Yet more strong evidence of the positive impact of ‘Parental Engagement’ and how schools can embrace the changing family dynamic.

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It’s been an open secret within areas of educational research for more than 30 years, that ‘Dad Engagement’ has a significant impact on their children’s educational outcomes, but often in a different but no less important way to ‘Mum Engagement’.

I would heartily recommend the work undertaken by Fathers Network Scotland and The Fatherhood Institute. Both organisations offer courses that support the importance of the impact that fathers can have on their children’s development, and how employers and public services can introduce simple changes that support their input.

The latest evidence from The University of Leeds Business School provides more proof of the importance of fathers’ engagement. But schools have been long-frustrated in their attempts to secure a method of reliably achieving this. As long ago as the turn of the Millennium, I was organising Dads and Lads activities which many families took part in – but they tended to be the families where Dad Engagement was already strong. It wasn’t a sustainable and meaningful solution as far as inclusion was concerned.

In order for academic research to be enacted in schools, schools need concrete solutions.

The need to enable Dad Engagement was therefore a significant part of our thinking over the next few years when we were developing our solution for the delivery of effective parental engagement – freeflowinfo (also know in schools as ‘freeflow’ and ‘ffi’).

freeflowinfo changes the way that schools share information with parents (and other close family members) which enables them to support their children’s learning. No academic or subject specific knowledge is required as the app shares examples of their children’s learning activity across the week. The role of the parents is not to teach - but to praise and encourage. It is this positive reinforcement from parents and other close family members that generates the intrinsic motivation derived from parental approval – the pupils/students constantly say how this input from those close to them ‘makes them feel proud’ – and it is this that unlocks the door to effective parental engagement. (And yes, ffi is used across the entire range of educational settings with pupils aged between 4 – 19 years of age).

freeflowinfo can either be used as an alternative means of reporting to parents, or additional means – the schools determine which approach they use. When it replaces a school’s existing means of reporting to parents it does so by capturing and sharing uploads to each pupil’s personal account. These show examples of their learning that will form the basis for short but positive conversations at home with their parents and other close family members, such as grandparents and siblings. Teachers and school leaders select the work to be uploaded, ensuring that in its totality the uploads cover all the statutory requirements for reporting to parents. This is an annual report delivered over 10 months using material that has already been completed in class and processed by the teachers as part of their normal working practice. There are obvious benefits for Teacher Workload Reduction in this method.

As far as ‘Dad Engagement’ is concerned, each upload a pupil makes is seen by up to 5 people out of school. These are usually 2 parents and 3 Supporters as mentioned above. As soon as the pupil makes the upload it is seen by all 5 family members, using any internet connected device – more usually their mobile phone. This means that all parents receive their own copy of the upload on which they can add their own supportive comment. This is an extremely popular function for children and fathers, particularly in situations where for work or relationship issues both birth parents no longer, or rarely, live together. As modern families are not always that straightforward, we provide different accounts for each legal parent or carer.

Comments collected within the recent independent academic research by Professor Janet Goodall, Professor of Education at Swansea University, as part of our award within the DfE EdTech Innovation award, show that both parents and other close family members enjoy and recognise the importance of the positive comments they contribute. When you look at the way in which economic demands on households can have on parental work patterns it is easy to see how the role grandparents play in the upbringing and support of their grandchildren’s learning, will be another avenue schools will need to consider when we talk about ‘parental engagement’.