Key ideas

  1. [bctt tweet=”Don’t overload parents: structured timetables and too many demands may be unhelpful as parents are trying to balance things at home”].
  2. Some parents may be really struggling to adapt to the new situation, it could be very emotional and stressful, there could be significant issues around regular household work and caring for family, for example.
  3. Send weekly tips for helping learning and some flexible resources, not all parents will have the capacity to do the same, there will be huge variation.
  4. Provide a few videos or online learning lessons, if only to give parents a break to do domestic chores and some of their own work.
  5. Beware of anything which might prompt children to require too much support from anxious parents who may be lacking in confidence.
  6. [bctt tweet=”Suggest a few ways that parents can introduce a bit of educational discussion during naturally-occurring household activity – e.g. during washing the car, cooking, during TV shows that are coming up”] – all of this material will still be useful even when schools are back.
  7. Give significant support to parents around digital hygiene, helping children avoid online abuse, bullying, while often unsupervised at home
  8. Find plenty of ways to listen to parents, possibly through surveys, to show that you’re able to respond to their concerns – it needs to feel like a partnership.
  9. Don’t overload teachers to provide too much – teachers may also be struggling with their own home life, health and child-  and family-care duties.
  10. [bctt tweet=”Think about setting up great partnership habits between school and families which will help you for years to come.”]

Further Reading:

BLOG: Engaging Parents as Partners (from 2019)

Dr Kathy Weston’s website

Dr Kathy Weston on Twitter – @Parentengage