Covid brought many parents closer to their children’s learning. It was one small benefit of a deeply damaging period, and we should not let it disappear. But Parentkind’s new National Parent Survey of 6,053 parents suggests that benefit is fading. In 2023, shortly after school closures and home learning, 80 per cent said they felt involved in their child’s education. This year, only 59 per cent do. The 2023 figure came at an unusual moment, but a fall of 21 percentage points should worry every school. This is not parental apathy. Seventy-two per cent want a say in their child’s education at school, while 48 per cent want to spend more time supporting learning at home. Parents still care. Too many no longer feel they have a useful way in. Good parent engagement improves learning. The Education Endowment Foundation estimates that it is worth an average of four months’ additional progress per year. That’s around 75 extra school days achieved by working with parents. That is why parental engagement must sit at the heart of school improvement and efforts to close the attainment gap. I spent 20 years working in a school, ten in leadership. I know why leaders may read these findings with frustration. Staff are stretched, complaints are rising and children arrive with more complex needs. Partnership cannot mean permanent availability or giving up professional judgment. It means helping parents understand their child’s education, supporting learning at home and raising concerns in a way that can be heard. Communication alone is not engagement Most schools are getting many of the basics right. Sixty-five per cent of parents say their school communicates well, although this has fallen from 71 per cent in 2023. Sixty per cent get clear information about supporting learning at home. Yet only 53 per cent say their school listens to them, and 40 per cent say it acts on feedback, down from 47 per cent three years ago. Sending more messages is not the answer. Schools need to know whether information reaches the right families, is understood and gives them a way to respond. Parents do not expect every suggestion to be adopted. But they should know their views were considered, what was decided and why. The fall is steepest among parents on the lowest incomes. In households earning under £20,000, involvement fell from 77 per cent in 2023 to 46 per cent this year. That compares with 74 per cent among households earning £100,000 or more. Among the lowest-income parents, 18 per cent cannot afford to support their school as much as they would like, twice the national average. Daytime events, fundraising and formal processes can favour those already best-placed to take part. Our Parent-Friendly Schools work shows what good engagement looks like. At Bantock Primary School, the first to gain gold accreditation, the headteacher and deputy have greeted families at the gate every day for 13 years. Parent ambassadors support families in up to nine languages. This is not a one-off initiative. It is part of how the school works, and leaders say the time invested is preventive because problems begin from trust rather than conflict. Make the new expectations work The government’s 2026 schools white paper promises minimum expectations for meaningful home-to-school partnerships. Ofsted’s updated inspection toolkit now asks how leaders and governors build constructive relationships with parents. At the expected standard, those relationships should build trust and help pupils achieve and belong. This is welcome, but the expectations must work both ways. Schools should listen, explain decisions and make it easy for families to take part. Parents should support learning, uphold attendance and respect staff. None of this will be proved by a folder of evidence. Counting events, survey returns or messages will not tell leaders whether parents feel involved. Every school should put parental engagement in its improvement plan and give a named member of staff responsibility for leading it. This does not make one person responsible for every relationship. It gives someone the job of finding out who the school is not reaching, turning feedback into change and helping colleagues work confidently with families. Education reform means more than what goes on in the classroom. Children need home and school to pull in the same direction. Government and Ofsted have opened the door to change. Schools now need the support to make parents genuine partners and keep the small gain that Covid brought: parents closer to their children’s learning.