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Establishing and maintaining strong links with parents and carers and communities
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Aiming High: Meeting the needs of newly arrived learners of EAL
The schools that are most successful in working with asylum-seeking and refugee pupils are those which foster a high level of parental participation. These schools have established a welcoming ethos that:
- makes all parents feel that they are welcome and have a positive role to play in the life of the school;
- shows parents that they can always make their feelings and opinions known to staff, and that these will be dealt with respectfully and seriously;
- demonstrates that parents' and carers' linguistic, cultural and religious backgrounds are valued and respected;
- shows that the school is part of the community it serves.
Such schools usually have good links with other agencies, including community groups. The following are some suggestions for activities which may help to welcome parents and develop links.
- Make sure that essential information is translated and bilingual teaching assistants or interpreters are used for school admission interviews, assessments, SEN review meetings and parents' evenings.
- Work with other schools and/or the LEA to prepare welcome booklets which explain the education system and the school. Model school letters can be prepared and translated and used for occasions such as invitations to parents'/carers' evenings.
- Organise social events such as a coffee morning for parents/carers who are new to the locality.
- Invite parents/carers to help in the school's activities - many have skills that can usefully be employed in school.
- Recruit staff such as educational welfare officers and teachers with a home/school liaison brief from refugee communities. Such bilingual staff could be shared with neighbouring LEAs that have only a few asylum-seeking or refugee pupils.
Resource list: Establishing and maintaining strong links with parents and carers and communities
- Teachernet states that a successful home-school relationship can be a key element in making a school stronger and more effective. In particular, it can make a real difference to groups of underachieving pupils and their families. Choose 'Whole-school issues', then 'Family and community', then 'Working with parents' for a gateway to resources for working with parents.
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