SCHOOLS AT THE CENTRE OF THEIR COMMUNITIES
BUILDING TRUST
Building trust in school communities does not happen quickly and without commitment, focus and energy. From the school’s perspective, it often feels under “unique” pressure from statutory duties, regulation, inspection, improvement plans, insufficient funding, internal and external governance and, all too often, the judgemental scrutiny of the local media. Given these challenges, investing time and energy on building trust with its community may seem like another additional pressure on top of everything else.
Furthermore, parents in particular can often be viewed as a singular source of challenge for schools and poor relationships can be a drain on goodwill as well as fostering mistrust on both sides of the relationship. However, inviting the community into the day to day running of the school day and its systems and processes can be a powerful way to be transparent, and welcoming which are the building blocks of creating a trusting and trusted relationship. Put simply, opening up the school and how it works to parents, being invitational and showing respect for what parents can bring to the table can create a level of trust with parents which can rapidly spread to the community at large by defining the schools as theirs. When parents have skin in the game (to coin a phrase) they can become a powerful resource of support, advice and local knowledge which enables to school to better understand the lived experiences of its children and their families.
IF NOT ONE OF US, THEN AT LEAST UNDERSTAND OUR LIVES BETTER!
The second ingredient in building trust is convincing parents that the school understands the pressures they are under in their daily lives, respects these and actively sees its role as supporting families to address them. This means that the school cannot simply confine its purpose to learning and teaching. It has to extend its reach beyond pedagogy and accept that for many if not most children, parent and families, the school is probably the most accessible publicly funded social institution which is close to where they live. So, understanding their lives, appreciating and respecting their needs whether it be debt, housing issues, mental health needs, lack of parenting skills or simply being the warmest place to spend some time in during winter has to be a key feature of how the school relates to its immediate community. Furthermore, community members have often already found individual staff that they trust, and it is incumbent on the leadership of the school to allow space for these relationships to develop and flourish and prioritise capacity building and space for positive relationships with families to grow and embed. Finding out what parents need by listening rather than presuming is key and will go a long way to building trust.
To help in exploring how to achieve this goal we have gathered further thinking, resources, and practical examples under three themes which we feel might help in building trust between a school and its community. These are:
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
CREATING SAFE SPACES
NURTURE AND INCLUSION