SCHOOL COMMUNICATION WORKSHOPS

We are a team of specialists from the worlds of school communication and education. Our motivation is the belief that school leaders are ready for new ideas around parental involvement and engagement.

Recent research from respected organisations such as Public First, the Sutton Trust and the IFS reveals a stark picture of children losing out. The costs can be counted in terms of both wellbeing and learning. The pain will not fall evenly. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner suggests there may be an emerging “disadvantage gap”, causing additional loss for vulnerable children.

We draw one insight from the data: the current coronavirus disruption is likely to cause at least a marginal change in the engagement time children will have with teachers. The risk of even a marginal loss, falling disproportionately on vulnerable children, compels us to reconsider the balance of roles and responsibilities between teacher, school and parent. The current consensus simply may not hold.

To counter any marginal loss created by the disruption, many school leaders will prepare to become more adaptable. They will seek to counter loss with marginal gains, through a review of parent engagement and involvement during this period. Whatever happens, the status quo appears to be at best undesirable, and may simply become untenable.

We have consciously built a core strategy based on a review of 50 years of educational research and policy. We set our advice in the context of history and with a focus on efficacy. To that, we draw on the very best techniques, strategies and tools from the worlds of modern communication, engagement and community activism, to give schools access to a resource that has until now been available only to global brands and multi-billion dollar corporations.