Learn about new guidance, published by Oxford University Press and Learning with Parents, for building active parent/carer engagement in maths.
We all know the vital role that parents/carers play in supporting their child’s engagement with their learning in school. In fact, ‘Higher levels of parent engagement are consistently associated with benefits to children’s academic outcomes’. 1 And that’s just academic benefits. We also know that a strong relationship between schools and homes supports a student’s wellbeing and meeting their needs – better communication helps create a better picture of a student so that schools and homes can work together to provide the best support.
However, one area that schools may need support engaging parents in is maths. Why? This article from Sammy White highlights a few reasons:
- Millions of people in the UK have low levels of numeracy and/or literacy.
- Even adults with high levels of numeracy can experience maths anxiety.
- Maths has changed since parents/carers were at school – there are new methods etc. so they may feel they can’t help their children effectively (when learning to solve problems in different ways actually deepens understanding!).
- Adults struggle to access helpful resources (that aren’t patronising) and are unsure where to seek support. 2
‘Parental Engagement in Maths – Benchmarks’
Oxford University Press with Learning with Parents have published new guidance for schools in building active parental engagement in maths. The aim is ‘to support schools in engaging parents, and through this, to build enjoyment and help learners grow in confidence.’ 1
The benchmarks provide ‘guiding principles’ for schools (allowing schools to adapt to suit their own unique contexts) split into four benchmark areas for schools to aim for and measure their progress against:
- Works with parents as partners
- Promotes maths as enjoyable and relevant
- Sets high quality, purposeful homework
- Understands how maths anxiety affects parents and children.
The sections for each of these benchmarks include relevant research and top tips for schools in meeting them. Following these sections, there are also some of the guide’s recommended maths resources.
Here are a few interesting statistics shared in the guidance:
- A quarter of parents and carers reported that helping with their child’s maths homework makes them feel anxious.
- 26% of women say helping with their child’s maths homework makes them anxious, compared to 20% of men.
- Less than 10% of teachers have formal training in engaging parents. 1
Read Parental Engagement in Maths Benchmarks
