Building links with school

• Parents often feel uncomfortable when in contact with their child’s school. Children can pick up on parental anxieties and have poor expectations from their school or schooling. Parents need to be positive and show children that education is important and will benefit them, even if they are unfamiliar with the language, the curriculum or the school system.


• Children’s feelings and behaviour, and their ability to fit into their school and take from it, will be affected by what happens in their lives. Carers need to keep schools informed and schools need to listen, acknowledge any difficulties and offer appropriate support.


• Parental involvement in their child’s school tells children that education is important and that their concerns will be listened to.


• Children benefit from having both their parents show an interest in their schooling, even when they do not live together. Parents living apart can still share this role and can ask the school to make sure information is sent to more than one address.


• Schools should have a home-school agreement, which sets out expectations and responsibilities. All parents, but particularly those from black and minority ethnic families, may have particular concerns they would like to raise with the school and can check what topics are included and use the home-school agreement as a way of raising issues.


• Parents need to talk to their children, show an interest in what happens in school and listen to their child’s concerns.


• Parents can support their child’s learning by appreciating their efforts and achievements.


• All children have problems at school at some time so parents need not panic or feel bad when a conflict arises. It would help to talk to your child and then to the class teacher. If you still feel the problem isn’t being addressed, you can ask for a meeting with another member of staff such as the deputy head. If you still aren’t satisfied, you can take the problem to the head and then to your local education authority. It helps to get to know the school and staff before there is a problem so if something comes up, you aren’t trying to find your way around at the same time as sorting a problem.


• Parents can ask for a friend or an interpreter to be there in any meeting with the school and for some meetings parents may want the support of someone like an Educational Welfare Officer. It helps to write down all the questions you want to ask and the points you want to make so you can keep to the point and not forget anything. You can also make notes and ask the school to agree and confirm any decisions made at the meeting.

• Your child's future - school matters
• Getting to know the school
• Looking into your child's future
• Sorting out problems at school
• Opening doors - what next?
• Schools series (PDFs)