The ultimate guide to engaged parent communities

As a school leader, you know the difference between having happy, engaged parents, and not.

You know that when parents are involved in their child’s education, whether that’s at home or in school, good things happen. Attendance, grades and behaviour improve. The wider school community thrives. 

When parents step back from educational responsibility, they’re often more likely to complain, too.

As organisers of the Talking Heads webinar series for IAPS schools, we’re all too aware of the need to maintain control over wider school communities, to ‘manage parents brilliantly’. With another foot in the parent camp, we’re able to see that providing parents with a forum is so much more effective than either giving them nothing - so they turn to the ‘wild west of WhatsApp’. 

GDPR is a sticky issue for schools in the state sector and private sector. You aren’t allowed to share parent contact details lists, so you have to send your freshly registered parents to a parent coordinator of the class or year WhatsApp group. It doesn’t look professional. And it violates GDPR rules, but because you’re asking a parent to manage this, you just about skirt by the regulations.

Classlist is the answer to this problem. It's both a GDPR-safe parent list (allowing parents to identify others through child name or photo) where parents can connect, and a PTA events platform where parent associations can fundraise effectively. Classlist has set up managed micro-communities for 1000+ schools worldwide and is used by 300,000 people … and counting.

We know you are busy people. You are the very definition of busy. Grades, attendance, behaviour - these matters are top of your list. But having happy parents who want to give back to your school, who actively want to be involved in their children’s education - that’s gold dust. That’s the kind of good feeling that is circular. It results in better attendance, better grades, better behaviour - and the self-fulfilling prophecy of good school PR - straight from one parent to the next in the community. That’s the kind of wildfire you want to have spreading.

In this article, we’re going to show you

• Why engaged parent communities help schools in the state and private sectors
• The secret to creating engaged parent communities and why international schools lead the way
• How to harness your own closed social media network to improve parent relations
• School reputations are about more than just exam results
• Why and how international schools lead the way with community engagement

Hear from Harrodian School about how Classlist removes the worry about GDPR and helps control the communications parents receive. They have a fantastically engaged parent community and Classlist has helped this thrive.

What is parental involvement vs parental engagement?

Parental involvement = attending parents’ evenings, reading with younger children at school, helping the teacher, being involved in the PTA, sitting on governing bodies and participating in school events such as summer fairs, Christmas parties and bake sales.

Parental engagement = playing an active role in learning at home - regular reading and listening, encouragement, discussing learning topics or issues with their children and making it clear how much they value education through their own behaviour.   

Both parental engagement and parental involvement are valuable to the child, the school and the wider community. It's as relevant for state schools as it is for independent schools and international schools. No school can deliver the results without parental motivation for the child to succeed.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” - Benjamin Franklin

⭐️ Classlist top tip: Give your PTA a community building tool like Classlist to save your school office time and hassle. Parents will step in to help each other with simple questions. Your Classlist Ambassador (usually a parent) will moderate the conversation to ensure parents are polite, well-informed and helpful.

Classlist CEO Susan Burton is a huge believer in the power of community. Here she is explaining how to build school communities from before the get-go.

For more of building communities at schools: How to welcome your parents to your school community blogpost.

Watch top UK head teachers including at Sir William Borlase Grammar School, Windmill Primary and Babington House School, sharing their thoughts on why Classlist saves them time and hassle as well as building their school parent community.

Give parents a happy online space to nurture your school community

You have successfully welcomed new families to your prestigious school community. But there was a moment during the process which felt uncomfortable - having to ask volunteers to add new parents to an anonymous WhatsApp group. As a school you have no visibility of this, or control over WhatsApp. Your parents have to share their phone numbers in the group, and they have no way of knowing who they are talking to.

At Classlist, we offer a better way: by providing your school parents an inclusive online micro-community. All parents are invited to join without sharing phone numbers. Here they can make new friends, support your school and make memories. School leaders can see the community in action.

Invisible ties that bind us to our children’s schools

Beyond the school gate there’s a complex web of connections, commitments and community that brings parents together for the good of their children. As a parent, you don’t notice the positive impact it has on your family’s life until your children leave. As a school leader, you can miss out on helping build that community if you don’t support it.

Happy parents need to connect with each other

For registrars and school marketing departments, having highly engaged parents is no longer a ‘nice to have’. Not only do engaged parents lead to better student outcomes, they are becoming ever more central to the school’s brand. Since March 2020, when parents were plunged headlong into their children’s education, they are more aware and so, more critical about the service they receive from their schools. 

Most families flocked back to schools when lockdown ended, gratefully. But they aren’t welcome to linger and we anticipate that in September 2021 parents will still be instructed to drop children and leave as quickly as possible. We don’t know when whole school community events like Christmas fairs will return to ‘normal’. Parents can’t pop to the school office, or ask the teacher a question at the gate. Parent communities have become disentangled from each other by a thousand tiny cuts to the societal fabric since COVID struck.

The good news? Engaged parents still willingly volunteer time and spread the word to other parents. They extend the life of the school brand. They give you free PR for your school - gold dust!

⭐️ Classlist top tip: Hear how Ravenscourt Park School was able to connect new parents with each other and the school before the first day using Classlist. 

Download the How to build your school  community eBook

This eBook covers everything you need to know to build a thriving school community: from essential first steps to proven strategies for growth, engagement and successful fundraising.

Our analysis of thousands of school communities shows that it takes just 21 days to build a dynamic online group that benefits parents; children and schools and reveals the strategies that lead to success.

Watch David Boyd, Assistant Head at Latymer Upper School talking about how Classlist has helped bring their parent community together, without breaking GDPR regulations.

Offer an alternative to the ‘wild west’ of social media

Parents are keen to reconnect with each other and turn to social media to reach larger groups. But head teachers don't trust parent WhatsApp groups where often well-meaning information is actually misguided or false. That’s in normal times: when the rules around COVID keep on changing, the opportunities for mistakes increase exponentially. School staff are bombarded with questions, or children arrive at school wearing the wrong kit. Worse still, rumours spread and escalate.

Social media pages are not useful for communicating reliably with students, parents or staff. Social network algorithms favour paid-for posts so you can’t be sure who is going to receive the message. Instead, school marketing teams, bursars and registrars are looking for community platforms like Classlist that are closed to the outside world, gated and secure. They need ownership and control. 

Parents expect instant, professional responses

A huge benefit of hosting a school community online is that parents willingly chip in to offer advice and answer questions. Want to know if Year 3 needs PE kit tomorrow? Ask the audience, not the school office. They are guaranteed to answer (at all times of day and night), saving office staff time.

Loyalty is nurtured through community

When families feel part of a positive, happy community which welcomes new faces and brings them into the tribe, they are far more likely to keep sending younger siblings there. And if you prefer the accountant’s approach:- the acquisition cost of converting siblings is far less than that of winning new parents. 

Online communities need moderators

When online communities like WhatsApp groups turn sour, it’s usually down to one sour apple. And you have to ask yourself - what’s the motivation behind this misinformation, gossip or worse - a libellous claim? 

The trouble is that not everyone will have the same critical eye on things. They might believe it, repeat it and spread it.

We follow the same guidelines used by schools which promote kindness on social media.

THINK - It is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, Kind?

We go a few steps further than this, asking your Classlist Ambassadors - either parents or a member of staff to act as moderator for your school’s private social network on Classlist. We see that personal connections – real moderators – are central to good community moderation, as well as how people view the platform they are communicating on. No algorithm - from Facebook or Google has yet succeeded.

Headteachers at private schools and state schools often like the fact their parents are using Classlist as they know the guidelines can be used in this way. They also like the fact that Ambassadors can use the monitor community feature to see what’s going on – something that is not possible if the school has multiple Facebook or What’s App groups.

Ambassadors and Class Reps act as the moderators for their school’s Classlist site. Their first-hand knowledge of the parents and culture of their school community gives them a solid base for understanding issues and making decisions on where and how to respond.

We see this online connection can be really powerful and positive. People start helping each other out and supporting school fundraising efforts. Whether it’s locating the lost homework, a childcare/babysitting crisis, organising lift shares, volunteering their skills, and in many other ways too.

⭐️ Classlist top tip: We have a set of community guidelines that every parent agrees to on signing up, so it’s clear from the outset what the rules are. This helps to depersonalise the moderation role for the PTA – they can just say ‘it doesn’t meet Classlist’s community guidelines’.

Why Classlist is an alternative to WhatsApp for schools

It’s a question we are often asked. Here are seven reasons why Classlist differs from WhatsApp as a communication and community building tool for schools.

• Who is who? – Classlist’s contacts list means you can easily see which parent belongs to which child and contact them without sharing phone numbers. You can even share a photo and address if you like. It’s great for setting up playdates and lift shares with your children’s new friends.
• Personalised notifications – Parents can choose to hear from their community in real time live chats, or adjust the notifications to only receive weekly updates.
• Topic based conversations – Find the important information you need at a glance. Chat is grouped into topics so you can easily find the message about PE kit or snow day. WhatsApp’s stream of updates can be hard to navigate.
• Inclusive – Parents can network within their class or reach out to other families in their year group and even across the school. Importantly, new parents can join without having to ask a parent WhatsApp gatekeeper they can’t get hold of. No-one is left out.
• Events – If you’ve ever organised your child’s birthday party you know WhatsApp isn’t fit for purpose. Classlist’s event feature is brilliant for all events from private birthdays, to online quizzes and whole school summer balls. The app collects RSVPs and payments in just a couple of clicks.
• The kinder social network – Keeping your community together in a friendly environment that motivates parents to help each other 
• Privacy – Your information is not tracked by third parties and is fully GDPR compliant.

Book a school leader or PTA demo to see how Classlist can transform your school whatever country you're in.

Video: Why Classlist is better than social media - hear from Josephine Marsh, Head Teacher, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Podcast: Listen to Classlist CEO Susan Burton interview Dixie Stafford, Parent Association Chair, St Alban's High School for Girls. Key highlights are Dixie's description of her school community's big purpose and how her and her team manage their uniform shop that generates substantial funds.

Make sure your school harnesses its great community

We’re pleased to report that more than one 1/5th of the top secondary schools listed in the Sunday Times Parent Power list are using Classlist to ‘power’ their communities. We also believe there are hundreds of amazing schools that are missing from a more broadly defined best school list. So we track school community health. We use metrics such as:

• The percentage and frequency of parents engaged in their school community;
• How many schools are running community events and the levels of participation;
• The contributor/consumer ratio, which is an industry standard community metric. Schools with a score above 10% ratio have a healthy community for example;
• The number of class reps and volunteers in a school are also good indicators of healthy communities. More than ten reps in a school tends to correlate with a positive community; and
• The level of funds raised from parents is an indicator but the breadth of donations and volunteer time across its school constituency are even better measures.

Focusing on exam grades alone seems to contrast with all the attention and press coverage on the importance of our children’s mental health and well being. With the advent of artificial intelligence, our children’s futures will be determined as much by their emotional intelligence as their academic performance. Shouldn’t there be a leaderboard that ranks schools by a set of metrics that helps parents decide which is the best school for their child emotionally and socially too?

⭐️ Classlist top tip: Talk to us about how we can provide regular reporting for you on the state of your school’s parent community - and how you compare with other schools.

We’ve shared our simple data science techniques with TES

Word of mouth is still the most effective way to recruit new pupils

International schools are trailblazers when it comes to enjoying fantastically high levels of community engagement. We’ve taken a long hard look at the data and dug deep to discover why and how they do it. There’s a lot that UK or country-based schools can learn from how these schools value their parent community.

We have thousands of schools using Classlist and we track parent engagement across the different kinds of schools - looking at events, volunteer numbers and even comments left online as parents share their experience and wisdom. All this builds into a picture of a stand-out community that feeds itself.

International schools always stand out for us. They put on more events, their parents volunteer more regularly and they have more parent chat on the forum with a third of parents marked as ‘actively engaged’. Doesn’t look like much? Compare it to the national average of just 10-15% and you might recalibrate your expectations. 

Classlist’s Marketplace at international schools is always busy as families migrate, leaving behind bargains for the next wave. We’ve seen cars and even horses traded on the platform.

Parents are more actively involved in building a community of new friends for their children and themselves at international schools. This makes them far more likely to volunteer to run and organise events. And they’re also happy to share their hard-won wisdom on day to day needs like dentists and doctors, yoga classes and dog walkers.

Hear from Southbank International School's community leader talk about how expat life prepares you for a community leadership role.

⭐️ Classlist top tip: Find new friends before you’ve even moved to another country. Here’s what one expat user posted on her new school parent group on a pre-move trip to her new city.

“Hello, I have a daughter starting in Year 8 and this week I am in Oxford - just wondering if any parents who live here, or visiting, might have time to meet today?”

In five minutes she received this reply: “I live in Oxford and would be very happy to meet up for a dog walk this afternoon!”

Read more about how international schools build great parent communities

Watch Masuma Contractor explain how Classlist helps Rygaards International School to achieve fantastic parent engagement with less effort.

Listen to: Classlist CEO Susan Burton talks with Jennifer Harrell, School Community Leader, Southbank International School about how expat life prepares you for a community leadership role, particularly in the context of an international school. 

In summary...

There’s so you and your team can do to bring parents into the community in a way that benefits your school and pupils. We’re thrilled to have you here. Please use and share our resources to make your life easier and your school parent community more engaged and willing to help. 

What’s next?

Download the free Classlist app to create a micro-community that’s just for your school. It’s intuitive, inclusive and easy to use.

To see the how Classlist can transform your school community, book a demo.