|
|
|
PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS Research
has proven that effective partnership with parents does have a positive effect
on pupils’ learning. “Inclusiveness
is an absolute principle. It includes not only the pupils of the school, it
includes all the staff; it includes the community of the school, all of the
agencies who participate in the school and supporting the learning climate in
the school; it also includes parents, as key agents in young people’s
learning.” (‘Climate for Learning’- Brian Dobson) Inclusiveness
means encouraging parents to feel that they are valued as individuals, and that
they have a vested interest in the community and its values, and that the sense
of belonging which schools and teachers work hard to sustain in the classroom
and the wider school, also encompasses them. When parents see the point of a
collaborative venture, when they feel it makes sense to them in terms of
promoting the well-being of their children, and when they have been involved in
its negotiation, then they will be more inclined to give it their active
support. If
schools can develop strategies to make parents feel included and of value to the
learning community, then many of the perceived difficulties associated with the
idea of partnership will disappear. School
inspections take account of the views of parents on all aspects of the school
and partnership with parents is an important aspect of a school’s operation
considered in ‘How Good Is Our School’ and ‘Child at the Centre’. In order to achieve the above, we aim: v To create a positive ethos and climate within the school where parents are valued as having a key role in their child’s education v To work collaboratively with the School Board and Parents/Teachers Association v To provide structures within the school for partnership with all parents v To keep parents informed of developments within the School Development Plan v To keep parents informed of the every day life of the school v To inform parents of their child’s progress and welfare in school v To involve the parents in school activities v To seek the views of parents when auditing aspects within the school v To involve parents in their child’s learning Structures for partnership with
parents The
school will: v
Create an ethos and climate
within the school where the views of all parents are valued, respected and taken
account of, irrespective of their
ethnicity, culture, background or religion v
Create opportunities for the
parents to come into the school on a regular basis e.g. school religious
services, school book fairs, school events, attend extra-curricular activities v
Seek out possible skills and
interests that parents may have that could be incorporated into enhancing the
education of the pupils e.g. taking extra-curricular activities, helping within
the school, helping in the library, teaching cycling proficiency v
Create clear and positive
communication links with parents where they know they can approach the school
with a problem and it will be acted upon positively v
Seek support from outside
agencies if there are barriers to partnership due to language and/or
culture differences v
Share responsibilities for
implementing school policies on for example bullying, homework, road safety,
administration of medicines, health and safety, discipline v
Provide opportunities for parents
to help within the school and on school trips v
Establish mechanisms for seeking
all parents’ views on areas of development/amendments to practice. v
Participate in events and
activities within the local community and allow community events to take place
within the school Learning and teaching The
school will: v
Establish structures to involve
parents in being active partners in their children’s learning e.g. through
homework, use of home-school packs, story bags, etc. v
Provide curriculum workshops
where the role of parents is explained and ways of helping their children at
home are highlighted v
Keep parents up to date with new
methodologies and strategies being implemented within the school e.g. Early
Intervention, North Lanark writing programme, interactive mental maths Information for parents The
school will: v
Provide parents with a helpful
and informative school prospectus v Communicate with parents through regular informative newsletters v Provide alternative modes of communicating with parents if appropriate e.g. braille, translations into other languages, using interpreters, involving support agencies v Provide a vehicle for a 2 way communication link from home to school e.g. homework diary/home-school diary, provision of a zipped plastic wallet for holding all correspondence from school and home v Inform parents of extra-curricular activities available and events that may be happening in the local community v Regularly updating information on the 0870 telephone link v Display notices and information on the school and nursery noticeboards. v Circulate information from School Board and Parent/Teachers Association and local community Pupil progress and welfare The
school will: v
Inform the parents of pupil
progress through written and oral reports v
Invite parents in to discuss any
concerns with pupils throughout the year v
Actively involve parents of
pupils with specific needs in drawing up and reviewing I.E.P targets v
Involve the parents in the
development of welfare policies and issuing them with Health and Welfare
policies v
Inform parents of school
expectations on behaviour and attendance e.g. school rules, letters explaining
absence from school v
Informing parents of sanctions
and procedures if above are not adhered to v
Inform parents of procedures for
dealing with incidents that may result in pupils being put at risk School Board The
school will : v
Submit regular reports to
meetings to keep the board informed of relevant matters going on in the school v
Seek the views of the board in
aspects of School Development Planning e.g. in
developing /amending school policies v
Update the board on pupil
attainment and attendance v
Follow up on any concerns voiced
by the board v
Work together to resolve any
problems that are of concern to both parties e.g. aspects of road safety around
the school v
Seek their approval of school’s
spending budget Parent/Teachers Association The
school will : v
Involve them in how money raised
by them through fund-raising is spent v
Arrange social events that
provide opportunities for parents and teachers to meet in an informal setting
e.g. a joint social evening School Development Plan The
school will: v
Regularly seek the views of all
parents when developing aspects of the School Development Plan through
questionnaires, oral feedback at meetings etc. v
Report back to parents on
findings of the above and set out action that may result from these findings v
Provide opportunities for parents
to attend information workshops where aspects of school development can be
explained v
Inform the parents annually of
the school plan development areas to be undertaken during the year and progress
that has been made Monitoring and review Monitoring
and review of partnership with parents is an ongoing procedure within the
school. A more formal evaluation is undertaken within the cycle of School
Development Planning when auditing the QI on ‘Partnership with parents, the
school board and the community’ and Nursery PI ‘Partnership with parents’.
|