Description
ABOUT THIS COURSE
This new course is aimed at all school staff who communicate with parents as part of their role. This includes support staff and admin staff.
This course explores ways of positively and proactively building relationships with parents. The focus of the course is that, by taking the time to cultivate two-way open communication, conflicts are less likely to occur. Where they do occur, there are understood processes for addressing them.
BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
- Gain and understanding of the benefits of a proactive school approach to parental communication
- Appreciate the different strategies needed to communicate effectively with Parents according to the medium
- Explore the impact of how the school communicates with parents regarding their children.
- Understand the reasons for potential conflict with portents and how to manage them if they occur
- Take away a blueprint for developing a whole-school working parental communication approach
PROGRAMME
The Importance of Proactive Parental Communication
10.00am
- Why proactively building communication with parents is important
- The negative consequences of keeping parents at arms length
- Examples of effective school and parent communication strategies
Break
11.00pm
Effective Strategies to Communicate Effectively with Parents
11.15am
- The impact of how the school communicates with parents regarding their children
- Phone and video communication. Face to face communication, including parents evening. Written communication. Whole school and individual.
- Communication through formal forms. Such as, permission forms, reading records, planners and behaviour reports
- Information communication, at the school gates
The Parent, the Child and the Teacher: The communication Triangle
12.30pm
- The child as the centre of communication: academic and pastoral impact
- How do parents initiate contact with the school?
- The school website and parental communication
- Parents evenings: Do they work? In secondary schools.
- Examples of successful school strategies
- Parent communication policy: A working document
Lunch
1.00pm
Managing Conflict with Parents
2.00pm
- Communicating with parents on difficult topics related to their child.
- Why conflicts with parents occur. What is within the schools control?
- Understand the reasons for potential conflict with parents and how to manage them if they occur
- Understand the drivers and motivations displayed by individuals who may become disruptive/aggressive when distressed
- Utilising de-escalation strategies, the importance of targeted communication
- Managing conflict: Formal strategies and interpersonal strategies
Open Discussion and tea
3.00pm
- Presenting your ideas to your groups today
- Creating an action plan to share with your teams at school
- Celebrating the individual
Depart
3.30pm