How to Be More Involved in Your Child's School Life

Despite parents knowing the importance of their involvement in their child’s school life, it isn’t always so easy to actively be involved - be that through not knowing how or where to start, or thanks to a busy work and family schedule.

 

It’s important to know that involving yourself in your child’s school life isn’t something that you should fret over - you don’t have to give up your Thursday afternoons for the rest of your child’s academic school life, just three hours of involvement across an academic year is enough to have a positive impact on your child’s school life and is supported by the National Parent Teacher Association’s Three For Me campaign.

 

Some ideas on how to become active in your child’s school life, for those who have a lot of time to give and those who don’t have much time to spare!

Lend a hand at after school clubs:

Attending after school clubs is a great opportunity for you to get involved and see your kids stuck into something they enjoy! It could also be a good chance for you to pursue a hobby that you had, or offer expertise on skills if it’s something you’re skilled in.

In-class volunteer:

This involvement is tailored to those who have a bit more spare time as it’s good for children, especially the younger ones, to have a bit of familiarity with those people who are helping out - this will also help children to build relationships with you and make your time more worthwhile.

Careers Talk:

For the busy parent, donating an hour of your time could be used to provide an in class talk about your career. This can help inspire students and also make your kids very proud of you!

School Events:

Most schools with have at least one Sports Day and Fete, these are prime opportunities for busy parents to do their part, either by chaperoning or providing food, drink or working on a stall.

School Trips:

School trips are again a brilliant opportunity to get stuck in and see your child and their peers enjoying themselves away from school. Schools are always happy to have volunteers to make up the adult to child ratio - these can work for busy parents as well as school trips are usually organised far enough in advance for you to organise time off work if necessary.

PTA:

Joining your school’s PTA is a great way to engage not only in your child’s school life but to also have a positive impact in the school, these are usually out of school hours so for available for those parents that work during school hours.

Relationship:

One of the best ways to show your involvement in your child’s school life is to build a rapport with their teacher and other teachers in school. Teachers are your biggest ally in offering you insight into ways you can help your child with their homework and schooling, they’ll also be able to offer opportunities for you to help out in school.

Organising:

Depending on your time and resources you could always organise an event or outing for your school. This could be an in-school disco or organising a school trip to your place of work.

These are just some of the ways that you can get involved in your child’s school life to help them academically. If you are keen to involve yourself in your child’s school, either go to your child’s teacher or attend a PTA meeting and they’ll be able to provide you with endless opportunities for getting involved.

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