Student wellbeing is a team game!

The home-school partnership

The mental health of the nation’s children is topic of significant discussion at the moment and technology, (particularly social media) is an area particularly under the microscope. The importance of mental health is now firmly established and the awareness of concepts such as ‘mindfulness’ and ‘growth mindset’ are part of the everyday conversations of teachers.

“The emotional wellbeing of children is just as important as their physical health. Good mental health allows children and young people to develop the resilience to cope with whatever life throws at them and grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.”

Mental Health Foundation, Children and Young People, 2017

However, if we step away from the concerns over social media for a moment, and look at the issue from a different angle, we can see that the way that technology is used in schools has a powerful role to play in managing some of the anxiety sometimes experienced by our students.

To start with, let us consider the role of the teacher, sometimes described as being in loco parentis, ie ‘in the place of the parent’. Teachers can effectively be seen as ‘co-parents’ of the child, in that they take responsibility for the child while they are on the school premises. Now, we know that a common cause of stress in children is when parents argue a lot, or the family is breaking up through separation or divorce. If we consider the relationship between the family and school, then the risk of this occurring is even greater; remember, parents have actually chosen to live with each other so there must have been some strong basis for the relationship, at least initially. If they can have difficulties, then schools and families have to work even harder to maintain a good relationship. The importance of this relationship in the educational experience of the child cannot be overstated:

“Supporting the home-school relationship cannot be seen as an ‘added extra’ to the core business of schools. It is an essential factor in children’s learning and can inform the work of the school on many levels, including how the curriculum is taught, pastoral care, extra-curricular development and behaviour strategies.”

Grant, L. Developing the home-school relationship using digital technologies, 2010

Any counsellor will tell you that one of the keys to a healthy relationship is good communication. So let us consider as teachers, how often do we actually talk meaningfully with parents? All too frequently, the main points of contact are through end of term reports or annual Parent’s Evenings. If anything takes place outside these particular windows, they are generally as a result of a concern and as such will tend to be stressful events.

If we can find a way to have regular, (ie daily, weekly) communication with parents then these issues will not have time to escalate and the stress levels for everyone concerned, (students, parents and teachers) should be lower. Ongoing communication and updates would also help to ensure that face to face meetings can be more meaningful, as the parents are already informed of their child’s day to day school experience.

As soon as we talk about communication, then the opportunities for technology quickly become manifest. However, we also need to ensure that regular communication does not become a burden for all involved; teachers should not be spending inordinate amounts of time emailing updates to the families of their students, and of course parents do not want to be ‘spammed’ with emails from school. So what is the information that is important to parents? Generally, they want to know:

• What is my child learning?
• What progress is my child making?

All of this information is already available and being used by teachers and students as part of the teaching and learning process. The trick lies in how we can make parents part of this ‘learning conversation’.

Traditional VLEs already provide a channel whereby course structures and learning resources can be made available to both students and parents, but this only covers the first part of the question — what is my child learning. This material needs to be supplemented with information about how the student is progressing if we are to provide parents with a proper picture of their child. A good technology solution will provide a platform whereby teachers can share the feedback they are giving students, quickly and easily with the parents of that student. This allows the parents to be proactively engaged in their child’s learning, rather than simply the course they are following. In his report on the impact of Parental involvement on pupil achievement, Charles Desforges is clear that,

‘Parents’ understanding of their children’s progress is founded on rigorous discussion, honest reporting and swift contact when important information needs to be shared.’

Desforges, C., Abouchaar, A., The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievements and Adjustment: A Literature Review, 2003

Crucially, the best solutions will do this in a way that does not increase the workload of the teacher, and allows parents to ‘pull’ information from the school at a time that suits them, rather than have it continuously ‘pushed’ to them. This might be data concerning the behaviour of the child, or homework that has been set/completed, along with the marks and feedback that they have received. The more informed the parents are, the stronger the relationship between school and home will be, and as such less stress should be experienced by all parties. Put simply, if teachers and parents are able to collaborate easily, then the clearer the message that the student receives; there will be less chance of ambiguity and the more secure they should feel about the home/school partnership.

The transformational impact of technology on teaching and learning is already well documented. However, there are many other factors that can have an effect on educational; achievement, and the area of mental well being is becoming better understood. As the capabilities of Edtech continue to grow and evolve it will become equally important to consider the effect it might have on other factors affecting the learner. The home/school partnership is a key aspect in learning and we, as educators need to know how technology can best be used for the good of all those involved in the teaching and learning process; students, teachers and parents.

“The relationship between home and school is a powerful influence on children’s learning and development, which digital technologies have the capacity to support and enhance.”

Grant, L. Developing the home-school relationship using digital technologies, 2010