Secondary schools engagement with parents and carers: Project summary

The purpose of this research is to better understand what parents/carers in Blackpool think about school engagement in their area and if schools can do more to improve this. We are particularly keen to hear from parents/carers on a low income or benefits because we currently know little about this. We know there is a link between families’ income and educational achievements, and we want to help their children to ‘beat the odds while at the same time changing the odds’ for them. This is why we want to make sure that parents/carers on a low income or benefits have the opportunity to voice out their views so that schools can support them better. In this research, we want to:

• Form a group of co-researchers to design the research study and share the knowledge gained from it.

• Discuss barriers to school engagement and how school staff can address these in focus groups.

University-based reseacher
Marisol Hernandez-Garn
University of Brighton / CRSJ

Marisol is a PhD researcher at the University of Brighton’s Centre of Resilience for Social Justice. A qualified early years inspector, Marisol is passionate about supporting disadvantaged parents and improving outcomes for children who speak English as an additional language.