Supporting Schools with Parent and Pupil Engagement on Safeguarding

This blog is based on Judicium’s Safeguarding ‘Sofa Session’ from the 12th of June, with our resident expert Sarah Cook. This session focused on how to improve parental engagement with communication and relationship building, reducing barriers to engagement, and managing those difficult conversations.

Positive Parental Interaction

Studies conclude that all forms of positive parental interaction with school are important and can have a positive impact on children’s learning, behaviour, and attendance.

Feedback from school leaders shows one of the major concerns in running a modern school is trying to get parents to engage more. Due to the changing demographic of modern parenting, traditional approaches to parental involvement have been largely unsuccessful.

Working and single parents have little time to attend school activities and workshops during school hours, which would help them learn the skills they need to assist their children, yet parent and family background remain the biggest influence on a child’s development and life chances.

Parental engagement is a key factor in effective safeguarding. Whether preventative such as parents attending online safety workshops to find out more about how to keep their child safe online when at home or reactive, e.g., parents and school working effectively together to support a child after a disclosure.

It is recognised that some parents can be particularly hard to reach, including those who have very low levels of engagement with school and do not attend school meetings nor respond to communications. It also includes parents for whom conflict resulting from previous interactions has resulted in a breakdown of trust.

In a recent survey speaking with 12 parents who were described by school leaders as hard to engage, 75% of the parents cited negative relationships with school being linked to their experience of unfriendly or unwelcome encounters with school staff or indeed other parents.

In other cases, this negativity may have come from their own experiences as a child at school.

Case Study

Cathy is a slightly older parent. She has one son James, who is seven.

Cathy is regularly late in returning permission slips and often “forgets” things such as a costume for James on World Book Day or a packed lunch and permission slip for school trips.

Last year, school staff called Cathy in to school to speak with her after James used sexualised vocabulary in class. He told his teachers he had heard it when playing GTA with his dad. Cathy became very defensive with staff when they raised this with her.

School staff often feel frustrated with Cathy and particularly her angry manner towards them when they try to speak with her about their concerns. This led to her becoming banned from the premises for abusive behaviour for a short time. This ban was not only negative for Cathy and James, but the school staff were also deeply affected. The leadership felt it had failed by not being able to resolve problems, but also found that contacting Cathy about James became an impossible task - one that was feared by school staff and even avoided at times.

Whilst James’s dad is in the home, school staff reflected they have not seen him. Since the ban was put in place, he has been dropping James to school, but remains in the car and watches as James comes in through the school gates. A family friend collects James in the afternoons.

James’s behaviour has deteriorated considerably during the time his mother was banned from the premises. Since her negative attitudes were passed on to him, in his eyes, the teachers were being mean to his mum.

Cathy is looked up to by some of the other parents in the class as she is seen as funny, confident, down to earth and “no nonsense.” School staff feel on occasions she will moan to the other parents after she is spoken to and this may be impacting the way other parents are viewing staff members.

One afternoon James talks to his class teacher. He says his dad is “being mean” to him and his mum. When asked to explain more, he spoke of dad being angry with him, shouting in his face and pushing his mum against the wall and holding her against it by the neck.

This conversation is reported to the DSL who refers the concern to Children’s Services.

Children’s Services asked the DSL to speak with mum to try to identify a safe method and time for them to make contact with Cathy. The DSL has made Children’s Services aware that he does not feel able to do this.

The DSL feels very conflicted. He is aware the breakdown in communication between Cathy and the school may have increased the risk for the child.

So, what went wrong in this situation?

Cathy was badly bullied at both primary and secondary school, so the whole system of education left her badly scarred as an adult.

Cathy is dyslexic and struggles to access the school’s app and newsletters. As a result, Cathy often misses important information meaning she is often behind with things like bringing in permission slips and often has to be chased by reception staff. This has resulted in more negative interactions. The reception staff are not aware of Cathy’s difficulties in accessing this information and often get frustrated with her, feeling she can’t be bothered.

The reception team did not recognise the difficulties they were facing in interacting with Cathy were something that could be shared with the DSL to seek support. They did not raise concerns until the situation had escalated to the point of aggression.

The school provided all updates via the school app or letters. When Cathy would ask questions she would always be directed back to these formats.

The school did not have a meaningful relationship with James’s dad. This meant concerns regarding the games he was playing with James were raised with mum potentially putting her in a difficult situation.

What could the school have done differently?

School staff did not put themselves in Cathy’s shoes and consider if there may be invisible barriers to her engaging. Much work is traditionally done by school staff at all levels to raise the self-esteem of pupils, but much less consideration is given to the self-esteem of parents, especially those that seem socially confident in another setting e.g., Cathy’s confidence with other parents in the playground.

Cathy’s questions relating to information that had been shared in the app could have been used as an opportunity to open conversations and identify the barriers to her engagement. She was instead redirected to the app and website, leaving her feeling reluctant to ask for further information.

N.B. It should also be noted that engaging with hard-to-reach parents can be immensely challenging for staff as well so a clear plan for how and from whom staff can seek support when interactions are becoming challenging is important.

Communication and Relationship Building

School leaders need to be sensitive, non-judgemental and recognise the reasons why parents may feel unable to engage with the school. However, the most positive attitude profiles towards parental involvement can be found in schools where both teachers and parents were empowered, and there is a balance of influence between parents and teachers. Parents should feel they can express their ‘voice’ and staff should be supported by SLT to have challenging conversations whilst feeling protected from abusive behaviours.

This is best achieved by building relationships early, before major issues arise.

Some examples of building positive relationships with parents who may otherwise have found it difficult to engage include:

• ‘Drop-in’ workshop type sessions that give the parents practical ideas to do with their children at home.
• Bespoke support from home liaison officers and parent support advisers.
• Home visits from school staff followed up by subsequent invitations to opportunities at school.
• Opportunities to see their child in the school setting, ‘Stay and play’ days and ‘come and see my best work’ days.
• Simply by talking more to parents. SLT being on the gate to chat to every day.
• Volunteering opportunities.
  • Some parents may not see themselves as “PTA” material and may be intimidated by the formality or perceived social structure of such groups. Develop opportunities that include non-threatening tasks e.g., gardening, painting a fence, helping with refreshments at school events.
• Family learning days with fun activities parents and pupils engage in together.
• Sharing information via a variety of formats and encouraging staff to share information verbally even when it is available in other formats.
• Targeting specific groups, by organising themed days (ICT, cooking, sport) for parents to come in and work alongside children.
• The use of a buddy system, drawing on parents from the community to support parents who are not confident enough to come alone.
• Looking to praise as much as criticise their child so news isn’t always bad.
• Using nonteaching staff, who can be perceived as being less threatening, to break down barriers in relationships.
• A comprehensive new intake programme including home visits and several visits to school followed up by inviting them in to see what the children are doing.
• Combining parents’ evenings with other information sessions.

Reducing Barriers to Engagement

School websites can be a great way of communicating with parents on safeguarding issues. In addition to their safeguarding policy, many schools add details of key staff members and the first steps parents should take if they have any worries concerning their child.

Safeguarding letters and pamphlets can be another useful way of updating parents on issues appropriate to their context, such as the risks relating to child sexual exploitation or online bullying.

However, it is important to consider how communication is shared with parents who may find access to websites and apps difficult. Not every family will be able to afford data to access online resources and paper-based approaches may exclude those with lower literacy levels or EAL.

One recommendation is to run workshops for parents throughout the year to support their understanding of safeguarding issues. You could cover topics such as online grooming, and send parents informational video clips on various other issues throughout the year to encourage greater participation.

Key to encouraging parents to engage is taking time to listen to parent’s experiences. The transfer of knowledge and understanding should be part of a two-way process.

Consider the design of schools can positively encourage parents to come into the building. Once inside, make the experience enjoyable and make them feel positive about returning. Research reported parents can be prompted to become involved by:

• making the school entrance welcoming and easy to find
• providing a comfortable reception area
• creating parent facilities within the school
  • such as a dedicated room for adult education classes (e.g., English lessons), governors’ meetings or other community activities, to be used both during and outside normal school hours.

Challenges for secondary schools

Research suggests there is significantly more evidence of parental engagement in the early stages of primary school than in secondary schools.

Engagement at secondary level is not as easy for parents.

• Secondary schools tend to be larger and further from home.
• The curriculum is more sophisticated.
• Pupils have more than one teacher.
• Parents of older pupils are more likely to be in full-time employment.
• Children are beginning to establish a sense of separation from their parents.

Research suggests if we want to improve the life chances of all children, then parents and schools must work in partnership and be involved at every stage of a child’s school experience. School leaders and parents must form trusting relationships to support children in attending school and behaving in an appropriate way that is conducive to learning and will enhance opportunities for themselves and their peers. In this, school leaders must be proactive.

Educational Communications and Technology Agency research has shown over half of all children are confused by their parents when working together on homework. The same source suggests 83% of parents report that helping with homework has proved challenging because they do not necessarily understand the work set, and 58% of children reported their parents confuse them by using outdated methods and contradicting advice from their teachers.

Supporting both parents to engage

It is acknowledged when some school leaders discuss parental engagement, the term ‘parent’ is sometimes mainly used in reference to mothers, even though  research has shown children benefit from higher academic achievement and social and emotional wellbeing if their fathers are involved in their education.

Common barriers:

• absent fathers who do not regularly see their children
• fathers who only see their children at weekends and therefore do not come into contact with school
• working fathers who do not pick their children up, or drop them off at school
• gender role modelling due to a majority of women staff in primary schools

Manging difficult conversations

To engage effectively with parents, staff may require training and coaching, particularly when working with parents whose backgrounds are very different to their own.

Many schools are now employing trauma informed practice when working with pupils. These same approaches can be supportive when engaging with parents.

NB: Giving the opportunity for parent facing staff such as office staff the opportunity to attend these trainings can be highly beneficial.

Encourage frank and open conversation with parents. Provide a structure to meetings that gives clear boundaries, but ensure you take time to listen to what they may want to talk about within this.

When discussing safeguarding issues, for example after a child has made a disclosure, it is important DSLs are confident in their role and have good knowledge and awareness.

Important things to remember during these conversations include:

• Be honest
  • Tell parents what you are worried about and why. Be clear in your communication and share as much information as you are able to. (There may be occasions where you are asked by social care or the police not to share certain information with parents until they are able to speak with them.)
• Be mindful
  • Ensure the language you use is factual and non-judgmental. Communications with parents and carers about safeguarding should be simple and clear. It’s important parents know what safeguarding is, what schools are expected to do and what safeguarding in school actually looks like. It is important to be mindful safeguarding is an area full of acronyms and these can be intimidating and off putting for parents.
• Consider requesting support
  • Utilise an interpreter/translator where appropriate if this is available to you.
• Do you need a colleague with you?
  • Although this can provide staff with support, it could also feel intimidating to the parent. Assess this based on the circumstances and what you know about the parent/family.

These situations can be emotionally charged, and it is important you remain calm. Allow parents plenty of time to speak, acknowledge what they’ve said, and reassure them their opinions are being heard. Some tips include:

• If the atmosphere is heated, suggest a break.
• Seek support from a colleague and remove yourself from the situation if the other party’s behaviour is becoming aggressive.
• Ensure you have information to hand to provide appropriate signposting - know your local organisations.
• Work with parents in a collaborative way to engage in safety planning for their child. Ensure parents have an active role in creating risk assessments and plans for going forward.
• Make sure parents know who they and their child should raise any concerns with going forward.
• Parents of pupils with SEND will additionally have to be aware of what arrangements the school has in place to safeguard their children and how these will be carried out.

Protecting staff

There has been an increase in reported incidents of verbal abuse and violence towards school staff perpetrated by parents.

Poll 1

What can be done to help protect staff?

As in the case study above, schools can ban parents from the premises after a significant incident. Others may look to put in place formal agreements with parents around the school’s expectations for parents conduct.

Although these measures may be necessary, the potential consequence of such boundary-setting is parents may not feel welcome or important. They may no longer have the opportunity to speak with teachers which can make rebuilding relationships even more challenging. Be creative in looking for ways to provide opportunities for positive communication but only in ways that feel safe and appropriate to your staff.

Key Takeaways

1. Work to build relationships early.
2. Consider how to make coming in to school feel welcoming and non-threatening.
3. Consider using a range of communication styles to ensure that parents with lower levels of literacy, those without access to online platforms and those with English as an additional language have opportunities to engage.
4. Provide opportunities for parents to learn about what safeguarding is and how they can work in partnership with the school top keep their child safe.
5. Be honest in your communications, do not avoid sensitive topics.
6. Engage with fathers.
7. Communicate with good news regularly.
8. Ensure that parents have opportunities to talk about the issues that matter most to them.
9. Act early to support and protect staff who are experiencing difficulties in interactions with parents.
10. Be persistent!

Additional Information

Take a look at our Safeguarding blog on: Tackling and Responding to Domestic Abuse: What Schools Should Know

Refuge National Domestic Abuse Helpline

Operation Encompass

The Safeguarding Service is  hosting live, virtual training courses this term including a new Online Safety course, Safeguarding for Governors, Safer Recruitment, Live @ 3:45 sessions and much more. To view all upcoming courses, dates and links click HERE. 

Safeguarding eLearning Courses

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