Stories about failing academies always make for gloomy reading, not least because they undermine public confidence in our schools and breed discomfort around how our education landscape is evolving.
There is a perceived lack of transparency which, fuelled by reports of high CEO pay and disappointing performance, brings into question the viability and effectiveness of current governance and financial models.
As far as I see it, there is an important job for trusts, school leaders and educators to do in engaging local communities through open dialogue and positive interactions. This might seem easier said than done, but the harsh reality is that governing bodies, senior leaders and trustees can sometimes appear distant from the people they serve. As a result, a shadow of scepticism hangs over them.
And if more trusts run into difficulty, the concentration of power remaining in the hands of the few will come under increasing scrutiny.
The challenge, therefore, is for leaders to demonstrate their accountability by showing why decisions have been made and how they have considered the impact of those decisions on the individuals they are there to serve. This can only be done by actively engaging parents - the key stakeholders in their child’s education - listening to their views and consulting them on the likely outcomes of any decisions at an early stage.
In doing this, trusts and schools are more likely to be supported by the local community and more likely to successfully cater for the education needs of their local population. This local intelligence helps trusts and governing bodies to govern well.
There are some simple steps that schools can take to make this happen:
Establish mechanisms for engagement
Get to know your local community by establishing formal mechanisms to engage parents and carers. Alongside regular stakeholder surveys, representative parent councils will give you a cross-section of parent opinion. To ensure their success and prevent them from becoming talking shops. It is critical for there to be clear lines of communication into senior leadership teams, governing bodies and trustees.
Give feedback
When you make a decision, communicate back to parents how their feedback has been used to inform that decision. Over time, this will encourage parents to be more engaged because they will see the value that a school or multi-academy trusts places on their views. To help this happen, why not nominate parent engagement champions in your trust - or school to ensure two-way dialogue between school leaders and parents?
Offer training
It can be difficult to justify at a time when schools are strapped for cash, but setting aside part of the school training budget to up-skill teachers to involve more parents more effectively in their child’s learning can deliver a return on investment in terms of raising achievement.
School leaders are accountable to a number of stakeholders, but by leaving parents out it will be difficult for any to successfully deliver an education service which is trusted and considered to be operating with our children’s best interests at heart. Because there are so many positives to having the parent body on your side, I hope trusts and schools will give this some focus over the years ahead.
Michelle Doyle Wildman is acting CEO of Parentkind (formerly known as PTA UK)
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