Parentkind: Strengthening our school-parent partnerships

London South East Academies Trust’s 16-school network has begun working with Parentkind – a national charity dedicated to supporting schools and parents to build effective, two-way partnerships.

This collaboration reflects the Trust’s ongoing commitment to engaging parents and carers in all its schools, as part of its wider civic mission to strengthen communities and ensure that every voice is heard.

Parentkind will be supporting each school with a consistent, evidence-based framework for engaging well with families – ensuring parents and carers feel fully involved with their child’s education and are able to escalate any issues in an effective way.

Activity will include building on existing parent voice initiatives and ensuring all parents and carers have accessible, meaningful ways to contribute to school life. Leaders and staff will receive additional guidance to strengthen confidence and consistency in their communication with families, supporting the Trust's commitment to openness and mutual respect.

An engagement session with senior leaders from across the Trust’s schools has already taken place. Moving forward, staff and parent forums will be introduced, alongside practical resources to support communication at both classroom and whole-school level. This will include implementing a Trust-wide policy to broaden communication channels – creating more opportunities for parents and carers to visit our schools, engage with staff and feel more involved in their child’s educational journey.

Dr Sam Parrett CBE, CEO of London South East Academies Trust, says:

“Our priority is always people and our community, so our partnership with Parentkind is exciting and well aligned. This work will further develop how we reach out and involve our parents and carers – enhancing our civic impact and strengthening community connection.

"We are committed to ensuring everyone is heard and able to play an active role in our schools, which will lead to even better outcomes for our pupils.”

Racheal Smith, Service Lead at Parent-Friendly Schools, Parentkind, adds:

“We are delighted that London South East Academies Trust is working with us to advance our mission to bring parents and schools closer together. The whole trust has demonstrated a fantastic enthusiasm for partnering with parents, and early results prove that some outstanding practices and policies are in place. We are excited to be on this journey with such a forward-thinking Trust and believe we will learn much that can help us support others across the country.”