How do I improve parent engagement at my school?

Practical ways for school leaders to build stronger relationships with parents and carers, improve communication and help every child thrive.

Parent engagement is one of those areas that most school leaders recognise as important, but can find difficult to improve consistently. Between managing staff, raising attainment, supporting attendance and meeting the everyday demands of school life, building strong relationships with parents can easily become another item on an already lengthy to-do list.

Yet effective parent engagement is about much more than sending newsletters, organising parents’ evenings or contacting families when something goes wrong. It is about creating a partnership in which parents feel informed, included and confident in supporting their child’s education.

So, where should you start?

1. Make communication timely, relevant and easy to access

Parents are busy. They may be juggling work, childcare, caring responsibilities and the needs of several children. If important school information is difficult to find, buried in an email or sent home on a piece of paper that never reaches its destination, engagement will inevitably suffer.

Start by reviewing how your school communicates. Are parents receiving information through multiple channels? Do they know where to find term dates, upcoming events, uniform requirements and school policies? Can they quickly check arrangements for a trip or sports day?

A single, reliable source of information can make a significant difference.

A dedicated school app, such as mySchoolApp, gives parents access to school news, calendars, documents and contact details from their smartphone. Push notifications can highlight important updates, while messages can link directly to the relevant event, document or web page.

For example, rather than sending a general reminder about a school trip, staff can send a notification that takes parents straight to the trip details, including timings and arrangements. Parents can also add events to their personal calendars.

The benefit is simple: less time spent searching for information, fewer missed messages and better-prepared families.

2. Share the positive as well as the practical

School communication can easily become dominated by reminders, deadlines, attendance concerns and requests for permission. While these are essential, they do not necessarily help parents feel connected to the life of the school.

Make a conscious effort to celebrate learning, achievement and everyday school experiences.

Share photographs of classroom projects, sports fixtures, performances, educational visits and pupils’ creative work. Explain what children have been learning and why it matters. Short videos from teachers or the headteacher can also help bring school life to parents who cannot regularly visit the site.

mySchoolApp’s news feed, image galleries and video features give schools practical ways to do this. News can be published as it happens, with photographs and captions helping parents understand what their children have been doing.

This kind of communication gives families something positive to talk about at home. It can also help parents who might otherwise hear relatively little about the school day feel more involved in their child’s experiences.

Remember to follow your school’s safeguarding, consent and image-sharing policies when publishing photographs or videos.

3. Make engagement inclusive

Not every family engages with school in the same way. Some parents may have limited time, limited digital access, additional support needs or difficulty understanding written English. Others may feel uncomfortable approaching teachers because of their own experiences of education.

A successful engagement strategy recognises these differences rather than assuming that one communication method will work for everyone.

Ask parents which channels they prefer, make communications clear and accessible, and retain appropriate alternatives for families who cannot use an app.

Language should not be an unnecessary barrier, either. mySchoolApp offers an optional translation feature that allows parents to view school content in their chosen language, with support for more than 60 languages. The app interface is available in English and Welsh, with other interface languages available on request.

This means schools can share news, events and other information with families who speak different languages without having to translate every update manually.

The wider principle is important: engagement improves when parents can access information in a way that works for them.

4. Help parents support attendance and learning

Parents are important partners in helping children attend school regularly, arrive prepared and make progress. But they can only play that role effectively if they understand what is happening and know how to respond.

Keep attendance expectations clear, communicate concerns promptly and make it easy for parents to notify the school about an absence.

For schools using mySchoolApp’s Advanced package, parents can submit absence notifications through the app using a structured form. This collects the required information and sends it to a designated school email address, reducing routine calls to the office and creating a useful record.

Where the Connect package and relevant MIS integration are in place, mySchoolApp’s My Child feature can also give parents access to information such as attendance, punctuality and achievement.

These tools can make essential information easier to access and help families stay informed. They work best alongside personal conversations with parents when a child needs additional support.

5. Make it easy for parents to ask questions

Engagement should not be limited to the information a school chooses to send. Parents also need straightforward ways to find answers and raise concerns.

Make contact details easy to find, explain who parents should approach about different issues and provide an appropriate route for feedback. Clear processes help families feel listened to while allowing staff to manage enquiries consistently.

Technology is beginning to offer new ways to help, too. mySchoolApp has been trialling ParentBuddy AI, which allows parents and carers to ask questions in natural language and receive answers based on information stored in the app and, where enabled, the school website.

For example, a parent might ask when the next parents’ evening is, where to find the uniform policy or what time a school event begins. Instead of navigating menus or searching through old messages, they can ask a question directly.

This is an emerging approach, but it illustrates an important opportunity: making school information easier to find can improve the parent experience while potentially reducing routine enquiries to the school office. Schools considering AI should also ensure that answers are reliable, information is kept appropriately secure and parents know when to contact a member of staff.

6. Listen to parents and act on their feedback

Communication is not just about sending information. Strong partnerships develop when parents believe their views matter and can see that the school takes their concerns seriously.

Use surveys, feedback forms, parent forums and informal conversations to understand what is working and where families face difficulties. Ask specific questions rather than simply whether parents are happy with communication.

For example, do parents understand the school’s homework expectations? Are they confident about how to support reading at home? Do they know who to contact if their child is struggling?

mySchoolApp provides a feedback option that schools can use to give parents a straightforward way to share comments or concerns. The important part is what happens next: review responses, identify recurring themes and explain what the school intends to change.

7. Make parent engagement a whole-school priority

Ultimately, no app or communication platform can replace positive relationships between staff and families. Technology should make those relationships easier to build, not replace them.

Set clear expectations for how and when staff communicate with parents. Agree a consistent approach across year groups and departments, and make sure important information is accurate and up to date.

Measure progress, too. Monitor app usage and message engagement where these statistics are available, ask parents about their experience and look for changes in routine enquiries, event participation and attendance. Use the findings to refine your approach.

Above all, remember that improving engagement is a long-term process. Small, consistent improvements can build trust and help parents feel more connected to the school.

The bottom line

Improving parent engagement starts with understanding what families need and making it easier for them to participate in school life.

Share useful information regularly, celebrate children’s achievements, remove language and access barriers, encourage feedback and help parents find answers when they need them.

For school leaders in England, Scotland and Wales, the goal is the same: to build a genuine partnership between home and school that supports children’s learning, wellbeing and success.

A school communication app such as mySchoolApp can help bring these elements together in one accessible place, while reducing some of the administrative work involved in keeping families informed.

Want to see how mySchoolApp could work in your school?

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