What does strong parental engagement look like in practice?

Ministers are hoping to strengthen the home-school relationship as abuse and complaints from parents and pupil absences continue to rise.

The schools white paper laid out plans to set “minimum expectations” on parental engagement.

But what does strong parental engagement look like in practice?

Answers may be found at Bantock Primary School in Wolverhampton, which has become the first school in England to be named a gold standard “parent-friendly school” by the charity Parentkind.

Knowing the community

The school has been on a long journey since Harvey Sarai – now chief executive of its sponsor The Wulfruna Partnership – joined as headteacher in 2013.

“We had really aggressive parents,” she said. “We had one parent who we did bar from the premises.”

There was no whole-school “quick fix”, and relationships had to be built “parent by parent”.

Leaders began by standing at the school gates every afternoon.

“That one little action had a major impact, because we built relationships with our families,” she said.

Bantock’s headteacher and deputy have kept up this practice for 13 years.

Racheal Smith, the head of Parent-Friendly Schools (PFS), which visited last month, said parents valued the time with leaders as it made them feel “cared-for”.

Sarai said Bantock was in “the most deprived area of Wolverhampton”, with more than 60 per cent of its 440 pupils eligible for free school meals. Many pupils speak English as an additional language.

Breaking through barriers

For Bantock, building relationships with parents has meant being “savvy” on finding ways to communicate.

Many families have recently arrived in England, but parent ambassadors who are employed part-time help to translate for them.

The school also uses technology to provide live translations at parents’ evenings and inductions, offers ESOL classes for parents and includes different languages on signage.

“Parent chatter sessions”, supported by the ambassadors, cover everything from what a SATs paper looks like to online safety.

Jez Thomas, Bantock’s current head, said understanding the school’s different ethnic communities and having “good advocates” in each of them has been key to building successful relationships with parents.

For example, one of its governors is a member of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community, helping the school better understand and support that group. Attendance had improved as a result.

Consistency above everything

Bantock also has a highly mobile population, with “half of the school” changing each year.

In response, it runs three parents’ evenings a year, while every new family receives an induction presentation and tour from leaders.

At parents’ evenings, experts such as nurses and financial experts are also brought in so parents can access help.

“A lot of our families will not talk to these services on their own because they don’t feel safe,” said Sarai. “But if we say it’s OK … they will take that on board.”

‘Consistently showing up’

Smith said much of the school’s success with parents “comes from consistently showing up”, and that listening to parents and involving them in decisions has been central to building trust.

Parents were consulted, for example, when Bantock mooted finishing at 1.30pm on Fridays so staff could focus on PPA. Childcare was provided where needed.

Sarai said the school observed and addressed parents’ individual needs, much as it did with pupils.

Some needed a few minutes of daily contact with leaders, others more, others less.

Crucially, by meeting these needs, pupils benefited as they “can see a relationship between us and their parents”.

Impact on resources?

The approach may sound resource intensive, but Sarai described it as “preventative”.

“Because we’ve spent that time to earn [parents’] respect, when an issue does crop up, we’re at a better starting point.”

Practical approaches also helped to free up time and resources for parental engagement.

A small leadership team meant more funding could be directed into the wider school, while technology helped to streamline processes.

Sarai also stressed the importance of consistency and incremental changes.

“Sometimes … schools throw everything out and start again. That’s going to cost more money.” Instead, she said: “Keep what works and tweak it.”

Smith said Bantock could “very much have their time taken up with complaining parents” but by investing in parent relationships, “the reward is that their parents are their advocates”.

Parental engagement ‘not an initiative’

PFS was launched by Parentkind a year ago as a way of acknowledging schools that meet its blueprint for parent participation. The charity also offers advice, training, and resources.

Almost 500 schools have gained accreditation, around 450 at “standard” level and 22 silver. Bantock is the only one to have achieved gold, an accreditation reserved for “exceptional” practice.

Bantock submitted lengthy video evidence that showed it fulfilled 97 per cent of PFS’s blueprint. Smith also interviewed parents and staff.

“A lot of schools start from the premise that the parents are an extra burden…rather than recognising that parents are gatekeepers for attendance, of the child’s attitude to learning,” she said.

But if schools “win the parents, they win the hearts and minds of the child, and you win their bums on seats”.

At Bantock, parental engagement “is not an initiative – it’s embedded and integral to everything that they do”.