Communicating with parents (Secondary)
teaching practiceFor student year
Helps students to
- be understood
- feel supported
Helps teachers to
- build relationships
- be prepared
Summary
For the primary school version of this practice, go to:
Communicating with parents (Foundation to year 6)
Collaborative partnerships and good communication between teachers and parents throughout a child’s education is critical to their success. Positive partnerships that focus on the individual needs of the student bridge the gap between school and home, enhancing learning and the student’s overall experience of school. This practice uses parent perspectives to identify factors that enhance teacher-parent communication — with a focus on five practical strategies aimed at creating and maintaining collaborative partnerships.
"Knowing my child means the teachers or the staff she’s working with get her sense of humour and they see she’s got a personality… My child’s non-verbal, she uses alternative communication. When the teacher or the staff know my child, they sense and try to look for those signs from her." Sue Tape (parent)
Watch this video to learn more about this practice.
Duration 3:23
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers related to this practice
4.1 - support student participation
4.3 - manage challenging behaviour
7.3 - engage with the parents/carers
For further information, see Australian Professional Standards for Teachers AITSL page
Preparing to teach
Education is a partnership between the child, the parents, and the school. Knowing your student as well as the school policies and frameworks for communication and available supports are important first steps in any teacher/parent communication.
Know the supports that are available in your school
Your school will have guidelines and frameworks for parent-school communication. Find out from your school leadership team what supports are available when meeting with parents. Talk with your colleagues about the school culture regarding parent collaboration and consider how best you can work with parents in your particular school.
Arranging meetings
Finding a suitable time for parent-teacher meetings is not always easy. Ask the parents in your class about meeting preferences e.g., times and places to meet; how they prefer to communicate; and family circumstances that might make meeting you difficult. Share times that are suitable for you and work with the parents who would like to meet to do so.
Below, you’ll find some simple practical strategies to assist in building relationships and communicating effectively with parents. These strategies highlight the parents’ perspective and include quotes and observations from them.
Below you will find some simple practical strategies to assist in building relationships and communicating effectively with parents. These strategies highlight the parents perspective and include quotes and observations from a parent's perspective.
Watch the video to hear more about the importance of communication.
Duration 1:00m
1. Knowing the child
When a child has a disability, parents may fear their child will be rejected, assigned to the special education teacher, misunderstood, or be known as their disability rather than as a valuable member of the class. This can put parents on the defensive, making them wary in their interactions with teachers. Being aware of this dynamic can help you set a positive tone for the conversation.
Being aware of the child's strengths and interests, personality, and their engagement and interactions in class with you and their peers, will help you navigate planned and unplanned conversations with parents.
| “It was just really nice that she just wanted to meet him, no expectations of his support needs, but she just wants to get to know him, she wants to get to know our family” |
2. Being solutions focussed
It can be easy to focus on the challenges associated with including all students and sometimes conversations with parents may seem more about problems than solutions. Rephrasing statements can make a difference in your interactions with parents.
• Ask parents about the types of activities their child will finish at home and the types of activities they’re more likely to complete in class.
• Ask if the parents have successful strategies they use at home and/or what classroom strategies have been effective in the past.
Frame your conversations with parents around strategies for collaboratively working towards student success.
| “Being able to have strategies, being able to articulate them, being able to genuinely think about ways to support him and educate him, demonstrates for us how much they care” |
3. Listen to parent’s expertise
Your experience and knowledge as a teacher are important. Parents rely on and appreciate your teaching expertise. Students with a disability are individuals, which means we have to learn what works best for them. For example, what works for one student may not work for another. Talk to parents then use their knowledge and experience to help identify and develop strategies and tools to support their child. Sharing expertise is the foundation for productive partnerships!
Parents don’t expect teachers to know everything. They appreciate it when you ask questions and when you're proactive about trying new approaches.
| “That was a complete turning point in our relationship … We just got it all out on the table … those moments of vulnerability actually make people connect. You connect because at the end of the day the teachers are human beings the same way we are. We’re all on a journey, it's different, we're all trying to work towards the same thing” |
This is why parents and teachers sharing their expertise is so important and leads nicely into our fourth strategy – “we” statements.
4. Talking in terms of “we”
Education is a partnership between the child, their parents or guardians, and the school. This means it's essential to use language that’s consistent with a collaborative approach. When teachers and parents talk in terms of "we", a collaborative tone is set . “We” statements encourage and promote connection.
| “Using ‘we’ language makes the approach collaborative. ‘This is us, we're all in this together. I’m part of the team. You're part of the team. We're all just doing our thing,’ as opposed to it feeling as though it is ‘us and them’”. |
In the classroom
Tips and strategies
1. Know the child:
• share your observations about a child when talking with their parents/guardians
• talk about the child’s personality, interests, and strengths as well as where they need support
• greet the child and the parent when you see them in the playground.
2. Be solutions focussed:
• approach issues in a collaborative, pro-active way. Focus on how the issue might be resolved rather than just describing the problem
• speak about the child in a positive way. Tell parents/guardians what you’ve noticed happening during the day. There will always be something to celebrate. Encouraging moments can be shared as phone calls, a chat at pick-up time, a class newsletter or class noticeboards, amongst others.
3. Share expertise:
• ask parents/guardians about their experiences and the strategies they’ve tried successfully
• ask about strategies used at home and about previous educational experiences or other activities the student’s engaged in
• be open to trying new things together and sharing what works and what doesn’t
• ask colleagues or parents if you’re unsure or need assistance.
4. In decision-making and problem solving, talk in terms of “we” (what parents and teachers are going to do together).
Think about education as a collaborative responsibility between teachers and parents and use conversations that demonstrate this, for example:
“The school athletics carnival is coming up. We know this is a challenging event for Tom. Let’s meet to discuss some strategies we can implement to support him to participate.”
OR
“Sofia is struggling to remember to bring her homework. Let’s make a time to meet to discuss how we can support her.”
5. Little things can mean a lot.
- Casual interactions are important in building relationships. Examples are:
- a friendly greeting in the morning can work wonders. This might be as simple as ‘Good morning’ or ‘Hello’
- a brief chat about something other than school helps you and the parents get to know each other
- small, relaxed interactions at pick-up time can help build relationships.
- a friendly greeting in the morning can work wonders. This might be as simple as ‘Good morning’ or ‘Hello’
This practice will work best if you:
- see parents as valued partners
- engage with parents
- plan time for conversations and relationship building
It doesn’t work if:
- expertise isn't shared
- communication is only one-way
Practice toolkit
Practice implementation planner template
We know it's not always easy to keep track of what's working and what isn't. So, we've created this template for you to record and reflect on what you're doing to create more inclusive classrooms. The implementation planner contains:
- guidance around goal setting
- a reflection section (what worked, didn’t work, what to change, and next steps)
- prompting questions.
Implementation planner with examples
Download Set your professional learning goal for:
Communicating with parents (Secondary)
Benefits of goal setting
Setting, working towards, and reflecting on goals helps you grow professionally and improve your practice. You can access AITSL learning resources for teachers to learn more about:How to set goals
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership recommends using the SMART matrix to frame your goal setting.SMART goals refers to goals that are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-phased
Related Practices
Establish collaborative partnerships - Collaborative Partnerships in Action
TEACHING PRACTICE
For student years
Helps students to
- feel connected
- develop positive relationships
Communicating with parents
TEACHING PRACTICE
For student years
Helps students to
- be understood
- feel supported
Learning Cycle
