Parents & Schools

Parental involvement in their child’s learning can be particularly beneficial for children with Down syndrome (Lorenz, 1998). Schools are encouraged to value parents as partners in the education process. Parent ultimately support their children throughout their education and into adulthood, and should be invited to every occasion where professionals meet to discuss their child. Parents might not be able to attend but they should be informed and invited, with every effort made by the school to enable them to contribute to the outcomes of meetings. Parents are an invaluable part of the education team and if they are not fully included, both the school and pupil will be disadvantaged.

Benefits for schools of partnership with parents:

  • Parents know more about their children than professionals
  • Knowledge about play & leisure activities, independence, self-help skills, interests and behaviour at home are particularly relevant for the school, as staff may not see children in a sufficiently wide range of situations to have comprehensive information about their skills or capabilities.
  • Parents have knowledge of their child in out of school settings that can aid assessment, target setting, curriculum planning and behaviour management for teachers
  • Parents can support in-school learning with out-of-school activities
  • Parents can suggest and provide materials and topics to support learning in school
  • Parents can help the pupil generalise new skills learned in school to everyday life
  • Parents are knowledgeable about the development and education of a child with Down syndrome - they can be an expert resource
  • Parents, in turn, value the support they receive from education professionals

Some ways in which schools can communicate with parents include:

  • The child’s school journal
  • A communication book or copy where parents and teachers share information about events and developments at home and in school
  • A cheap, sturdy digital camera can be useful to send pictures of the child’s activities back and forth
  • Regular scheduled parent-teacher meetings
  • Phone calls home with news (positive as well as negative) or to check on the child’s progress at home
  • School newsletter , notice board or website with up to date information on school events
  • Open days and regular parent events
  • Involving parents in paired reading schemes or other in-class activities