Teach Secondary 13.5

teachwire.net/secondary Meet themwhere they are If we don’t get a prompt reply to an initial communication regarding a serious matter, we ought to exhibit genuine concern. Up to a point, it may be necessary to think the unthinkable – that something terrible could have happened to family, so we should be sympathetic in the first instance and check in via email or call to see if they’re okay, having not heard from them. If leaving a message, be sure to state a time that you’ll try calling them again, or suggest a convenient time at which they could contact you. If scheduling a face-to-face meeting with parents is providing difficult, there are several steps you can take. Post-COVID, we’ve become a nation that’s nowmuch more open to, and adept at using remote learning and online meetings. Lest we forget, until relatively recently all parents’ evenings took place online. This flexibility nowmakes it possible for schools to accommodate a much wider range of accessibility needs that families may have. During the pandemic, we actually saw an increase in parental attendance at school meetings, stemming from parents and carers’ increased availability, and our ability to make ourselves more accessible via screens in their homes or at their workplace. If you need it, then chances are that option is still very much there. External advice Given that children are required to attend school five days a week over a span of multiple years, schools clearly play an important role in a child’s early life – but that life will still be profoundly shaped by their family story, which is why home visits can play a vital part in better understanding a child’s behaviour, and the wider context of their upbringing. The school’s policy on home visits should be fully explained to parents, clearly setting out when and why these may be necessary. They should always be done with the best interests of the child at heart, and carefully planned beforehand. Families will typically be informed of an impending home visit, though there may be occasions when visits are unannounced – usually in relation to a serious safeguarding issues. Home visits should always be completed by staff in pairs, ideally including at least one adult known to the family or child. The stage at which a school should seek assistance from external agencies with respect to a parent’s availability/ willingness to engage productively with its staff A school’s safeguarding policy will be influenced by child protection laws, government guidance and decisions made by its local authority, and apply to any cases involving children who have gone missing fromhome or education, and any forms of harm or abuse. A detail breakdown of these can be found in Annex B of the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance issued by the DfE (see bit.ly/ ts135-PE1). Every school has a duty of care to the children on its roll, and must follow all appropriate protocols if they have any concerns regarding an individual child or their home environment. Parents and carers should in turn contact the school and update them on any important matters relating to their child’s wellbeing. If a school continues to have concerns, having received no contact from the family, they will need to liaise with an external social care agency or contact the police. Usually, a school must have exhausted all other possible forms of communication with parents and carers before taking such steps. Any referral decisions must be recorded on the child’s file, explaining the reasoning behind the action taken. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ann Marie Christian is a safeguarding and child protection expert; for more information, visit annmariechristian.comr MAKE CONTACT 5 ways in which schools can bring reticent families into the fold 1 Create a culture of transparency in your school, whereby families are invited to be less guarded and more forthright in explaining any reasons for not trusting the school. 2 The resulting ‘non- judgemental’ culture will help to encourage honesty in conversations and prevent future breakdowns in communication. 3 A parent portal can be an effective positive way of putting families in communication with heads of years, pastoral teammembers, specific mentors, DSLs and SENCos. 4 Posters around the school, parent newsletters and the school website can all be used to promote the school’s role in encouraging families to be more open, and ‘sell’ the benefits of positive family/ school communication on children’s learning outcomes, attendance and overall welfare. 5 As well as ensuring your partnership working expectations are properly explained, consider also offering alternative partnership option to any parents who consider themselves ‘not heard’, or potentially misunderstood. 41 PA R E N TA L E N G A G E M E N T