Parentkind training for teachers makes parent-friendly schools — new dates added

07 May 2021
The call for supercharging parental participation in schools has never been more urgent.

Since the pandemic struck, leading to long periods of remote learning at home for most children, parents’ confidence in supporting learning has rocketed, and almost two thirds say they are now more aware of what their child is studying*. Evidence shows that parents have become more deeply involved in their child’s schooling and want it to stay that way.

Now is the time for school leaders to overhaul existing parental participation strategies and harness the power and interest of increasingly engaged parents. We have developed a solution to help school leaders unlock parent voice in their school. Their online training workshops empower school leaders and teachers to maximise the potential of effective parent-school partnerships.

The principles behind the training are derived from Parentkind’s peer-reviewed Blueprint for Parent-Friendly Schools, a template that is readily adaptable to each school’s needs. There are many advantages to schools adopting a parent-friendly approach. Tangible outcomes in actively involving parents in learning include higher staff retention, reduced pupil absenteeism, boosted academic achievement and improved pupil behaviour. The training will introduce these potential benefits at every parent-friendly school.

Our innovative workshops are delivered by experts who share best practice in engaging all parents based on years of experience and a reservoir of solid evidence. They are the only training provider helping schools to understand and access the parent perspective. The workshop focuses on Overcoming Barriers to parental participation’. School leaders and teachers will leave equipped with the tools, techniques and actions needed to cultivate a school environment that embeds and nurtures parental participation in all areas of education, strengthening the crucial home and school relationship. The training is the only solution that can truly make all schools parent-friendly.

Book now

School leaders can see the training workshop page to find out more and book a place.

John Jolly, CEO of Parentkind, says, Every parent can engage with their child’s school, given the right opportunity. This should be encouraged because the evidence is clear: schools effectively practising parental participation leads to many positive outcomes for children, parents, teachers and society as a whole. Following the biggest experiment in parental participation that helped to safeguard lives during the pandemic, it is vital that the education sector keeps hold of the positives that came out of it. With parents more actively engaged than ever before in their children’s learning, but many concerned about their child’s long absences from the classroom, it is clear they also have a strong role to play in supporting the national priority of education recovery. Children thrive best when schools and homes work in close partnership, and our online workshops have been created to lead the way in helping schools nurture parental interest and turn it into tangible results. Our workshops are an invaluable opportunity for school leaders and teachers to gain knowledge and share experiences with others in the profession. They are a cost-effective way for schools to maximise existing parental participation strategies without over-burdening teachers.”

About the methodology*

A short online survey was promoted to parents of school-age children in England via social media. It was active between 9pm on 9th February 2021 and 10am on 23rd February 2021. In total, 565 parents completed the survey. Please note percentages may not always add up to 100% due to rounding. For more information, see our full research report.