Wales Chief Inspector For Schools Wants Parental Involvement

SCHOOLS must do more to involve parents in school life, according to Wales’ new chief inspector for schools. In just six months Dr. Bill Maxwell warned that Wales was in danger of losing its tradition of respecting and valuing education unless more was done to engage parents and carers.“Good schools are taking notice but some need to try harder,” Dr Maxwell said.

“A lot of countries, including Wales, talk about a dip in performance in the early secondary school stages. One of the ways to counter that is to keep that engagement strong between parents, kids and the school.

“Parents tend to get engaged again when their children do exams but in the early years of secondary things can drift.”

A positive role to be considered by parents is to reinforce the classroom lesson. Homework can take on a new dimension and to help are the range of maths games, literacy games, and teaching resources that follow the curriculium.

“Parents want to be involved if they are welcomed in, but that depends on the head. If you are not high up the educational ladder you may feel you don’t understand what the teacher says or be intimidated and more needs to be done to get these parents involved.”

Steven Bowden, head of Porth County Community School, in one of the most deprived parts of Wales, has upped parental involvement by getting them to help run activities and learn with their children.

Take a look at the full article in icWales