Effective parent engagement means schools and parents working in partnership to benefit children’s learning and wellbeing, respecting each other’s unique skills and contributions to a child’s education.

Research shows that when parents are more connected with their child’s learning, and can add to their learning in other authentic ways outside of school, a student will generally:

• do better academically
• stay in school longer
• are more engaged in homework
• have better behaviour
• have better social skills.

Parent engagement looks very different from school to school and even year level to year level. Because each school community is different, engagement practices, and ways of communicating with parents are best designed to meet the unique needs of each school community.

Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), in partnership with the Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network (QIS Parents Network), the sector’s peak parent body, is dedicated to elevating and enhancing parent and community engagement in independent schools through targeted programs and regular events.

There are two flagship programs available to schools – Mastering Parent Engagement and Mastering Parent Engagement Plus. The Mastering Parent Engagement suite draws on national and international research and supports school leadership team to better harness the power of parents for improved academic and wellbeing outcomes for students. This short video gives an overview of Mastering Parent Engagement.

Schools and parents also have access to the Parent Engagement Connect workshop series, which explores strategies to engage parents effectively and sustainably on a particular topic of interest to members. 

This work follows on from ISQ and QIS Parents Network’s Engaging Parents in Curriculum (EPIC) research program [2021-2023], led by parent engagement experts from Griffith University, Dr Linda Willis and Professor Beryl Exley.