The importance of parents as partners
Parents create a learning environment which starts before birth and continues for many formative years.
Parental engagement
It’s important to remember that more than 70% of children’s lives are spent both with their family and the wider community, which means that the opportunities for learning within these environments are both significant and enduring.
Together, parents and practitioners are pivotal in shaping and directing children’s learning, development and wellbeing.
Parental engagement is effective in showing children that education is important, building their confidence and fostering connections between home and school environments, all of which contribute to improving student’s educational outcomes and wellbeing.
It’s important to remember that more than 70% of children’s lives are spent both with their family and the wider community, which means that the opportunities for learning within these environments are both significant and enduring.
Together, parents and practitioners are pivotal in shaping and directing children’s learning, development and wellbeing.
Parental engagement is effective in showing children that education is important, building their confidence and fostering connections between home and school environments, all of which contribute to improving student’s educational outcomes and wellbeing.
Cyber Safety
The Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) Beacon cyber safety educational app provides parents with huge amount of resources relating to online safety. The app uses a tailor-made approach for providing parents with resources relevant to their families and delivers research and knowledge in an easy to understand way.
“The Office is committed to helping young people have safe, positive experiences online and encouraging behavioural change, where a generation of Australian children act responsibly online—just as they would offline.
We provide online safety education for Australian children and young people, a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying, and address illegal online content through the Online Content Scheme.
Our goal is to empower all Australians to explore the online world—safely.”
There’s lots of information available online when it comes to cyber safety. Let us introduce to you iParent—where parents can learn about the digital environment and keep updated on their children’s technology use.
Brought to you by the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner, this resource gives you guidance for using safety settings on your family’s web-connected devices, tips for talking with your children and responding to cyber bullying.
Visit the website to get your hands on the latest facts and stats about Aussie kids, learn how to manage tech in the home and discover strategies used by parents to keep kids safe online – and lots more!
“ThinkUKnow is a free, evidence-based cyber safety program that provides presentations to Australian parents, carers and teachers and students. It provides information on the technologies young people use, the challenges they may face, and importantly, how they can be overcome. Presentations are delivered face to face or digitally.
The program is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank, and is delivered in collaboration with New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police Service, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police and Victoria Police as well as Neighbourhood Watch Australia.”
Parental Engagement
Make the most of your opportunity to engage with your child’s teacher. This resource is a WACSSO guide to meeting with your child’s teacher.
Want to help your child with their learning? If you’re looking for tips and ideas to help you nurture your child’s potential, this is a great tool. Everything on the Learning Potential website supports the Australian Curriculum, and is child (and parent) friendly.
Learning Potential has hundreds of articles on all aspects of your child’s learning and development, from the early years to the end of high school, with more articles added all the time!
Belconnen High School: Re-branding and re-inventing the P&C to better fit the challenges of High School.
This case study is borrowed from the ACT Government’s ‘Progressing Parental Engagement, School Fact Sheet‘ and the ACT Council of P&C Associations’ ParentACTion quarterly magazine,
published in Term 3, 2015.
The Raising Children Network is a resource for Australian parents – from pregnancy to newborns to teenagers. They offer evidence-based content you can trust on hundreds of topics about raising children and looking after yourself as a parent.
The ARACY Parent Engagement Blog features articles written by professionals with backgrounds in parental engagement.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
“The Commissioner is the independent person who works closely with children and young people, their families, community and government to make WA a better place for 0 to 18 year-olds.” CCYP resources.
“Feeling safe and supported is the right of everyone in the school community. The resources available on the Student Wellbeing Hub help to create learning communities that promote student wellbeing and the development of respectful relationships. The Hub is guided by the principles of the National Safe Schools Framework, which highlight the importance of educators, parents and students working together. We can make a difference, starting now.
“Children and young people need to know that they are being heard, that their feelings matter and that their issue will be investigated respectfully. Bullying should be taken seriously.
Bullying. No Way! provides information and ideas for students, parents and teachers. If you want to talk to someone in person or online click here to get contact details for helplines.”
The National Safe Schools Framework outlines the important role of educators, parents, carers and the wider community in working with schools to create and maintain safe and supportive learning and teaching communities that build respectful relationships. The Framework is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and the individual national, state and territory initiatives, policies and legislative frameworks currently in place to support students’ safety and wellbeing.
Raising sensitive issues and working to resolve problems that arise along the way can be challenging. It can also be hard as a parent to know the difference between normal behaviour, such as moodiness, irritability and withdrawal, and an emerging mental health problem. The ‘Friends and Family’ section of the headspace website is designed to help you.
Alcohol and Other Drugs
“Parents can play an important role in building their children’s resilience, and supporting the key drug education messages that are delivered through our early childhood and school programs. SDERA offers a number of different support options for parents of students in all year levels, including:
Managed by the Drug, Alcohol and Prevention Services Division, Mental Health Commission, the Alcohol.Think Again education campaign is part of a comprehensive approach in Western Australia that aims to reduce the level of alcohol-related harm and ill-health in Western Australia.
Their website features information on the following topics:
- What Parents Need to Know
- Young People and Alcohol Laws
- Your Child And Leavers
- What Young People Need to Know
- Alcohol and Young People
- Alcohol and the Developing Brain
The Parent and Family Drug Support Line is a confidential, non-judgmental telephone counselling, information and referral service for families and carers concerned about a loved one’s alcohol or drug use. Professional counsellors are available via phone 24/7.
In addition to professional counsellors, the Parent and Family Drug Support Line has a network of trained parent volunteers who have experienced their own child’s alcohol or drug use. Parent volunteers area available via phone between 8:00am and 10:00pm each day.
The Government is taking strong action to address vaping in Australia through a comprehensive range of regulatory reforms that change the way vapes can be imported, manufactured, supplied and advertised in Australia.
Vapes include vaping substances, vaping accessories and vaping devices.
Changes to the vaping laws in Australia are focused on protecting people from the harms of vaping and nicotine dependence.
The law targets commercial and criminal supply of vapes.
For more information, download this parent and carer information sheet.
Learning
“It is parents, families and carers who have the most influence on their children. When families are actively involved in their children’s education, children usually enjoy school and achieve better results.
This section of the website provides information for families and carers about their children and the Australian Curriculum.
The Australian Curriculum sets the goal for what all students should learn as they progress through their school life – wherever they live in Australia and whichever school they attend.
Download The Australian Curriculum: an overview for parents to learn about how the Australian Curriculum is organised, including information about the learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. There is also information about how schools can use the Australian Curriculum to support students’ needs and interests, and links to further information.”
Careers
The earliest and often the most powerful learning about careers is shaped by the adults in a child’s life. For that reason, myfuture has developed an ‘Assist your child‘ page, containing links to tips and advice for parents and carers to help support and encourage young people with their career making decisions.
Myfuture is the prime career exploration tool used in over 80% of Australian schools. With an annual audience of over 1.7 million users, myfuture has the broadest reach of any national career exploration service. The myfuture website is managed by Education Services Australia, a Ministerial not-for-profit company which is owned by all Australian education ministers.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA: Start Work – A quick guide to starting a new job
Parenting in the Digital Age: Recorded Presentations from Telethon Kids' Institute & Constable Care Foundation
Primary Stream
Arility (augmented reality) presented by David Gribble (Constable Care Foundation)
The Sun Safe app presented by Shelley Gorman (Telethon Kids Institute)
Cyber Friendly Primary Schools Project presented by Candice Browne (Telethon Kids Institute)
The Pets and Health Study presented by Michelle Ng (Telethon Kids Institute)
Secondary Stream
Arility (augmented reality) presented by David Gribble (Constable Care Foundation)
Your Call (virtual reality) presented by David Gribble (Constable Care Foundation)
