Family Engagement

Understanding Your School Community Groups

We are aware that many families have different reasons for not being engaged in their children’s learning or the school community. Think about the families who populate your school, assess and record your understanding of the most disadvantaged and engaged groups. Consider what you could do to improve their experiences, remove barriers and encourage their engagement.

Groups of families who could populate your school.

Review Partnership Working with the Parent Council and Families: Surveys 1-6

1: Area 4: Inclusion, Citizenship and Health and Wellbeing- Questionnaire 1

Please indicate if you are aware that inclusion, citizenship and health and wellbeing topics are incorporated into classroom learning.

Once you have answered please indicate if you would like any of the topics discussed at a families’ workshop or if you can offer any other ideas please do so in the appropriate box below. You may also want to consider how you can improve your own child’s knowledge and understanding of these topics.

2: Area 4: Health Behaviours and Community Issues- Questionnaire 2

Consider the following health behaviours/issues or concerns within the community that you feel might have an impact on children’s learning and respond appropriately.

3: Area 4: General Survey Questionnaire

Please answer all questions and, where possible, provide an example to support your response. Additionally, if you feel it is appropriate, provide suggestions as to how things could be improved. Please note that this questionnaire is confidential and anonymous.

4: What Can Families Do? Questionnaire for Secondary School Families

The following statements have been designed to increase families’ understanding about the importance of their help to increase children’s learning and motivation in the light of the Curriculum for Excellence and are particularly suitable for nursery or primary school families. The Parent Council can use them in two ways:

1. Send out to all families asking them to consider the statements and write down in the appropriate box how they could improve their support for their child.

2. You could raise awareness by using the statements in the Parent Council newsletter, website or by holding a families’ workshop to discuss and share ideas.

5: Identified Actions for Improvement ‘To Do List’

List all of the actions that you have identified; in conjunction with the head teacher discuss, agree and then number them in order of importance, 1 being the most important.

6: Parent Council Improvement Plan

List the priority actions here ensuring they will be addressed in the course of this year and will impact positively on the School Improvement Plan. They should be realistic and achievable.

Engaging Families - Components of Effective Working Practice

Six Components of Effective Practice

Family engagement has a bigger influencer on children’s attainment than any other social, economic and family background. Consider and complete the following 6 questions to identify your strengths in these areas and what improvements you could make to further influence families to support and enable their children’s wellbeing and learning.

Review Areas of Effective Practice with Families

Please respond to the questions and record evidence of practice and identified actions for improvement. When you have completed prioritise any actions in the What are you going to do next? section.