A teacher of a class of ten year olds was telling me recently that several of the parents of children in her class had not turned up at a recent parents evening. She felt frustrated and sad as this had prevented her from being able to show them their child’s work and the class displays which the children had been very proud of. I suggested she ask each child to choose several pieces of work from their books they would like their parents to see and photocopy them for the child to take home with them. I also suggested she took some photos of the classroom displays which they could also take home with them. I encourage her to give each child a folder for to take them home in, along with a comments sheet for the parent to write on if they wanted to.
The children were pleased to be able to share their work at home with their parents, and the teachers received some very positive comments from the parents.
Whilst this is clearly no substitute for parents coming in to school themselves, it does enable them to see their child’s work and may encourage them to consider attending in person in future.