Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who managed to attend the parent-teacher meetings last week. I know that ill health may have impacted your family but it was lovely to have the opportunity to touch base and I know that the meetings were extremely valued by both parents and teachers. 

Every year, our children make countless transitions between two learning environments, home and school. They also transition between two sets of educators, their parents and teachers and research demonstrates, that the benefits, for all, can be significant. 

Current meta-analyses of relevant research have identified clear, measurable benefits for children when their parents are actively engaged in their learning.

These studies demonstrate that children are more likely to develop positive self-esteem, be motivated to learn, be positive about school and achieve better grades. Children are also more likely to maintain high aspirations and plan to go on to further education and build a career.

Importantly, the power of parental engagement overrides other factors that have been shown to influence a child’s achievement. Various studies have shown that, when parents are actively engaged in their children’s learning, their influence appears to outweigh factors such as parental education, socioeconomic background or the quality of the child’s schooling.

(Australian Council for Educational Research)

Throughout the school year:

• Please always feel welcome to touch base with your child’s teacher as children benefit most when their caregivers and teachers know one another and share information about “how things are working” at home and school.
• It is also important to chat with the classroom teacher about structured learning opportunities across home and school because these connections can help children be successful in both places.
• Reinforcing the same expectations and behaviours at home and school helps children experience consistent messages.
• Please share important information when your child may be experiencing a problem as we know that children show more improvement when teachers, parents and caregivers work together to create a plan, decide on strategies, and practice them at school and home.

We value the partnership that we have with all our families and so if you have a moment, please could you complete this short survey, as your feedback on the current format of our parent-teacher meetings would be most appreciated.

Gail Mitchell – Head of Primary