How Parents and Schools Can Work Together: A Practical UK Guide

A practical UK guide to parents and schools working together: why parental engagement matters, the EEF's four evidence-based recommendations, what schools in England are required to share with parents, tips for parents' evenings and home learning, ideas for engaging every family, and how to raise a concern.

Every child lives in two worlds. At home, parents and carers see the questions at bedtime, the hobby that absorbs a whole weekend, the worry that never gets mentioned in class. At school, teachers see how the same child learns, plays and copes alongside thirty others. When parents and schools work together, those two pictures join up, and children are noticed earlier, supported better and challenged in the right places. This guide explains what good parent-school partnership looks like in the UK, what schools in England are expected to do, what the research says actually works, and practical steps for both families and staff.

It is written for both sides of the school gate. Parents will find ideas for building a constructive relationship with their child's nursery or school; teachers and school leaders will find a summary of the strongest evidence on parental engagement and ways to reach every family, not just the ones who already come to every event. At the British Talent Academy (BTA) in Sheffield, this partnership is central to how we think about children's potential, and we come back to why at the end.

Why parent-school partnership matters

The case for working together rests on a simple observation: children spend far more of their waking hours outside school than inside it. A Department for Education-commissioned review of best practice in parental engagement (Goodall and Vorhaus, 2011) opens by stating that parental engagement "has a large and positive impact on children's learning", and quotes earlier research finding that, in the primary years, the impact of different levels of parental involvement is much bigger than differences associated with variations in the quality of schools.

More recent evidence points the same way, with an important twist. The EEF's Teaching and Learning Toolkit entry on parental engagement, last updated in May 2025, rates the approach as "moderate impact for very low cost based on extensive evidence". Drawing on 124 studies, it finds an average of four months' additional progress over a year, with similar effects in early years settings and primary schools. But it also says that "the key mechanism for parental engagement is improving the quality and quantity of learning that takes place in the home learning environment". In other words, the gains come from what happens between parent and child, and the school's role is to make that easier.

The evidence also carries a warning. The EEF's guidance report, Working with Parents to Support Children's Learning, notes that "evidence on effective strategies that schools can use to engage parents in their children's learning is mixed", that most schools say they have no explicit plan for working with parents, and that fewer than 10% of teachers have undertaken professional development on parental engagement. Good intentions are not enough: partnership has to be designed.

What a good partnership looks like

Partnership is a relationship, not a set of events. The DfE's early years guidance, Development Matters, puts it simply: "It is important for parents and early years settings to have a strong and respectful partnership. This sets the scene for children to thrive in the early years." It adds that this includes "listening regularly to parents and giving parents clear information about their children's progress", and that "the help that parents give their children at home has a very significant impact on their learning". The same principles hold all the way through primary and secondary school.

What each side brings

Neither home nor school sees the whole child. Parents hold years of knowledge about temperament, history, health and the interests a child pursues without being asked. Schools see how a child learns compared with peers of the same age, how they handle structure and challenge, and what they achieve against the curriculum. Each side's picture is incomplete without the other.

Five features of strong partnerships

• Two-way communication. Schools share information about learning, and actively ask families what they know, want and need.
• A focus on learning. Conversations centre on what the child is learning and how to help, not only on behaviour, uniform or logistics.
• Respect and no blame. The EEF stresses building parents' confidence that they are equal partners who can make a difference.
• Consistency. Shared expectations, for example about behaviour, routines and reading, mean the child hears the same message in both places.
• Attention to strengths. The best partnerships celebrate what is going well and look for talents to nurture, not just problems to fix.

What schools in England are expected to do

Much of the parent-school relationship is a matter of good practice, but some of it is set out in law or statutory guidance. Knowing the baseline helps parents know what to expect and helps schools see where they can go further. The table below summarises the main requirements in England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

The school reports guidance adds that schools can split the annual report across the year, for example reporting each term. The SEND code of practice says plainly that most schools "will want to go beyond" the annual report and provide regular updates. And the DfE's statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, updated in July 2026, states that "good attendance starts with close and productive relationships with parents and pupils", and that schools should treat all pupils and parents with dignity rather than "reaching immediately for punitive approaches".

Parents also have a direct line to the inspectorate. Ofsted Parent View lets parents tell Ofsted what they think of their child's school at any time, including whether their child feels safe and happy and, for children with SEND, how well they are supported. Ofsted says it uses the responses to inform discussions with school leaders during inspections and to help decide when to inspect, and it publishes anonymised summaries for each school.

What the research says works: the EEF's four recommendations

For schools wondering where to start, the EEF guidance report offers four evidence-based recommendations. They are written for school leaders, but they are just as useful for parents who want to understand what a school is trying to do.

1. Critically review how you work with parents

The EEF advises schools to "be optimistic about the potential of parental engagement, but cautious about the best approaches". That means setting clear aims, talking to less-involved parents about what support they would find helpful, and checking whether activities are actually improving learning. Monitoring does not need to be onerous: it might simply mean asking whether particular groups of parents find school communications helpful or feel they have a voice.

2. Provide practical strategies to support learning at home

For young children, the report says promoting shared book reading "should be a central component of any parental engagement approach", alongside activities such as playing with letters and numbers. Tips and prompts that encourage longer conversations around books make a difference; simply giving out books is unlikely to be effective on its own. For older children, the EEF urges caution about promoting direct help with homework. Encouraging children to set goals, plan, and manage their time, effort and emotions "will often be more valuable than direct help with homework tasks".

3. Tailor school communications to encourage positive dialogue about learning

Well-designed communication, such as weekly texts or short termly letters, can improve attainment and attendance at low cost. Messages work best when they are personalised, linked to learning and positive, for example celebrating success. Crucially, communication should be two-way: the EEF reports that around half of parents say they have not been consulted on their preferences for receiving information, and that while parents most want updates on their child's progress, there is a mismatch between the information they want about what their child is learning and the general school news they tend to receive.

4. Offer more sustained and intensive support where needed

Some families need more than a newsletter. The EEF recommends assessing needs, communicating carefully "to avoid stigmatising, blaming, or discouraging parents", encouraging a consistent approach to behaviour, and planning group sessions around a convenient time and place, face-to-face recruitment and a welcoming atmosphere. For younger children with greater needs, regular home visits can help parents who struggle to attend meetings.

For parents: building a strong relationship with your child's school

You do not need to be a regular volunteer or a member of the PTA to be a strong partner in your child's education, although both are valuable. What matters most is a steady, constructive flow of information in both directions, and the everyday learning that happens at home.

Share what the school cannot see

Teachers only see part of your child. Let them know about the things that shape how your child arrives in the classroom: a new sibling, a bereavement, a house move, poor sleep, a health issue. Share the positives too. If your child spends hours building model railways, writing comics or teaching themselves chess, tell the school; it may change how a teacher pitches work or which opportunities they suggest. Our guide to the signs of a gifted child includes examples of the kinds of behaviour worth mentioning.

Make parents' evenings and meetings count

Appointments are often short, so preparation pays off. Ask your child beforehand what is going well and what feels hard, write down two or three questions in order of importance, and ask about what your child is learning now rather than only how they are doing. The single most useful question is often: "What is one thing we could do at home to help?"

Your child's annual report is also an invitation. Every report must explain how to arrange a discussion with a teacher, so if something surprises or worries you, take up that offer rather than waiting until next year.

Support learning at home without becoming the teacher

The research is reassuring for busy families: the most effective home support is often everyday and low-cost. Reading together and talking about the story, chatting about the day, cooking, counting, visiting the library or a museum, and showing interest in what your child is learning all count. Development Matters asks early years settings to encourage all parents "to chat, play and read with their children". For older children, help them plan their week and manage frustration rather than doing the homework with them; if they are stuck, the EEF suggests it may be more effective to encourage them to ask their teacher.

Activities outside school are another way to see your child in a new light, and to share what you notice with school. Our guide to extracurricular activities for kids has ideas by age and budget.

Use your voice

Most schools want feedback and many run parent surveys or forums. You can also join or help the school's parent-teacher association; Parentkind, the national charity for parent-teacher associations, offers guidance on starting and running one. And you can share your views through Ofsted Parent View at any time.

For schools: practical ideas to engage every family

Most staff already work hard to build relationships with families, often with little training or time. The aim is not to add more events but to make the contact you already have more purposeful and more inclusive.

Reach the families you rarely see

The EEF's toolkit warns that parental engagement strategies "risk increasing attainment gaps" if the families who take part are mainly the more affluent. Ask less-involved parents directly what would help. Offer flexible timings, formats and locations for working parents, including phone or video appointments. Use plain English and translated materials where needed, and remember that a parent's own experience of school may shape how comfortable they feel walking through the gate. A consistent, named contact, which the attendance guidance also recommends, can make a real difference.

Make messages personal, positive and about learning

Swap some of the generic newsletters for short, specific messages: "Amira explained photosynthesis to the class today; ask her to show you the diagram." These messages give families something concrete to talk about at home and build trust that pays off when harder conversations are needed. Consider what the EEF calls the mismatch between what parents want to know (what their child is learning) and what they usually receive (general school news).

Ask about strengths, not only needs

Admission forms, settling-in meetings and parents' evenings can all include a simple question: "What does your child love doing, and what are they good at outside school?" The answers can reveal talents that never show up in classroom assessment, and they signal to families that the school sees their child as more than a set of results. If you are reviewing provision for more able pupils, see our article on gifted and talented provision in UK schools.

Plan, train and check

Treat parental engagement like any other school priority. Agree two or three aims, give staff practical guidance (the EEF notes that most teachers report no training in this area), and review whether activities are reaching the families you intended and improving learning. The EEF found that the approaches studied typically ran for around 18 weeks, so plan for sustained effort and keep staff workload in mind.

Working together on talents, gifts and additional needs

Partnership matters most when a child's development is uneven. A child may be racing ahead in maths but anxious socially, or have a speech and language need alongside a striking creative talent. Our guide to child development milestones in the UK explains the official checks and when to ask for advice.

If you think your child may have special educational needs, GOV.UK's guidance on SEN support advises talking to the teacher or the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). Where a pupil receives SEN support, the SEND code of practice says schools should talk to parents regularly to set clear outcomes, discuss the support that will help achieve them, and identify the responsibilities of the parent, the pupil and the school, and should meet parents at least three times each year. In the early years, the EYFS progress check plan "should involve parents and/or carers and other professionals", such as the setting's SENCO, as the EYFS statutory framework sets out.

For children who are highly able or have a particular talent, there is no equivalent statutory process, which makes partnership even more important. Share evidence from home, ask how the school stretches pupils in that area, and agree together which opportunities, clubs or challenges might help. The same habits of listening, recording examples and reviewing progress apply.

When things go wrong: raising a concern

Even strong relationships hit difficulties: a bullying incident, a disagreement about support, a breakdown in communication. GOV.UK's guidance on complaining about a state school is clear that the first step is to contact the school to discuss the problem, because "most problems can be solved this way". If an informal approach does not resolve it, follow the school's formal complaints procedure, which every school in England must have.

Only after completing the school's procedure can you usually complain to the Department for Education, unless a child is not getting an education, has been exposed to harm, or the school is stopping you from following its procedure. Ofsted can record complaints about issues affecting the whole school, but it cannot resolve individual disputes. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999; if you think a child is at risk, contact your local council or the police on 101.

Where British Talent Academy fits

At the British Talent Academy, we believe every child carries extraordinary potential, and that too much of it goes unnoticed because parents and schools each see only part of the picture. Our core problem analysis and hidden cost page explain what is lost when talents are spotted late, and why existing systems, built around a narrow set of tests, struggle to capture creativity, leadership or emotional strengths.

BTA is building an Early Talent Intelligence platform that helps families and schools understand each child's strengths through guided observation and behavioural insight. Families see a clear picture through the parent dashboard, and the wider digital journey is designed for parents and specialists to work from the same information. Read how BTA works for the full picture.

For schools, nurseries and community organisations in Sheffield and the surrounding region, our school partnership page explains how to take part in our founding pilot, including offering selected children access free of charge.

For more practical guides for families and schools, browse BTA Insights or return to the British Talent Academy home page.

This article is general information for parents, carers and school staff, and mainly describes arrangements in England. It does not replace advice from your child's school, local authority or other professionals. Requirements and figures are quoted from the sources listed below and were checked on 26 October 2026.