Engaging with parents and carers

Learn how governing boards can engage with parents as an important stakeholder group who offer rich and diverse insights into school life.

Guidance

26/11/2021

Stakeholder engagement is integral to the success of a school. Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the wider community helps governing boards get to know their school or trust and enables robust decision-making.

Parents are one of the most important stakeholders; they can offer governing boards rich and diverse insights into school life, ethos and culture.

This joint guidance from the National Governance Association and Parentkind combines extensive knowledge on engaging with parents effectively. It is designed to prompt conversations between governing boards and school and trust leaders around developing a strong approach to engaging with parents.

This guide will help governing boards to:

Understand why meaningful engagement with parents is an essential feature of effective governance.
Learn about methods that schools can put in place to maintain effective relationships with parents.
Put plans in place to support, influence and benefit from the school’s parental engagement strategy.

Stakeholder engagement: the fourth core function

In 2020, NGA formally identified ensuring the voices of stakeholders are heard as the fourth core function for governing boards because it helps ensure:

The values, vision and strategy set by the governing board has the support of the community – because the community has had a role in shaping them.

The governing board challenge and question school leaders from an informed position – because they know what stakeholders think and feel.

The governing board itself remains accountable to the community it serves by being visible and transparent.

Robust self-evaluation – listening to stakeholders helps schools to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

Stakeholder engagement

Join Emma Knights (NGA Chief Executive) as she explores:

why stakeholder engagement is a vital component of good governance
how governing boards gather the views of staff, parents, pupils, and the wider community
the respective roles of trustees, governors, and school leaders

Watch the webinar