Parental engagement isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a proven way to enhance student outcomes, build positive school communities, and strengthen the connection between home and the classroom. At iTCHYROBOT, we recognise the importance of maintaining a seamless dialogue with parents and have developed tools to make this easier than ever.
From integrating with school management information systems (MIS) via our partnership with Wonde to enabling direct communication through emails and text messages, we offer a comprehensive solution. Our AI-powered letter-writing assistant helps streamline communication, while our intuitive system allows schools to organise Parents’ Evening bookings effortlessly through their website.
One of the simplest yet most effective ways to foster parental engagement is through collecting parent feedback via surveys on your school website. But why stop there? Our highly customisable form solutions allow you to gather feedback from students and staff as well. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination—or, in many cases, we’ve already created a form template to get you started!
Why Parental Engagement Matters
According to the Education Endowment Foundation, parental engagement has a positive impact on student achievement, adding an equivalent of four months’ progress in a year. When parents are actively involved in their child’s education, students benefit in key areas such as:
- Improved behaviour
- Higher self-esteem
- Increased enthusiasm for learning
- Better attendance rates
- A reduction in the attainment gap
The National Governance Association (NGA) echoes this sentiment, stating that “when parents are involved in pupils’ learning, there is a well-evidenced link with improved educational outcomes across a range of measures.”
(National Governance Association, 2024)
Overcoming Barriers to Parental Engagement
While the benefits are clear, schools often face challenges in engaging all parents effectively. Parentkind’s research highlights key obstacles, including:
- 49% of parents say they don’t have time to contribute as much as they would like.
- 20% feel they lack the knowledge or skills to support their child’s learning.
- 19% find engaging with the school intimidating.
The source for this statistic comes from the National Governance Association (NGA) and Parentkind’s research on parental engagement, as outlined in the Parental Engagement Guide for Governing Boards.
Understanding these barriers is crucial, and schools must take proactive steps to create inclusive engagement opportunities. This means offering flexible ways for parents to connect with their child’s learning, whether through digital surveys, online meetings, or structured feedback forms.
An iTCHYROBOT website is designed to streamline parental engagement by placing essential tools right at their fingertips. With just a few clicks, parents can book a Parents’ Evening appointment—choosing between a face-to-face or virtual meeting—all from the comfort of their home, perhaps while relaxing on the sofa. Our intuitive parent survey feature enables schools to gather valuable feedback effortlessly, providing insights that help drive improvements, celebrate staff achievements, and demonstrate school excellence in governor reports. This data also serves as a valuable resource for Ofsted inspections, showcasing the strong relationships between the school and its community.
Beyond academics, it’s often the intangible moments of care and dedication that make the biggest impact. Schools play a vital role in shaping students’ well-being, and capturing these everyday acts of support is just as important as tracking academic progress and what easier way to capture positive parent/carer feedback that using a survey directly on your school website.
Harnessing Technology to Engage Parents
At iTCHYROBOT, we believe in using technology to streamline communication between schools and parents. Our school websites integrate with Formidable Forms, an advanced WordPress plugin that goes beyond simple contact forms. With our professional license, schools gain access to powerful features such as:
- Customisable parent feedback surveys
- Multi-page forms for detailed engagement
- Conditional logic to personalise responses
- Automated reporting for governors’ meetings
Formidable Forms itself describes their tool as “the most advanced WordPress forms plugin… providing you with the tools to rapidly construct intricate custom forms and applications.” This aligns perfectly with our goal of making school engagement seamless and efficient.
Delivering the best solutions to our schools is at the core of what we do, and this solution is amazing. However, we are not content with just providing the best technical solution we go the extra mile and provide pre-configured forms you can add to your website to act as a starting point to get collecting data.
Introducing the iTCHYROBOT Parent Survey Form
To help schools foster better engagement, we offer a Parent Survey Form that is available in two versions:
- Basic Version – Works with the free Formidable Forms plugin and allows all schools to collect essential feedback from parents.
- VIP Pro Version – Exclusive to iTCHYROBOT School VIP customers, unlocking advanced features such as graph generation, Excel downloads, and seamless embedding on your school website.
With these tools, schools can track engagement trends, monitor parental sentiment, and present data in meaningful ways—perfect for reporting to governors and driving strategic decision-making.
What Ofsted Looks For
Ofsted inspectors take parental engagement seriously. They use tools like Parent View, where parents can record their opinions on the school’s performance. Additionally, they evaluate:
- How schools communicate with parents about student progress.
- Whether parental feedback is considered in decision-making.
- The effectiveness of parental engagement initiatives.
By implementing structured feedback mechanisms like the iTCHYROBOT Parent Survey Form, schools can confidently demonstrate their commitment to engaging parents and enhancing student outcomes.
Making Governance More Visible
Governors play a key role in parental engagement, ensuring schools actively listen to and act upon parental feedback. The NGA suggests that governing boards should:
- Hold regular forums and surveys to capture parent opinions.
- Provide clear communication about school decisions and progress.
- Use website updates and annual governance reports to increase transparency.
Empower Your School with iTCHYROBOT
At iTCHYROBOT, we love making school processes simpler, smarter, and more effective. Our preconfigured parental engagement forms take the hassle out of gathering feedback, ensuring schools have the insights they need to build stronger relationships with families.
Explore how our Formidable-powered solutions can transform communication in your school and download the Free Parent Engagement Template to use on your website.
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