Buddhist Wong Cheuk Um Primary School
Building a Compassionate and Rational Home-School Partnership
Parents are important partners of teachers in teaching. As students with special educational needs (SEN) join our school, the role of parents becomes increasingly important. In order to understand the characteristics of these new members in learning, the School has to maintain effective communication and cooperation with parents, so that students can adapt to the campus life, learn happily and develop their potential. The following is the experience of the School in home-school cooperation.
Establishment of a communication mechanism
With a view to enabling parents to keep track of the learning and behavioural performance of their children and communicate with teachers on the SEN of their children, not only does the School organise Parents’ Days, convene regular meetings on student support and make the “Sunshine Call”, but it also lets parents know when class teachers are available for chatting with them during a week to enhance communication. Other than that, parents can keep track of the latest information of their children in school through mobile applications.
The School encourages parents to play the roles of “participants” and “supporters” in school affairs, so that they can work with the teaching staff to organise various activities, thereby putting in place an effective mechanism for home-school communication.
Tips for good communication
In order to gain trust and support from parents, teachers need to demonstrate their professionalism when appropriate, so that parents feel that teachers have sufficient confidence and ability to nurture students healthily. It is imperative for a teacher to remain dedicated and listen with empathy when having a conversation with parents. In a conversation, the teacher should provide feedback when appropriate, so that parents can realise that the teacher “hears” and “understands” what they talk about and respects them.
The School has always been promoting integrated education under the principle of home-school cooperation, because it is believed that children would benefit from homeschool cooperation.
