Schools and families, working together so every child can flourish
Children do best when the adults around them pull in the same direction. Parents and carers know their children better than anyone. Schools see them every day. When the two work as partners, children are more likely to attend, feel safe and happy, and learn well.
Many schools and parents have found ways to do this brilliantly. But for too many children, the relationship is struggling: families find school hard to reach, or only hear from it when something has gone wrong.
The School-Parent Partnership Alliance, supported by the Department for Education, is bringing together school leaders, parents and experts to change that. We will make the case for stronger partnerships, listen to what's already working, share and test promising ideas, and build the evidence for what works.
We want to hear from you
Whether you're a parent or carer, work in a school, or support families in another way, we want to hear from as many people as possible.
What helps home and school work well together where you are?
It takes about five minutes.
Share what's workingWhy we're asking
Good schools have always known that children learn best when home and school are on the same side.
The evidence agrees: the Education Endowment Foundation finds that collaborating with parents can boost children's progress, at very low cost. Research also shows that the greatest benefit for the child comes when schools support families to develop positive habits of interacting at home.1
There is a lot to build on. Across the country, schools and families are already finding new ways to work together for children: getting to know each other, keeping in touch, and making sure families can find support when they need it. Government programmes such as Best Start Family Hubs and Families First Partnerships aim to bring local help for families together. But good practice is scattered.
That is why the Department for Education has convened the Alliance, as part of a wider focus on parents as partners in their children's education. Its first job is to listen: to find out what is already working, test those approaches, and help more schools and families to adopt them.
1 Goodall, J. and Montgomery, C. (2014), Parental involvement to parental engagement: a continuum, Educational Review, 66(4). The Education Endowment Foundation finding is from its Teaching and Learning Toolkit.
What we think so far
We believe stronger partnerships between schools and families come from four shifts.
The needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and their families, run through all four.
What it looks like
Places where schools and families are already working as partners. Scroll or use the arrows to see more.
Rethinking the move to secondary school
Six primaries feed one high school in a cluster of former mining villages. Every frontline member of staff, from teaching assistants to the office team, is trained in relational communication, and the early years team visits every family at home before their child starts school. A “Festival of Transition” runs from year 4 to year 7, replacing a data handover with relationships built over four years.
Meeting families on their own terms
Relationships start before school does, with parent and baby groups designed with parents themselves. Each autumn, teachers visit families at home across every year group, and community ambassadors connect families with local services and with each other.
A community hub, not a service building
Five schools within a mile of each other, across two trusts and the local authority, share accountability: their headteachers sit on each other's governing boards. At the Burrington Community Hub, families find support with SEND, antenatal and play sessions, youth cooking and Citizens Advice drop-ins under one roof.
Listening first, then acting
Rather than calling some families “hard to reach”, the trust recognised that the system itself can be hard to reach. Governors lead local listening circles, staff in every role act as community champions, and a parent survey led directly to a Promise for Families.
Families shouldn’t have to fit the system
Families here speak many languages and join throughout the year. Each new family has a proper welcome, with translation where needed, so staff get to know them before the child starts. A dedicated member of staff helps parents find their way around the system, and the school’s community hub offers food support, English classes and help with the move to secondary.
A secondary school that keeps parents close
Parents shape decisions through a standing parent forum and working groups, and can see what changed as a result. Anxious pupils can try the site and the bus before they start, every family has a named house team to turn to, and homework sits in one place. Adult classes and sport keep the site busy long after the school day ends.
Making families part of the team
A specialist school for 89 young people aged 11 to 19 with severe to profound learning needs. Families can sit in on lessons and learn the communication strategies their child uses, so they can carry them on at home. A clear “you said, we did” approach shows parents what changed after they spoke up, and the school brings in specialists to help families plan for adulthood.
These examples come from schools and trusts the Alliance already knows, and from partners including Parentkind. We'll add more as people share what's working where they are.
What happens next
Here's how what you tell us will be used.
Who we are
The Alliance is co-chaired by a parent advocate and a school founder. They will lead a group of school leaders, parents and experts, to be announced shortly.
Get in touch
hello@schoolparentpartnership.org.uk
How we use your information
The Reach Foundation looks after the information you share on behalf of the Alliance. We use it to understand what's working in partnerships between schools and families, and to contact you if you've agreed. Your responses will be read by the Alliance's co-chairs, staff at The Reach Foundation and officials at the Department for Education. We won't publish anything that identifies you, your school or your organisation without your permission. We'll keep your information only for as long as the Alliance needs it, and no longer than two years, then delete it. To ask about or remove your information, email hello@schoolparentpartnership.org.uk. Read the full privacy notice.