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How to improve communication with parents in your school
Communicating with parents is critical and yet often challenging for schools. Good parent communication increases parental engagement and can make a big difference to a child’s education.
When parents and teachers are working towards the same goal, students are better-behaved, attendance rates are higher, exclusions are lower and in turn this leads to better results for your school.
Many things can get in the way of effective communications but having the right parent communication software setup in your school can make a big difference.
What are the challenges of keeping parents informed?
Research shows that effective parent communication can positively impact a student’s achievement* which is why it is so important to have a solid parent communication strategy. Communication barriers between parents and teachers can stand in the way of achieving this, here’s some common barriers and how to overcome them.
Parents are busy
Even with all the best will in the world, lack of time and busy lifestyles can limit a parents ability to participate in their child's school life.
If parents struggle to take time off work to come into school for meetings or parents evening, consider doing it online. Virtual meeting tools like My School Portal Parents Evening help reduce the time parents need to get involved and can meet remotely at home or on the go.
If you haven’t already invest in a good parent communication software that will simplify communication whilst reducing overheads. It helps parents keep on top of communications including forms to be completed, their child’s activity and progress.
Finally, remember quality over quantity. Condense information into fewer communications to ensure parents are not overwhelmed and reduce the chance of missed communications.
Cultural Differences
The role of the family in education can vary across different cultures, which means attitudes towards parental engagement can also vary. Some value respect towards the teacher and as such avoid getting involved in the decision making of their child's education. Keeping this in mind can help schools parent engagement remains consistent across all cultures. Another barrier that arises is a parents’ level of English language proficiency, which can mean a lack of confidence when getting involved in their child’s education.
Tips to overcome:
Be transparent in the involvement you would like from parents and in turn ask parents how they would like to be involved. Where possible try to involve all cultures in school by celebrating all traditions and inviting parents in to share in the celebrations and feel included in the school community.
Negative school experiences
Negative school experiences can prevent parents from playing an active role in their child’s school life. They may feel distant, alienated or may not trust the teachers.
Tips to overcome:
Getting to know families is so important, encourage dialogue and reassure them that you are working together for the same goal, to help their child progress and achieve.
5 tips to improve your parent engagement and communication
Make parents and guardians feel valued
Great parent communication starts with parents and guardians being made to feel valuable. Parents know their children best and are a great source of information that can be used to support a child’s academic career. When teachers are approached by busy parents it’s important that they feel listened to and acknowledged.
Positive vibes only
It may seem obvious, but a little positivity can go a long way. For some parents it may be out of their comfort zone to approach teachers to talk about their children. As well as listening to and acknowledging anything parents have to say, being warm and welcoming can go a long way towards making a parent feel more involved.
Keep communications consistent
Regular communication is key for encouraging engagement between parents and teachers. Parents evenings and school reports take place just a few times a year, yet children are in teachers’ classrooms every day. Don’t just save phone calls home for bad news or good results, check in regularly with parents to make them feel more involved.
Organise events
A child’s academic success isn’t just about good grades and test results. Class art exhibitions, theatre productions and sending home food cooked by students are all ways of demonstrating a child’s positive school experience and engaging with parents.
Consider tools and software to streamline and enhance communications
Parents evening is not the only way to communicate with parents and guardians. Phone calls, text messages, emails, face to face meetings and specialist parent engagement software can help your school better communicate with parents in a way that suits them and their lifestyle.
Discover how to improve parent teacher communication
Benefits of parent teacher communication
Children’s motivation for learning increases
Parents taking an interest in their child’s school career can better support learning at home and increase the chances of academic success. Children are encouraged to learn in more when parents can facilitate an extension of the classroom both at home and away on holidays and days out. Greater parent teacher communication can lead to higher homework completion rates, more classroom participation, and fewer absences (source).
Greater job satisfaction for school staff
“Teachers who communicate with parents report feeling happier and more competent as educators” (source). The more a teacher knows about a child’s character traits: what excites them, how they learn best, what hobbies they do outside of school and a myriad more things, helps teachers adapt their lessons to suit each individual. What goes on outside school certainly affects a child’s behaviour in the classroom and the more a teacher can engage with each pupil makes academic success more likely. Parents who regularly communicate with their children’s teachers have a higher opinion of them which results in greater morale across teaching staff.
Parents learn more about their children
Being involved in a child’s education not only means parents understand more about their child, but they can also learn how to parent better. Communication with teachers is one avenue of engagement, but connecting with other parents at school events is a great way of sharing resources and exchanging stories. By learning how their children interact with others in the playground and outside of school, parents build their own confidence.
Improving Parent-Teacher Communication Without Email Overload
Michael Bond, Headmaster of Brentwood School,, a leading independent day and boarding school in Essex, shares their best practice advice on how schools can transform parent-teacher communications.
Recognising the Challenge of Parent-Teacher Communication:
A recent newspaper article My brain can’t handle all of the school emails!' ', resonates with the thousands of parents grappling with the dilemma of email overload every single day. Michael acknowledges the inherent struggle parents face in sifting through a flood of school emails to find pertinent information and wanted to make a change.
Importance of Effective Parent-Teacher Communication:
Effective parent-teacher communication is paramount in fostering a supportive learning environment where students thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. It facilitates a strong partnership between home and school, enabling educators to understand each child's unique needs and provide tailored support. Furthermore, research consistently highlights the positive correlation between frequent, transparent communication and improved student outcomes, emphasizing its indispensable role in promoting student success.
Brentwood's Approach to Improving Parent-Teacher Communication:
Brentwood School have implemented a proactive approach to streamline and target parent communication. Using the Access Education My School Portal software, they now send parents a singular, daily digest email which arrives in their inbox at the same time each day. This innovative solution ensures parents receive essential information in a timely manner, without being overwhelmed by constant email notifications.
Leveraging Technology for Better Improving Parent-Teacher Communication:
The positive impact of innovative technology, such as the My School Portal software, cannot be overstated. Michael describes how this platform has revolutionised communication processes, providing parents with personalised daily digests tailored to each child's activities. This approach not only enhances efficiency but also reduces email overload, garnering an overwhelmingly positive response from parents.
Personalised Communication Strategies for Improving Parent-Teacher Communication:
Central to Brentwood's success is the adoption of tailored communication strategies aligned with the school's values and the unique needs of its community. Michael emphasises the importance of rejecting one-size-fits-all approaches and providing avenues for direct communication between parents and teachers.
Continuous Improvement for Improving Parent-Teacher Communication:
Brentwood School's commitment to continuous improvement is evident. Ongoing initiatives, such as optimising the school calendar presentation for enhanced accessibility to parents and reaffirming the institution's dedication to fostering a strong home-school relationship are just two key focusses this year.
Brentwood School is almost 500 years old and one of the leading independent day and boarding schools for boys and girls aged 3 to 18, based in Essex. They have been using our all-in-one parent communication solution, My School Portal, for nearly 3 years, as it perfectly aligns with their diverse community. Parents now have convenient access to essential information, ensuring they stay well-informed about their children's academic and pastoral experiences in real-time. By understanding parental challenges, leveraging innovative technology, and embracing personalized communication strategies, schools can transform communication processes, ensuring a seamless and meaningful partnership between home and school.
How parent communication software can help
Here are three key ways in which parent communication software can benefit parents and schools:
Let parents view everything in one portal
Parent communication software is designed to be a one stop shop for all communications between teachers and parents. Features like online calendars and Google Assignments integrations can help parents to stay on top of all school activities and receive up to date information on how their child is progressing.
Whether it’s after school sports fixtures, exam timetables, classes, music lessons, school trips or parents evening appointments, dedicated software provides parents and teachers with an up to the minute view of a child’s calendar at the click of a button.
Cost effective messaging
Parental engagement platforms can be used to send emails and SMS messages to parents in bulk. SMS is an easy form of two way communication that is affordable and allows schools to reach busy parents on the go, wherever they are.
Sending SMS messages also saves schools paperwork and additional administration time and costs.
Enables your school to go paperless
Software removes the need for printed newsletters, reports and permission slips – helping to reduce time-consuming admin and improve the likelihood of your documents actually reaching parents — rather than ending up crumpled at the bottom of a school bag.
Parent communication software can also help schools track absence and leave effectively, and ensure important contact and medical details are stored in one central location. Mobile optimised forms means parents can submit vital information at the click of a button.
