It’s important to have healthy communicating with school teachers, and to be the advocate for your child.
While most teachers don’t want a parent to be emailing every day, it’s reasonable to make contact if you:
- have concerns or questions about how your child is going at school e.g if you child comes home complaining of bullying or not coping with transitions or refusing to go to school
- want to inform the teacher about recent events that may impact school e.g. if your child didn’t sleep well or had a meltdown that morning
- want to thank the teacher for their hard work e.g. if you child has a great day at school!
Teachers are experts and professionals, however you as a parent know your child well too. If you have suggestions or advice about what strategies work at home e.g. in calming, regulation or completing homework, you can offer those as suggestions. Don’t tell a teacher what to do, but give some options and help with the problem solving.
Communication between home and school works best when it’s open and positive, not argumentative or angry. You will be working with the school for a long time so don’t burn your bridges. You can advocate for your child while still being polite, understanding and positive.
One proactive and positive way of communicating to school about your child’s needs is through a One Pager. It is a summary of your child and their learning barriers, needs and strengths.
The One Pager for communicating with school
Click here to access a template for a One Pager.
This template is perfect for handing to teachers each year so they can understand at a quick glance how to best support your child.
It may include information about your child and, for example, their
COMMUNICATION PROFILE
- communicate better verbally or in writing when anxious
- are able to communicate when overwhelmed or not
- is able or unable to give eye contact or full body listening
MENTAL HEALTH PROFILE
- if they experience anxiety with what triggers
- what steps help to regulate
ACCOMMODATIONS
- requiring access to sensory supports such as quiet, dark spaces, headphones, fidget toys, cushions
- using technology to support typing over handwriting
- needing help breaking down tasks and monitoring time management
- reminders for organisation and self-care
- not assigning marks for presentation, eye-contact, facial expressions or coordination
WHAT WORKS
- clear, concise, literal language without sarcasm or overuse of idioms and expressions
- routines and consistence
- taking time to build strong relationships
- quiet, structured classrooms
- not being rushed with timed activities
- not yelling or trying to talk when upset and disregulated
- not too many verbal instructions given at once
- listing all the rules and expectations e.g. of games
- being able to work on own, or being placed into a small group of trusted peers