From parents’ evenings to events and parent association meetings. There’s a lot of opportunities to converse with teachers, and vice versa with parents, and maintaining that relationship is how you can see progress. It’s a great opportunity for parents and teachers to get to know each other and find ways to support their children by putting their best intentions forward. With all of that in mind, here are some ways to help improve parent-teacher relationships that this prep school in Buckinghamshire recommends.
Be yourself
Teachers only have a finite amount of time to spend with you – it’s wise to cut the jargon and get to the point as quickly as possible. Be yourself and talk to teachers like you would with a friend. They want to help you the best they can, especially when nine times out of ten the issues will be surrounding your child. Make things easier on them by avoiding waffle and getting to the matter at hand like you would do in any scenario.
Talk about ways to improve relationships together
Again, a poor relationship between you and your child’s teachers will mean they aren’t as willing to find ways to support any form of progress. You should avoid being rude in any capacity – be diplomatic and open-minded. It should be a partnership between a parent and a teacher that helps the child in the long run and not to cause further issues, or never address them in the first place.
To improve relationships, look at what your child does in school and where they have clear strengths. Pinpoint what issues your child is having in school as well. See what your teacher can tell you about that is useful, and can be helped with back at home.
Take advantage of any parent meetings or evenings
The biggest benefit to you as a parent is all of the meetings and evenings you will have the advantage to be a part of. It’s a good time to sit down with teachers and see where real, actionable support can help your child.
This approach is a lot easier for teachers to manage as you are both on the same wavelength. Better yet you will both be able to see the improvements your child will make in their studies if you stick to what a teacher has recommended. This helps teachers a lot more with seeing progress between you and your child.
Parent-teacher relationships are of course very important, but it’s also crucial to treat it like a real friendship. Teachers are still human beings and they only want what is best for their students. Ensure a strong relationship is formed between yourself and your child’s teachers to get the best out of their learning experience.