opportunities that encourage parents and children to enjoy learning together.

LPPA Objectives Objective 6: Induction -Induction of parents and carers when their children join the school or setting. Objective 7: Information and guidance-To enable parents and carers to support their children’s learning. Objective 8: Policies-Consultation and family-friendly policies to support pupil and student learning and development. Objective 9: Transition-Engagement of parents and carers when their children move on to the next stage of education, training or employment. Objective 10: Evaluation-Each Objective is broken down into a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that encourage a systematic approach to achieving the Award