Our project brings children’s and adult educators together to create awareness raising and training materials on how best to engage those hard to reach adults in the education of their children. We do this by providing adult and family learning opportunities within areas identified as having multiple deprivation. These courses aim to improve engagement between parents and the schools that their children attend.
The main aims of the Home School Link Project:
Children’s learning is supported by their parents or Carers and parents have better communication with the school and feel more confident in their communication with the school
Our pilot aimed to bring parents and children into the same classroom to learn a new skill together
Everyone would be learning a new skill and so neither the parents, the teachers/staff, nor the children were ‘experts’ before the course began
The focus of the course was better and more effective communication which we felt would help parents and children in all areas of their lives – at school and at home
The course took place in the school so that parents were coming into the school for something positive each week
Professionals involved in children’s education are confident and effective in engaging parents and carers and feel that their participation has improved their communication and relationships with parents involved in the course
Teachers and staff at the school were invited to attend the course on the same side of the table as parents – as participants working through the same issues
School staff were key in identifying the parents they wanted to engage with and support with the understanding that the programme targeted families they felt they had difficulty engaging with
Children’s and Adult educators are brought together to the benefit of both
We choose a topic with a contemporary theme and wide appeal
We arrange meetings beforehand to explain and agree the Home School Link aims and outcomes
We built in evaluation and follow up links