Building Effective Parent Partnerships

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Building Effective Parent Partnerships
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What is the LPPA?

• A DCSF-recognised national award
• A supportive framework that enables schools to
  develop sustainable parent partnership
• Achieved by schools that reach a high standard in
  each of the ten LPPA Objectives

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The E-Learning Foundation and the LPPA

• Two organisations with a shared philosophy and
  many shared aims
• E-Learning Foundation Connecting disadvantaged
  children to a brighter future
• LPPA For schools committed to investing in
  parents for the achievement of children

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Why work with parents?

• Desforges and Abouchaar (2003)
• The impact of parental involvement, parental
  support and
• family education on pupil achievement and
  adjustment
• University of Warwick Research Project (2006)
• Commissioned by Specialist Schools and Academies
  Trust,
• Funded by DCSF
•  
• Harvard Family Research Project (2004)
• Harvard Graduate School of Education

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The key issue

• Its what parents do,
• not who they are, that counts.

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The Home Access challenge

• The E-Learning Foundation Survey 2009
• What were the biggest barriers in getting your
  programme going?
• 300 responses (50 of schools)
• 38 related to issues of parental engagement

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Clarity of purpose

• All key partners understand why working with
  parents (and other key adults) is important
• - staff
• - pupils/students
• - parents
• - governors
• - outside agencies
• The contribution that all partners can make is
  clear
• Clarity of purpose for developing Home Access?

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Organisation and management

• Who has overall responsibility for developing
  parent partnership?
• What are structures for managing the
  contributions of key partners
• How is working with parents managed in the school
  development context
• - identifying priorities
• - planning for action
• - implementation and delivery
• - monitoring and evaluation
• How will Home Access be incorporated?

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Making your school a welcoming and friendly place

• What parents say is important
• Easy access to the school site
• Welcoming and efficient reception arrangements
• Effective telephone communication
• Responsive e-mail arrangements
• Texting services
• Easy-to-access, parent-friendly information
• Day-to-day contact with staff (younger children)

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Lifelong learning

• Engaging parents in
• - adult learning (their own learning)
• - family learning (to support childrens
  learning)
• This can be
• - on-site, off-site, ICT-based
• Using Home Access for
• - advertising, recruitment
• - materials provision
• - activities
• - follow-up support
• - feedback and evaluation

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Enrichment activities

• Parents and children learning together
• Homework information
• Home learning tasks
• Family fun activities
• Sharing my learning
• Research challenges
• Joint parent/child Home Access induction sessions

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Practical engagement strategies
lifelong and family learning and enrichment
activities
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Induction for parents

• Induction for parents
• Application process guide
• Induction documentation and forms
• On-line parent handbook
• New parents FAQ page
• Induction session on Home Access
• Following-up parents without Home Access

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Information to support childrens learning

• Parent-friendly curriculum guidance
• Suggestions on how parents can provide support
• Information and invitations to lifelong learning
  and enrichment opportunities
• Up-to-date pupil target and achievement
  information
• Attendance and punctuality records
• Items of thanks, recognition and congratulation
• Emergencies and special circumstances

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Parental consultation and feedback

• On-line questionnaires
• Evaluation feedback requests
• Needs identification
• On-line parent focus groups
• Reporting back to parents We asked You Said
  We did

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Transition support for parents

• Access to school, college, employer websites
• Information about transition process
• Issues, concerns and FAQs
• On-line applications
• External agency links for vulnerable
  pupils/students

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Benefits

• General
• Up to date information
• Enhanced communication
• Exciting learning opportunities
• Feedback and evaluation
• Paper reduction
• For families that
• Live in an ICT world
• Live a long way from school
• Have heavy working commitments/limited time

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Watch points

• An additional form of communication
• Step-by-step introduction
• Training and development for all
• Monitoring workload for school staff
• Additional funding requirements
• Families that do not live in an ICT World
• Families with EAL
• Vulnerable families/families living in stressful
  circumsances

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• Thank you