1. Parental engagement and the impact on the education system Mike Briscoe, Director, Institutions, Becta Janice Bernard, Headteacher, Perins School, Alresford, Hampshire BETT 08 Wednesday, 9 January 2008

2. This seminar will introduce: The importance of parental engagement Indications of impact - and what parents say Recent developments including the Children’s Plan What it means in school Improving what we already do in school Moving to real-time reporting What needs to happen and when What is available to assist and how to find out more

3. The Parents’ Premium Parental involvement in a child’s schooling between ages 7 and 16 is a more powerful force than family background, size of family and level of parental education (Feinstein, L & Symons, J. Oxford Economic papers, 51 (1999)) AchievementParent effectSchool effect Age 70.290.05 Age 110.270.21 Age 160.140.51 Effects of parents/Effects of schools:

4. A father’s interest in a child’s schooling is strongly linked to educational outcomes for the child; (Hobcraft. CASE briefing Nov 1998) It is the ‘at-home’ relationships and modelling of aspirations which play the major part in impact on school outcomes. (Desforges 2003) Very high parental interest is associated with better exam results than for children whose parents show no interest (NCDS 1999) Pupils’ achievement in the schools where the impact of parental involvement was [judged to be] outstanding had clearly improved. (Ofsted 2007) They [parents] should be supported… providing the results of periodic assessments for parents in an easy to understand format, such as using ‘traffic lights’ to indicate children’s understanding of key concepts (2020 Vision: recommendations) What is it that makes a difference?

5. A father’s interest in a child’s schooling is strongly linked to educational outcomes for the child; (Hobcraft. CASE briefing Nov 1998) It is the ‘at-home’ relationships and modelling of aspirations which play the major part in impact on school outcomes. (Desforges 2003) Very high parental interest is associated with better exam results than for children whose parents show no interest (NCDS 1999) …It’s what parents do rather than who they are that counts Pupils’ achievement in the schools where the impact of parental involvement was [judged to be] outstanding had clearly improved. (Ofsted 2007) They [parents] should be supported… providing the results of periodic assessments for parents in an easy to understand format, such as using ‘traffic lights’ to indicate children’s understanding of key concepts (2020 Vision: recommendations)

6. What parents say (Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Education survey 2007) 57% would like to be updated termly or more often 79% would find web access to reports on their child very or quite appealing Using technology in schools (Harnessing Technology review 2007) “Technology enables the achievement of productive time efficiencies most where it is embedded effectively across the institution. Teachers report time savings using technology in lesson planning and lesson delivery. However, overall, evidence suggests that efficiencies from technology relate mainly to quality improvement for the same resource input and improved use of practitioner time, rather than significant time savings.”

7. Parents will be contacted by a staff member at secondary school before their child starts at the school; Parents will be able to attend information sessions at the new school; Every child will have a personal tutor who knows them in the round, and acts as a main contact for parents; Parents will have regular, up-to-date information on their child’s attendance, behaviour and progress in learning; Parents Councils will ensure that parents’ voices are heard within the school; Parents’ complaints will be managed in a straightforward and open way. Department for Children, Schools and Families The Children’s Plan Building brighter futures Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by Command of Her Majesty December 2007

8. Parents will be contacted by a staff member at secondary school before their child starts at the school; Parents will be able to attend information sessions at the new school; Every child will have a personal tutor who knows them in the round, and acts as a main contact for parents; Parents will have regular, up to date information on their child’s attendance, behaviour and progress in learning; Parents Councils will ensure that parents’ voices are heard within the school; Parents’ complaints will be managed in a straightforward and open way. Department for Children, Schools and Families The Children’s Plan Building brighter futures Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by Command of Her Majesty December 2007

9. “Parents will have regular, up to date information on their child’s attendance, behaviour and progress in learning;” By September 2008 all secondary schools will be expected to provide information to parents covering achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and special needs, on a timely and frequent basis – this should be at least once per term. By September 2010 all secondary schools will need to offer parents real-time access to this information (including the opportunity for secure online access) wherever they are and whenever they want. Primary schools must also meet the basic requirement by September 2010 and the real time requirement by 2012.

10. Janice Bernard, Perins school Every learner wants to do well I want all my children to do well We need all our parents involved All of us want to talk about what matters – when it matters

11. Learner ParentSchool

12. Parents – improving engagement Exploit the development of new technologies so that a better shared understanding of children’s progress contributes to improved outcomes All parents should have the confidence and knowledge to engage with their child’s school as an equal partner Parental engagement – serious improvement in reporting to parents to raise the quality of dialogue between learners, parents and teachers (real-time reporting)

13. Learner ParentSchool Community information Access from home Parents resources Access to resources Home and course work Access to materials Online reporting Parent and learner days Electronic reports Email exchanges Mobile ‘phone alerts SMS texting

14. Community information Access from home Parents resources Access to resources Home and course work Access to materials Online reporting Parent and learner days Electronic reports Email exchanges Mobile ‘phone alerts SMS texting Real-time access, reporting and dialogue

15. Real-time access, reporting and dialogue Recording and reporting Parental engagement Workforce involvement Exploiting technology Learning Platforms MIS Absolute basis of reporting supported by ICT (MIS) Aspirational and innovating Coherent and embedded Moving in a number of areas Developing new approaches Little in place

16. Learning Platforms MIS 20122010 Real-time access, reporting and dialogue Absolute basis of reporting supported by ICT (MIS) Recording and reporting Parental engagement Workforce involvement Exploiting technology Aspirational and innovating Coherent and embedded Moving in a number of areas Developing new approaches Little in place

17. A range of support to help schools including: influential research papers and education reports on the subject a growing and categorised resource base - experiences of a wide range of schools online, real-time experiences of others through blogs written by teachers set reporting in the wider context of school development self audit support - assess your school’s readiness for real time reporting and determine priority areas for attention access to tips, ideas and resources to help

18. For more information: Visit us on Stand J40 – National Hall Visit us online at http://www.becta.org.ukhttp://www.becta.org.uk