Strategies for Increasing Parental Engagement
By Justin Robbins and Karen Dempster
This article provides a step-by-step guide to creating a long-term parental engagement plan, using the Four Pillars of Knowledge, Environment, Culture, and Communication to foster meaningful partnerships with families.
Creating a robust parental engagement plan is about more than organising events or sending out newsletters. It requires schools to take a strategic, reflective approach that delivers long-term value for families and lasting benefits for pupils. The Four Pillars of Parental Engagement – Knowledge, Environment, Culture, and Communication – provide a structured way to ensure your plan addresses all key areas and avoids assumptions, fostering genuine, results-driven partnerships with parents. Here’s a step-by-step guide to developing an engagement plan, with the Four Pillars embedded at every stage.
- Determine your starting point
The foundation of a strong engagement plan is understanding where your school currently stands. Instead of making assumptions about what parents need or want, use self-assessment tools aligned with the Four Pillars to identify strengths and weaknesses. For example:
Knowledge: Do parents feel equipped to support learning at home?
Environment: Do all families feel welcome, regardless of background?
Culture: Is your school celebrating and reflecting its diverse community?
Communication: Are your messages clear, consistent, and reaching all parents?
Involve parents, staff, and students in the evaluation process through surveys and focus groups, and research your school online. Once you know where you are right now, you can define what parental engagement looks like for your school for the future. Create a simple statement that guides your plans for the next three years and beyond. Test it with colleagues to ensure it is meaningful. Building relationships requires a clear focus and a consistent approach over time.
Now develop SMART goals based on your findings and guided by your definition of parental engagement, such as improving attendance at parent workshops or increasing parental confidence in supporting homework. Understand where your priorities are for the coming year, while considering how these will develop over a longer period.
Example in Action: A school discovers through self-assessment that while communication is strong, the physical environment feels unwelcoming to non-English-speaking parents. Their goal becomes creating a multilingual welcome guide and signage.
- Develop a detailed action plan
Once priorities are identified, create a clear, actionable plan that sets out specific initiatives, timelines, and responsibilities for achieving your goals. Ensure all Four Pillars are integrated into your planning process, for example:
Knowledge: Offer workshops tailored to gaps identified in your assessment, like ‘Supporting Early Readers’.
Environment: Organise regular ‘open school’ days for informal engagement.
Culture: Partner with families to plan culturally relevant events, like international food fairs or storytelling sessions.
Communication: Develop a year-long communication calendar with consistent updates in accessible formats.
Assign clear ownership for each action, ensuring accountability across staff. Map your plan around academic milestones, community events, and the school year’s rhythm. Engage the people who need to deliver your plan and provide the necessary training and tools, so they are set up for success. It’s important that your plan has full Senior Leadership Team support so get them on board at an early stage.
Example in Action: If your self-assessment shows parents feel uninformed about their children’s progress, plan termly sessions to explain how assessment works and how parents can help at home.
- Build trusted relationships
Trust is the cornerstone of any successful parental engagement plan. By building genuine connections with families, schools can create a foundation for collaboration. The Four Pillars can be your guide, for example:
Knowledge: organise ‘get to know you’ sessions where parents can informally meet staff, such as coffee mornings or ‘ask us anything’ Q&A events.
Environment: create physical and virtual spaces that feel welcoming to all families.
Culture: invite families to share their stories, traditions, or expertise, reinforcing a sense of belonging.
Communication: develop communication systems that are regular, positive, and proactive.
Example in Action: A school’s ‘Positive News Campaign’ ensures every parent receives at least one piece of good news about their child each term, reinforcing trust and a positive perception of the school.
- Empower parents with knowledge and skills
To create lasting impact, schools need to equip parents to confidently support their children’s learning and wellbeing. The Four Pillars offer a framework for ideas, for example:
Knowledge: termly workshops on high-impact topics like ‘Helping with Maths at Home’ or ‘Managing Screen Time’.
Environment: digital platforms to share instructional videos, quick tips, and subject-specific guides for at-home learning.
Culture: multilingual resources, including videos and infographics, to meet the diverse needs of your community.
Communication: peer-to-peer learning opportunities, where parents who excel in certain areas share strategies with others.
Example in Action: After identifying a gap in digital literacy, a school hosts hands-on sessions teaching parents to navigate online learning tools, improving their confidence and ability to support students at home.
- Monitor, evaluate and adjust
Parental engagement plans are living documents. Regularly reviewing progress ensures the plan stays relevant, effective, and responsive to changing needs. Measure impact and gather ongoing feedback from parents, staff, and students to evaluate the Four Pillars:
Knowledge: are parents better equipped to support learning?
Environment: do families report feeling more welcomed and included?
Culture: are engagement efforts reflective of your community’s diversity?
Communication: is information being effectively received and understood?
Example in Action: A mid-year review shows low attendance at workshops. Feedback reveals timing conflicts, leading the school to schedule sessions in the evening and offer virtual options.
- Celebrate success and sustain momentum
Celebrating milestones and recognising parents’ contributions keeps engagement efforts energised and embeds them into the school culture. Share stories of successful parental involvement through newsletters, social media, and assemblies, or even host an annual ‘Parent Partnership Celebration’ that showcases student achievements alongside parental contributions. Keep all pillars active, for example:
Knowledge: highlight how parents’ efforts have contributed to improved student outcomes.
Environment: use celebratory events to welcome new families into the community.
Culture: reflect the diversity of the community in celebrations.
Communication: thank parents for their involvement in personalised, meaningful ways.
Example in Action: A school highlights a case study of a parent-student pair who worked together on a science project, using it as inspiration to encourage others.
A successful parental engagement plan isn’t built overnight, nor is it a one-size-fits-all solution. By focusing on the Four Pillars – Knowledge, Environment, Culture, and Communication – schools can develop tailored, actionable strategies that foster lasting partnerships and deliver real benefits for students. Start small, stay flexible, and let these pillars guide you toward meaningful, sustainable connections with families. The results will speak for themselves – in stronger student outcomes and a thriving school community.
The Four Pillars of Parental Engagement (Crown House Publishing, 2021) is available at www.crownhouse.co.uk/the-four-pillars-of-parental-engagement
