This week I contributed to a panel discussion at The Schools and Academies Show 2021 at the NEC Birmingham. Here I will outline my key take away points from the session and outline my philosophy of parental participation.
Is parental participation a good thing?
Of course it is! I am yet to meet an educator who does not believe that parental participation is a good thing. Anecdotally, many will be able to point to examples that support this view point. What is less clear is what parental participation should/could look like and what we as professionals are expecting of our parent/carer community.
Can all parents participate?
Listening to discussions on the topic you would be forgiven for assuming they can. The reality however, is that for many parents there are significant barriers to participating in their child’s education. Anxiety, work commitments, understanding of the system and accessibility to name just a small number of the possible barriers parents might face.
So what is the solution?
Often, schools can be guilty of expecting all parents to be able to work with the school in the same way. We need to acknowledge that parents receive no training in being a parent and that In order for parental participation to be successful we must do better at supporting all to participate in their child’s education.
Do we need a framework?
No! Education has enough frameworks to be concerned about.
However, a minimum requirement or expectation to be working with parents to upskill them and to engage them in their child’s education would make a useful benchmark.
Will working from home make parental participation easier?
It is an understandable view, yet it misses the main thrust of the discussion. Time alone will not solve the barriers to parental participation. Work by school leaders to unpick these barriers will lead to improvements and demonstrate real community leadership.
Does parental engagement hinder school wide progress?
No, any approach should be sensible. Parental participation does not mean handing over the keys to the school, it means involving parents in a meaningful way with their child’s education.
There is a partnership between parents and the school. Professionals would still be expected to make decisions, in consultation with parents, that ensure school wide and individual progress – the two do not need to be exclusive.
What about ‘angry’ parents?
This was a question put to us by an audience member. It is important to recognise that ‘anger’ is often a manifestation of other feelings for the person you are working with. The parent may not understand the decision you have made, fear for their child’s education and future, lack the required trust in your institution or even feel that their only option is to do battle in order to look after their child.
Often simply re-framing our thoughts to view how parents respond to us can help us to respond in a compassionate and understanding way. Relationships are key, you just need to build them. It can be easy to simply end a meeting because a parent becomes irate but in the same way we would deescalate a child’s behaviour, is it not in everyone’s best interests to do the same with our parents.
Final thoughts…
The underlying message from my contribution was that everything we do should be led by our individual context.
It should involve identifying and removing barriers to participation.
Participation should be meaningful.
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