P​arental Engagement

Working together to help every child succeed

At Wade Deacon High School, we believe that strong partnerships between school, pupils and families make a real difference.

Parents and carers are their child’s first educators and play a vital role in shaping attitudes towards learning, attendance, behaviour and achievement. Our approach to parental engagement is therefore built on positive relationships, regular two-way communication, high expectations and a shared commitment to achieving the very best for every pupil.

Our Commitment to Excellence underpins this partnership. We want every family to feel welcomed, valued, listened to and able to play an active part in their child’s education. We recognise that families have different circumstances and needs, and we work to remove barriers that may make engagement more difficult.

Our approach

Our parental engagement is centred around four key principles:

Communication – providing parents and carers with timely, accessible and meaningful information.

Partnership – working together to support pupils’ learning, attendance, behaviour, wellbeing and personal development.

Empowerment – giving families the knowledge, guidance and resources they need to support their child effectively.

Consultation – listening to parents and carers, acting on feedback where appropriate and communicating the improvements we make.

Keeping you informed

We are committed to open, accessible and responsive communication. Parents and carers can expect regular information about their child’s academic progress and attitudes to learning, timely communication where there are concerns about attendance, behaviour or wellbeing, and opportunities to celebrate achievement.

We also provide opportunities to discuss progress with teaching and pastoral staff, access curriculum information and learning resources, and provide guidance on revision, study skills and independent learning.

We communicate in a range of ways, including Arbor, email, telephone calls, letters, the school website, parent information evenings, parents’ evenings, face-to-face meetings and appropriate digital platforms.

Helping you support learning at home

We want parents and carers to feel confident in supporting their child’s education. Throughout their time at Wade Deacon, families have access to:

• Parent’s evenings
• Curriculum information evenings and subject-specific workshops
• Revision, examination and study-skills guidance
• Literacy and reading support
• Online learning resources
• Careers and post-16 guidance events
• SEND support events
• Pastoral support opportunities

At home, we encourage families to establish positive routines for learning, promote excellent attendance and punctuality, support reading and literacy, discuss learning regularly, encourage independent study and revision, and celebrate effort, progress and achievement.

Your voice matters

Effective parental engagement is a two-way process. We want parents and carers to help shape and strengthen our provision.

We regularly seek feedback through parental surveys, event evaluations, focus groups where appropriate, parent forum opportunities, SEND consultation events and direct feedback.

We are committed not only to listening, but also to sharing the outcomes of consultation, acting on feedback where appropriate and communicating the actions and improvements that follow.

Supporting every family

We recognise that some pupils and families may require additional support at different points in their school journey. We are particularly committed to strengthening engagement with families of disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND, pupils experiencing attendance difficulties, vulnerable pupils and families, and pupils at key transition points.

Our aim is to identify barriers early and work constructively with families to find solutions. Strong communication between home and school also helps us provide effective pastoral and safeguarding support when pupils need it.

Our shared commitment

Our Home-School Agreement reflects the shared responsibility of school, pupils and families to promote high standards of achievement, attendance, behaviour and wellbeing.

The school commits to providing a broad and balanced curriculum, a safe and supportive environment, regular communication, appropriate home learning and support when concerns arise.

In return, we ask families to support excellent attendance and punctuality, readiness for learning, home learning, school expectations and respectful communication, and to keep us informed about circumstances that may affect their child. Pupils are expected to attend regularly, arrive ready to learn, meet our Expectations for Learning, complete their work to the best of their ability and build positive and respectful relationships with others.

A genuine partnership

Parental engagement at Wade Deacon is not simply about attending parents’ evenings or school events. It is an embedded partnership between home and school, characterised by trust, mutual respect, consistent communication and shared responsibility.

By working together, we aim to strengthen achievement, attendance and behaviour; support wellbeing and resilience; raise aspirations; and ensure every pupil has the encouragement and support they need to succeed.

Commitment to Excellence

Together, pupils, families and staff share the same ambition: to create the conditions in which every young person can thrive, achieve and prepare successfully for their future.