Effective parental partnerships Trevor Folley tfolley@onelearningjourney.com

Professor Charles Desforges Leading Learning for Sustained Reform 2009 presentation Emphasise narrowing the gap

How does the relationship between parents and their child’s setting/school change over the years? 10 minutes then feedback – flip chart

The impact of parental involvement on pupil achievement and adjustment Professor Charles Desforges and Alberto Abouchaar (2003) Some key findings: Parental involvement has a significant effect on children’s achievement Parental involvement takes many forms In essence parenting influences through shaping the child’s self-concept as a learner and through establishing high aspirations The level of involvement is associated with social class, poverty, health, and parental perception of their role and confidence in fulfilling it It is strongly influenced by the child taking an active mediating role

Recent developments ‘Go Compare’ ‘Parent View’ New performance table info (next year) The government claims these changes represent ‘the most ambitious open data agenda of any government in the world.’ ‘Go Compare’ allows parents to compare schools against an array of criteria ‘Parent View’ – Ofsted new online qnr that will allow parents to give their views on their child’s school at any time Next year – changes to performance tables will give parents more information about the progress of pupils in care, those eligible for FSM and those performing at high, middle and low levels NOT REALLY ABOUT STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS!!!

For many parents this is the only conversation they have with teachers about their child’s learning. Dr Janine Spencer – Brunel University – 2009 In collaboration with learning product provider, Leapfrog, Brunel University surveyed 2000 parents of children under ten, to gauge their opinions on parents’ evening. Key bits: Not enough time Parents don’t prepare or ask the right questions Teachers can be reluctant to be blunt – understandably since the lack of time and ongoing relationship

What do parents want? DCSF research 2007 96% agreed that it was extremely important to make sure their child attended regularly 86% said the school provided clear information about their child’s progress 92% said the school was welcoming Around ¾ felt that it was extremely important to help with their child’s homework (58% did so most of the time) Informal discussions were seen as the most useful way of finding out children’s progress ⅔ said they would like to be more involved in their child’s school life (73% where felt uninvolved) Telephone survey of 5032 parents/carers – children aged 5-16 (maintained schools) Nationally representative sample. Conclusions: - parents want to be involved – they need to be supported to do so effectively

What does Ofsted want? ‘Schools and parents’ 2011 Audit and use parents’ skills and expertise as a resource Tailor communications with parents to suit individual circumstances Use parental complaints as a stimulus for improvement Evaluate impact of parental involvement on outcomes for pupils In secondary – enable parents to engage more directly with children’s learning

The challenge Developing a partnership with parents that empowers them to be co-educators

Categories of contingent elements for sustaining improvement. Outcomes Qualitative and quantitative Opportunities (e.g. forums) Celebrating – feeding back parental efficacy Behaviours What would we see? Systemic enablers Systems and structures, roles, technology, protocols, processes Structured conversation Understanding and skills Knowledge too – what information to parents need – how can they use it? Attitudes and beliefs Success is driven by those with a positive attitude and commitment to the value of the objectives. Two beliefs are essential: it is worth doing and it has a chance of succeeding.

In a nutshell parents need to… recognise their responsibility believe they can make a difference have the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills and opportunities do something see it making a difference

Successful partnerships with parents Where to start? Activity – card sort

They should start with mine to get comfortable with the categories – then add their own (starting with the top right-hand corner) Opportunity for people to network with regard to the to top quadrants (How did you make it work?) Flipchart additions – see if Leo will do this for me

Further info and resources www.onelearningjourney.com Password for today’s slides and resources: George or just write to me tfolley@onelearningjourney.com