Research School Network: Parental Engagement: What Have We Done at Huntington School Written by Stephen Foreman

Communications

A link to a newsletter is sent termly to all parents. This updates them about trips and visits that have taken place as well as other events in school.

Text messaging is used more for urgent messages. Parents respond well to this as can pick up in their time.

Facebook and twitter- aim to make it celebratory where possible (great work that’s been done or an event that’s taken place in school), additionally can be informative as it’s a quick way to get brief information to people.

Website- accessible and easy to locate as possible, streamlined. Making it look as organised and attractive as possible. Being mindful of how it looks on different devices.

Regularly asking parents for feedback e.g. through questionnaires sent to parents and after specific events such as parents evening.

Current situation (coronavirus pandemic) – weekly letter sent by headteacher to all parents to update about current situation. Phrased as positively as possible. 

Pastoral Team

The pastoral team spend a huge amount of time building relationships with parents (particularly our vulnerable children and those with challenging behaviour).

Our school is divided into four houses and each has a student support leader. This role is key in terms of contacting parents and developing relationships with them.

Meetings take place when the team have concerns but parents also know they can request one at any time.

The team regularly use phone and email to contact home as its quicker and more accessible for parents.

They also send postcards home to reward good effort (particularly those students who have made big improvements).

Curriculum

Subject teachers are encouraged to contact home to celebrate excellent effort but also to discuss any concerns they may have. This is preferably done via a phone call but a letter can be sent if this isn’t possible.