Case studies/best practice

Not all parents are keen to engage with their child’s school. This can lead to the school giving up on the relationship and subsequent misunderstandings. In this article, Dr. Pooky Knightsmith offers her suggestions for how you can successfully reach out. Summary Consider carefully who isn’t engaged and why you want to reach them.Take time to find out more about what the barriers actually are.Plan your next steps with clear goals and a vision of what success might look like. For a variety of reasons, some parents and carers are harder to reach than others. It is very often the…

Ofsted has now published its latest research into managing behaviour, attendance and punctuality. In this article, Matt Bromley outlines some of the key messages in the report and what teachers and school leaders had to say. Summary Punctuality should be a desired behaviour emphasised repeatedly during the school day.What is most important is what pupils and staff actually do, rather than what policies say they do. Improving transition arrangements can get pupils with attendance problems off to a good start. In the 2014 report, ‘Below the Radar’, Ofsted found that only a third of teachers felt their school’s attendance and…

When communication breaks down, the impact is felt across the school and recovery can be difficult. Steve Burnage looks at common communication challenges and strategies to help resolve them. Summary Poor communication can lead to duplicate work, incorrect delivery, an inability to hit deadlines effectively and more serious problems like HR issues and social media disasters.Common challenges include remote working, misunderstandings, quick responses and information sharing.For any team to function effectively, there must be open channels of communication. When everyone in the team works together, great things happen. Whether you’re collaborating on a joint project or are part of…