Meet the Parents

Book excerpt: Meet the Parents is an essential guide for school leaders and classroom teachers looking to build stronger and more productive relationships with the families of pupils. This book uses more than 40 years of experience to explain techniques for uniting families with a range of backgrounds and a variety of circumstances, and highlights the most successful approaches for encouraging and developing the home-school partnership. Drawing on case studies and real-life examples, Lepkowska and Nightingale unpick the reasons behind barriers to learning and examine the issues that cause parents to be demotivated from engaging with schools. The authors cover a range of important topics, from the long-standing concerns to modern problems, including: Making the most of parents' evening. Special Educational Needs and Disability. Bereavement, divorce and loss. Raising the aspirations of parents and children. Influence of the media and online safety. Meet the Parents aims to aid headteachers, senior leaders, classroom practitioners and student teachers – and any other school staff who wish to develop a more effective ongoing home-school partnership. Recognising the vital need for parental engagement with children’s learning, this book will help schools and families to come together and provide the best support possible for every child.