C7. Engage Parents toolkit
Toolkit
Parental engagement is about moving beyond surface-level communication to build genuine partnerships that benefit students’ learning and well-being. Engagement can take many forms, from welcoming parents to school events, to supporting them with workshops, to using digital tools that give real-time access to their child’s progress. At its best, parental engagement is proactive, collaborative, and focused on student success. This planner supports leaders in designing purposeful strands of engagement that are clear in intent, segmented to meet different needs, and measured for impact.
| Strand |
| Identify the area of engagement you are focusing on, such as attendance, learning at home, communication, or school culture. |
| Purpose |
| Define what you want this strand of engagement to achieve, for example improved homework completion, better understanding of progress reports, or stronger parental confidence in supporting revision. |
| Segment (U/T/I) |
| Decide whether this action is universal (all parents), targeted (a specific group such as Year 11 parents), or intensive (families needing additional support). |
| Key Message & Channel |
| Clarify the message parents need to hear and how it will be delivered, whether face-to-face, phone call, text message, video guide, or parent workshop. |
| Two-way Feedback |
| Describe how parents can respond, ask questions, or share their views, ensuring the relationship is a dialogue and not one-directional. |
| Impact Indicator |
| Decide how success will be measured. This could include attendance at events, improved homework completion rates, higher parental survey scores, or reduced persistent absence. |
| Review Date |
| Set a point to revisit and evaluate if it is working, making adjustments where necessary. |
| Reflection Prompts |
| Am I treating parents as genuine partners rather than simply recipients of information? Do I differentiate between universal, targeted, and intensive approaches to reach families most effectively? Am I ensuring that parents have opportunities to respond and be heard? Am I measuring the impact of engagement rather than just the volume of activity? |
C7. Engage Parents: example toolkit
Role: Head of Year
| Strand |
| Attendance and punctuality for Year 10. |
| Purpose |
| I want parents to understand the impact of attendance on achievement and feel supported in overcoming barriers. I will shift the conversation from compliance to shared responsibility for success. |
| Segment (U/T/I) |
| Targeted for families below 92 percent attendance. Intensive for families below 85 percent who need personalised support. |
| Key Message & Channel |
| Key message: Every day in school counts. Attendance is the foundation of achievement and well-being.Channels: personalised phone calls from me, a half-termly attendance workshop co-hosted with the EWO, and a short video message via the parent app explaining how attendance affects GCSE outcomes. |
| Two-way Feedback |
| Parents can respond in the app, attend workshops, or book short meetings for support plans. Feedback forms will invite suggestions such as homework catch-up sessions or flexible communication times. |
| Impact Indicator |
| I aim to reduce persistent absence from 15 percent to under 10 percent by term end. I will also track workshop attendance and the number of positive two-way communications logged. |
| Review Date |
| End of the current half term, with a four-week interim review. |
| Reflection Prompts |
| Engagement improved when communication felt collaborative rather than corrective. I will expand this approach beyond attendance to learning-focused workshops so parents feel confident supporting revision and academic success at home. |