An Ofsted survey of 25 primary and secondary schools, found that thebest schools identified how parents could contribute, evaluated theimpact of initiatives and made improvements when necessary.
Parents said they rarely had sufficient guidance on how to help theirchildren learn more effectively. While most schools were involvingparents, only three of the 25 schools were evaluating the benefits.
The survey was conducted between September 2006 and February 2007 with arange of schools from rural and urban settings and differentsocio-economic groups.
Schools that encouraged the involvement of grandparents and othermembers of the extended family saw improvements in children's attitudesand achievement. Grandparents and extended family were found to have apositive influence on pupils' behaviour, motivation and achievement,especially where parents were finding it difficult to come to schoolbecause of work or other family commitments.
Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert said, 'Parents and carers need moreguidance about how they can support their child's learning. Schoolsshould identify parents' and carers' special skills and interests, andfind ways of helping learning. They should involve the extended family,if possible.'
Schools wanted more information about how other schools involved parentsand carers and how to judge the impact of their actions on achievement.The study recommended that local authorities provide support toschools.
The report praised schools where parents and carers joined classes forthe first ten minutes of each day with children showing the work theyhad done the previous day.
Parents, Carers and Schools can be downloaded from www.ofsted.gov.uk.
