Training session 3 - Building effective relationships with parents and carers

Induction tutor materials

Duration: 90 minutes.

Outcomes

1. To learn that reviewing parental engagement approaches is important.
2. To understand that parental engagement improves teacher wellbeing and learning outcomes for pupils.
3. To identify potential barriers to effective communication with parents and carers.
4. To learn ways of overcoming barriers, including seeking support from colleagues.
5. To know communication and parental engagement will look different depending on the age of the pupil.
6. To know some sensitive targeting will be necessary for enabling parental engagement from certain groups of parents or carers (for example pupils with SEND, or who are disadvantaged).
7. To practise using a strategy for communicating with parents and carers.
8. To reflect on and share implications on their teaching and professional development.

Preparation

These resources provide information to support the session plan options below:

• Education Endowment Foundation (EEF): Parental engagement
• Ofsted: Teacher well-being at work in schools and further education providers
• Department for Education: School workload reduction toolkit

Before this session takes place, early career teachers (ECTs) should have the following:

• Exposure to key knowledge from initial teacher training (ITT) Core Content Framework on relevant sub-standards.
• School input as needed.
• Relevant conversations with colleagues.

The following self-study materials provide context and exemplification:

• Consistency
• Adapting teaching
• Developing pupils’ literacy
• Adapting lessons to meet pupil needs

Session structure:

Welcome and recap (10 minutes)

Provide a relevant recap on previously taught content. Set up the norms for this session.

What is parental and carer engagement? (10 minutes)

This time can be used to:

• introduce the concept of parent and carer engagement
• provide examples of the many ways that schools work with parents, carers and families
• include information about how parent and carer engagement can look very different depending on several factors, including school policy
• review the overarching principle of monitoring and planning how you work with parents and carers

Why is it important? (10 minutes)

You could:

• explore why relationships with parents and carers are important
• consider the impact these relationships have on pupils and teachers
• discuss the link between parental engagement and pupils’ academic outcomes
• emphasise the importance of engaging with the parents and carers of pupils with SEND to plan appropriate provision
• cover how a negative relationship between teachers, parents and carers can have an impact on teacher wellbeing

Communication (30 minutes)

You could:

• present examples of whole-school approaches to communication
• discuss the impact of communication on teacher workload
• provide the opportunity to reflect on ECTs’ current communication with parents
• consider some assumptions teachers might have which impact their relationships with parents
• identify barriers which teachers, parents and carers may have when communicating and engaging with each another
• consider possible responses to overcoming these barriers, and how colleagues can support ECTs to do this
• look at how communication and engagement with parents and carers changes depending on the age of the pupils
• provide (and possibly practise) concrete strategies on how to communicate effectively with parents and carers

Targeting support (20 minutes)

This time can be used to consider strategies for enabling parental and carer engagement for specific groups of pupils, such as those with SEND or disadvantaged backgrounds.

Action planning and next steps (10 minutes)

This section provides ECTs with time for reflection, quizzing, and action steps. You can also look ahead to the next training steps.

Related ECF strands

ECF ‘Learn that’ statements covered:

• 5.7. Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities are likely to require additional or adapted support; working closely with colleagues, families and pupils to understand barriers and identify effective strategies is essential.

• 8.4. Building effective relationships with parents, carers and families can improve pupils’ motivation, behaviour and academic success.

ECF 'Learn how to’ statements covered:

Communicate a belief in the academic potential of all pupils by:

• 1d. Seeking opportunities to engage parents and carers in the education of their children (for example, proactively highlighting successes) with support from expert colleagues to understand how this engagement changes depending on the age and development stage of the pupil.

Build trusting relationships by:

• 7k. Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues effective strategies for liaising with parents, carers and colleagues to better understand pupils’ individual circumstances and how they can be supported to meet high academic and behavioural expectations.

Build effective working relationships by:

• 8h. Communicating with parents and carers proactively and making effective use of parents’ evenings to engage parents and carers in their children’s schooling.
• 8i. Observing how expert colleagues communicate with parents and carers proactively and make effective use of parents’ evenings to engage parents and carers in their children’s schooling and deconstructing this approach.