9 - Working with Parents, Guardians and Carers

Summary

The need for school librarians to interact with parents, guardians and carers has become more important since the COVID pandemic in 2020. Many librarians devised a home-based service for resources and/or delivered lessons online when schools were closed (BMG Research, 2023). But how can we devise both virtual and face to face initiatives through effective commun - ication and team development? Some parents may be hard to reach, and others can be in contact all the time – how do we maintain a balance and what strategies can we put into place? As we have seen, effective communication, including use of social media and meetings in person, is key in team development. In this chapter we will explore ways in which to engage with parents and look at how they might act as our advocates. School librarians can act as networking agents and help parents understand and access community resources such as public libraries, too.

Why is it important to work with parents, guardians and carers?

The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services (2010) report Leadership for Parental Engagement stated, ‘The greater the involvement of parents in their children's education the greater the impact.’ The researchers for this report found that schools that engaged parents well created a culture that encourages collaboration between school staff and parents, in preference to one where teachers dictate how they wish parents to be involved in school life. The report argued that creating a strong vision for a school underpinned by clear core values enabled school staff to develop a strategy and practice that is sustainable and mainstream, not just peripheral, and where parents would be keen to become involved in any decision making. The research also highlighted the need for strong leadership of parental engagement through a robust school policy encouraging participation.

More recently, the authors of a guidance report by the Education Endowment Foundation (2019b) listed four criteria they considered essential for senior leaders and school teachers to consider to foster good relations and buy-in from parents:

• ■ Critically review how you work with parents.

• ■ Provide practical strategies to support learning at home.

• ■ Tailor school communications to encourage positive dialogue about learning.

• ■ Offer more sustained and intensive support where needed.