Across the education sector of late, there’s been a real emphasis on the importance of belonging – and thank goodness!
Feeling that you belong is a key ingredient and essential contributory factor towards attaining contentment. According to the youth mental health charity Young Minds, one in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 had a probable mental health condition in 2023. So, when it seems more challenging than ever to just be a teenager, it’s vital that we strive for a feeling of togetherness across our schools.
Detrimental impact
A sense of community, team and overall belonging shouldn’t just be something that teachers and leaders aim to build in classes alone, however. And it definitely shouldn’t be reduced to a buzzword or catchphrase. It has to permeate through our schools at every level and down to every stakeholder.
Parents must feel a sense of attachment towards their school too. Recent research carried out by the Education Endowment Foundation highlighted how effective parental engagement could lead to at least four months’ additional progress in attainment among learners, which is substantial.
The cost of such strategies and initiatives is low, and it’s a cost that pays dividends. So why might things be falling flat?
We live at a time when complaints directed at services have risen sharply. The Guardian recently reported that ‘More than 90% of headteachers and other senior leaders said they had been on the receiving end of “challenging behaviour” from parents. In addition to formal complaints, that included what leaders felt had been an ‘unreasonable’ number of subject access requests, as well as assorted verbal and physical threats.
The impact of all this can be, and indeed has been, detrimental for school staff and leaders, suggesting that there ought to be a closer analysis of the root causes behind such behaviours. Why has the volume of complaints spiralled so much? How have we arrived at a point where experienced leaders are citing the above issues as their reasons for leaving a profession that they love?
Monthly spikes
We will often talk about mental health as it affects young people and cover it as a teaching topic in PSHE. Some schools will have even held themed days or weeks focused on mental health awareness raising.
Speaking personally, I’ve noticed a significant rise in mental health issues and challenges among our families, not just our students. Screen time and blue light addiction are often linked to the behaviours of our young people and teenagers, but they’ve given rise to issues that affect many adults too.
Many of us spend an unhealthy amount of time on phones and watching screens. The growth in the proportion of people now working from home in the wake of the COVID pandemic has accelerated this trend yet further. Blurred lines between ‘home being home’ and ‘work being work’, mean that for many families, it’s become increasingly difficult to fully switch off.
Additionally, the cost of living crisis has impacted families in numerous ways. When families start running out of money mid-month, it can give rise to anxiety and other mental health issues.
Examine the wider trends regarding behaviour and you’ll quickly discover how schools see many more instances of difficult behaviour towards the end of the month.
This is why it’s so important that you get to know your families, so that you can help to support them effectively, or at least signpost to what they need. Good pastoral teams do this well.
For many families, school will be a reassuring constant within their lives and sometimes a haven – but they might not realise this yet. When parents and carers are upset at the world, and (understandably) feel let down by systems outside of their control, they can turn to schools in order to offload. This is in part because we won’t turn away from them.
So what strategies can we deploy that will lead to more positivity, even when we perhaps don’t have all the answers? What follows are some suggestions that will help. They may be small steps in some cases, but sometimes the simplest suggestions can be among the most impactful.
Mental health support
Our work with local mental health support teams has previously enabled us to host workshops for parents, in which they can enhance their broader knowledge of mental health and wellbeing (while ensuring their own is appropriately prioritised) and be signposted towards any external help and support they might need.
Confidentiality and privacy
Amid the cost-of-living crisis, it’s come as little surprise to see how a number of families are now struggling with everyday demands, particularly those with several children and/or teenagers.
With many finding it a challenge to make ends meet, schools are increasingly turning to hosting their own foodbanks on site. This can involve either working with local supermarkets to secure donations, or working with Felix where demand is especially high.
Knowing your families, and understanding who among them will need the most support is crucial, and must be handled sensitively.
EAL parents
For families who are new to the country, or who don’t speak English as their first language, that sense of belonging may not develop as easily, thus making it even more important to reach out to them.
As the Bell Foundation has noted, staff can sometimes assume that there’s a lack of engagement from EAL parents and carers when in actual fact, there may be more barriers in play than we realise.
Effective strategies for supporting and engaging EAL families can include using translation tools for home learning, and inviting parents in with the intention of helping them form relationships with others. You could even gently encourage some to eventually assume the role of parent ambassadors.
Marketing and communication
How we ‘sell’ things to parents is hugely important. Heavy use of jargon and confusing education acronyms will simply make parents (and possibly our own staff) want to switch off. For parents keen to find out more about their child’s education, a corporate slide show filled with waffle will only lead to disengagement.
Let parents and carers actually see your school for themselves by investing time in open evenings and exhibitions, and through showcasing what’s happening day-to-day.
Bringing people together
Transitions to secondary school can sometimes be more challenging and anxiety-inducing for parents/carers than the students themselves. Moving from a small primary school setting to a large secondary can make the chances of parents bonding even slimmer.
One simple way of creating a greater sense of belonging is by putting an effective PTA, ‘helpers’ group or online forum in place, formed of individuals who might be willing to help organise events. When the ‘why’ is explained, and people realise that the funds they donate will be going to directly benefitting their children.
Striving for academic success remains vital, of course – but it’s the building of a sense of community that should be at the heart of how a school operates.
Over the years I’ve had many parents and families open up to me about the difficulties they’re facing or the worries they have. Sometimes people just need to talk.
Genuine displays of care and compassion will go a long way. Parental engagement is a process that involves much more than simply monitoring the numbers of attendees at parents’ evenings, important though that is.
Real success in this area depends on being able to foster a parental engagement that’s sustained and compassionate. Only then will you be able to build a culture of people working with, rather than against each other.
Charlotte Rowley is currently a headteacher at a one-form entry primary school in Staffordshire, having previously trained as an English teacher and worked in secondary schools as both a teacher and senior leader for over 10 years.
