download "Solid family links" review
Parents and carers feel actively connected to the school when they have relationships of trust with school staff. Parents and carers and other community members need to be involved in school action to: develop school bullying prevention and management guidelines; and promote acceptable social behaviours. In this way students receive a consistent message across the school, home, and community environments.
In schools with Yamaji students, staff need to establish links with parents to support the strengths and needs of their Aboriginal students. Schools need to maintain adequate representation of Aboriginal community members on committees to ensure that Aboriginal perspectives are incorporated within guidelines, the curriculum and other school activities.
- Points to consider
- Schools can ensure their local Aboriginal community is aware of the school’s programs and special events by:
- sending newsletters home
- posting flyers at local Aboriginal community organisations
- enlisting Aboriginal staff to promote programs
- inviting community liaison officers to attend school staff meetings
- empowering AIEOs (ATAs or AEWs) to develop relationships with Aboriginal families through home and community visits
- creating a ‘safe’ space for parents to come to the school and for students to speak to Aboriginal staff
- encouraging non-Aboriginal staff to develop relationships with Aboriginal staff, Aboriginal students and their families
- creating a community noticeboard within the school
Flexibility is needed to enable school timetables to align with local Aboriginal community events and cultural speaker’s availability. Special consideration also needs to be given to accommodate cultural obligations Aboriginal students and families have. This flexibility allows staff to work more closely with Aboriginal communities, and respects different worldviews and priorities.
The reflection questions below link to the National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) Key Element Six ‘Working closely with families’ (DEST, 2003).
Reflection questions for solid family links
- Does the school:
- have an Aboriginal representative to assist in incorporating Aboriginal worldviews in curriculum content and school programs?
- align the timetable with local Aboriginal events?
- promote local Aboriginal organisations (e.g. advertise these in newsletters)?
- maintain open-door guidelines where Aboriginal parents and carers can drop in?
- include annual Aboriginal events (e.g. NAIDOC Week and Sorry Day) on the school’s calendar?
- ensure local communities are involved in the teaching of local Aboriginal protocols and respect for Country?
- develop and disseminate a list of local community organisations?
- create/dedicate areas that promote community involvement (e.g. allocated rooms for Aboriginal families and children to meet and debrief with privacy)?
- invite local Aboriginal community members or Elders to offer a ‘Welcome to Country’ at the commencement of the school year or special school events?
Family and cultural security
Many Aboriginal parents are concerned about the effects of bullying on their children and are also unsure about how to best help their child or approach the school. For behaviour and attitude change to occur, the development of bullying reduction strategies should include the family and wider school community.
Trust is essential for strong school-home-community links. Trust is earned and maintained when Aboriginal parents and carers are:
- invited to participate in developing bullying prevention and management processes that reflect their worldviews
- confident staff at the school are interested in their child’s academic success
- kept informed about school matters in a way that suits them (e.g. home visits)
- provided with informal opportunities to get to know school staff
- confident their child is treated like every other child at the school
- reassured their culture and worldviews are respected at the school (e.g. opportunities to celebrate Aboriginal culture as well as respect for protocols related to death and funerals)
Parents and carers
It is important that when parents and carers make suggestions, action is taken or an explanation as to why action was not taken is given. Parents and carers can play an important role by being:
- involved in school committees
- involved in leadership
- involved in events such as Sharing Days and parent forums
Other possible strategies for supporting parents and carers include:
- establish parenting programs, which may be done in partnership with other community organisations such as Meerilinga
- maintain contact with families and demonstrate that the school has staff who are interested in student success, without judging the family
- providing informal opportunities for parents and carers to regularly communicate with school staff (i.e. community BBQ or a yarning day on a weekend so the whole family can attend)
- building family’s capacity to deal with bullying by providing them with contact information of support staff (names and roles) and action steps (e.g. when it is appropriate to contact support staff; and what their kids can expect will happen when they go to the school)
Ideas from the Yamaji community
- Yamaji wangi
- Recommendations from Sharing Days about how schools with Yamaji students can strengthen their relationships with Yamaji families:
- provide a family centre for parents to use while at school
- reach out to those Aboriginal families who may not feel comfortable visiting the school
- learn about the cultural backgrounds of the students and know about how to communicate with diverse families
- accommodate Aboriginal families’ schedules when creating family-involvement opportunities
- keep Aboriginal families informed of their children's performance and of school activities by means of notes, telephone calls, newsletters, conferences and meetings
- start the school year with an opening meeting that provides information about bullying prevention
- organise school plays, musical productions, community projects, school projects that address bullying prevention
- involve Aboriginal families in the establishment of a support system
- seek and welcome Aboriginal families’ opinions and initiatives on various issues
Strategies for family links
Many strategies are used by schools to engage families, carers and community. The following are examples:
- Newsletter items
- Newsletters can provide a steady stream of information from the school to the home and are used by many schools. A quality newsletter is an inexpensive way of informing families of school activities and expectations. Include newsletter items (such as ‘tips’ from this website) that promote your school’s stand against bullying.
- Special language needs
- Written materials for parents need to be jargon free and, where possible, written in the language of students’ families. Parents report that illustrations also help with communicating messages.
- Many schools have translators available and sending written material home in local languages. Getting children to communicate messages to their families can also be successful. Students can write directly to their parents or translate messages at home for their parents.
- Staff should also be aware of the cultural diversity of their students’ families. Some parents and carers may prefer conferences and home visits over newsletters, notes or letters.
- School assemblies
- Schools, particularly primary schools, find that one of the best ways to reach the majority of families is at school assemblies. Because parents are responsive to coming to see their children perform, and the assembly time is seen as a non-threatening visit to the school, this communication strategy has been very successful. This is a good way to encourage Aboriginal families into the school for a solid experience.
- Calendars
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Monthly or annual calendars can be used to flag school events and meetings. If your school creates a calendar consider:
- highlighting significant Aboriginal dates (i.e. NAIDOC day and Sorry Day)
- designing calendars to be posted conveniently on the refrigerator door
- including ideas for each day on ways families can help children learn social skills – for example, ‘Monday: Asking for help is always okay’
- listing upcoming community events
- Family days
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Family days are an opportunity to bring families and community members into the school and have them experience the friendly and supportive atmosphere of your school. The theme and schedule for the day can vary depending on staff, parent and community. The day should include activities that families can participate in with their children, such as a picnics, cooperation games, and student presentations. Family days can promote:
- the school bullying guidelines
- supportive school messages
- classroom activities about bullying prevention and management
- school health services
- community health services
- Family learning journey
- Schools need to share information about their programs with the whole school community. Learning journeys give students an opportunity to share their learning with their parents and carers. This gives parents and carers the opportunity to experience a typical classroom activity with their child.
- Informal community events
- Schools can also host community events, such as BBQs and fairs/fetes that take the school into the community. Importantly, these events provide opportunities for school staff to have informal conversations with parents and carers.
