Parent and Pupil Engagement Digital Conference

School closures heightened the cleavages of the digital divide, added pressures on family dynamics and threatened to widen the attainment gap. This event will review whole school strategies that foster engagement by creating a context where families can engage, and children can learn effectively.

NFER’s CEO, Carole Willis, will provide evidence-based recommendations that put children’s learning as a priority in the parent school relationship. Plus hear from Leora Cruddas, CEO of the Confederation of Schools Trust on how schools can move from prescriptive to proactive engagement with families, and the Education Endowment Foundation will review its latest Parental Engagement Guidance Report.

Carole’s keynote address, ‘Catching up together: Enhancing Engagement to Drive School Improvement and Narrowing the Achievement Gap’ is at 9.10am, looking at:

• Fostering relationships with families and the sense of community to support continuity in unpredictable times
• Examining different effects of the pandemic on children’s learning and reaching out to parents as allies to narrow the attainment gap
• Avoiding a “lost generation” and putting children's learning as a priority in the parent-school relationship during coronavirus and beyond

You will learn about the trailblazing approaches that schools are taking to maximise the outcomes of remote learning, and equip school staff to feel confident teaching and talking to parents in different contexts, and creating bespoke approaches to create a true sense of inclusion and community.

You will also hear advice from Family Links on how to approach parents’ mental health and find partners that can address wellbeing as a key to improve children’s outcomes.

More about the event…