Date
25 March 2024

Partner with whānau in school-wide decision-making and self-review

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Modelling a commitment to inclusion’

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Foster partnerships

Foster partnerships

Staff at Lincoln School talk about their commitment to working in partnership with whānau.
Video hosted on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/272496855

Successful family-school partnerships

Successful family-school partnerships

Key factors critical to strengthening schools’ engagement with parents.

  • Leadership: Engagement between schools and their communities works well when there is vision and commitment from school leaders to working in partnership with all parents.
  • Relationships: Mutual trust and respect are critical to relationships in which staff and parents share responsibility for children’s learning and well-being.
  • School culture: Inclusive schools enable all parents to be actively involved in decisions affecting their child and respond promptly to parents’ concerns and questions.
  • Partnership: Learning partnerships strengthen parents’ involvement in their child’s education. Parents feel that their contributions are valued. Effective learning partnerships have positive impacts on student outcomes.
  • Community networks: Schools are an integral part of their communities. Parent and community expertise contributes to school programmes and activities. Networks are built through effective consultation.
  • Communication: Timely, useful, and easily understood communication with parents provides opportunities to exchange information. Barriers to effective communication are actively identified and overcome.

Source: Partners in learning: Schools' engagement with parents, whānau, and communities (May 2008) (opens in a new tab/window)

Involve parents and whānau

Involve parents and whānau

Response from parent research.

Increasing whānau and iwi authority and involvement in education is critical to improving presence, engagement, and achievement. To achieve this, parents and whānau must be actively involved in decision-making and their children’s learning in all education settings.

Index for inclusion

Index for inclusion

Indicators of an inclusive culture.

  • Everyone is made to feel welcome.
  • Students help each other.
  • Staff collaborate with each other.
  • Staff and students treat one another with respect.
  • There is a partnership between staff and parents/carers.
  • Staff and the board of trustees work well together.
  • Local communities are involved in the school.

Source: Index for Inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools (opens in a new tab/window)

Useful resources

Useful resources

Website

Welcoming parents

This video includes practical suggestions for engaging Pasifika parents in the school community.

Publisher: Pasifika Education Community

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Engaging the community

Curriculum Implementation Exploratory Studies: Final Report

Read time: 103 min

Section Eight (p.35) of this report from the Curriculum Implementation Exploratory Studies project focuses on the different purposes of community engagement. A key purpose is for schools to involve their community in developing a shared vision and values. Contains practical strategies.

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Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Model a commitment to inclusion”:

Return to the guide “​Partnering with parents, whānau, and communities ”

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