This presentation will discuss practical skills and tools – and a three-part framework – for developing effective family engagement practice.

The first part of the presentation – focused on school capacity and how it is developed to strengthen engagement practice – will consider two key questions:

1. How do schools assess their capacity and potential for family engagement? To identify their current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in engagement practice.
2. How do we develop – and best use – our capacity? Given the limited time and resources and other constraints on the vast collaborative potential.

The second part will outline practical examples from schools around the three linked levels of family engagement:

1. The personal ‘Me’ level. A case study of students’ personalised learning and wellbeing plans will be presented.
2. The relational ‘We’ level. The Team Around the Learner – how it works and who’s involved in the ‘engagement triangle’ (ARACY, 2020) – will be discussed.
3. The collective ‘Us’ level. Providing examples of how families, students, teachers, and community members of diverse backgrounds create impactful partnerships.

The third part will look briefly at the process of making change happen in further advancing student and family engagement. Skills and tools include: 

• How we use surveys to understand what students, families, and teachers see as the major issues, and to co-design an action plan
• What schools do to: (a) prioritise engagement, (b) broaden perspectives and actions and build new skills, and (c) embed engagement in their core business.

This three-part framework – ‘E3’ – is a powerful, practical tool.