An integral part of being a good teacher is learning how to deal with the parents of your pupils. There needs to be good, open communication in order to best support the students you teach, and you need to know that you have their parents on your side. It’s an important learning curve for any ambitious teacher who wants to progress with their career and climb further up the teaching ladder.
Communication is the key to establishing a positive relationship with the parents of your students. Ensure that you always keep them in the loop, whether it’s for positive or negative reasons. Parents evenings will help with this, as you will have the opportunity to meet with people face to face.
You can also develop your own ways of communicating. If pupils are performing well, you may choose to send something home to parents in the way of a reward. Everyone likes to hear that their children are doing well in school, so this is the kind of approach that parents will appreciate.
If you are experiencing problems with a student, let parents know as soon as you can. It might be that they can shed some light on behavioural issues – for example, the student might be experiencing problems at home. Even if this isn’t the case, parents should always be aware of anything that might be causing issues in school.
Talk to parents in a formal manner at first, though a slightly more informal approach may become appropriate if you have worked with them before. Adapt to the situation as required. Parent-teacher communication is so important and it’s something you’ll need if moving into management positions. Many schools will ask you about your skills in this area when recruiting.