Dealing with a breakdown in trust from parents

What was the issue addressed?

We had to rebuild relationships with the parent community due to the Category coding which was release earlier in the year, this has been a difficult period due to the drop in category.

Some parents have also left the school due to the category coding which has impacted the school budget.

Alongside this issues, there have been changes amongst Governors, including a period of 12 months within which several different people took on the role of Chair of Governors. It was difficult to work with at times as we had a loss of continuity.

A lack of communication with parents from the school also led to complaints.

What happened?

We held regular meetings with parents to provide updates and created a parent forum with the support of the challenge advisor. Technology was used to improve communication – i.e. Class DoJo and electronic newsletters.

What lessons were learnt?

We are still working through most of the issues as they are current. I feel that lessons have been learnt however. We still have a long way to grow and develop. Professional support, especially from the Challenge Advisor, has been helpful.

Continuity is key and all the changes we have had as a school, staffing, pupil numbers, changes to Governors positions, have certainly not helped the situation.

Reflections…

Has your school faced a weakening of confidence from parents?

How do you communication with the school’s parent community?

Have you had to deal with significant numbers of changes to governors? How did you cope with this?

Have your say… Have you had experiences similar to these? What do you think about the situation described?