Home–School Partnership
What is it?
What happens in the programme?
Roles and responsibilities
Philosophy
Successful features
Key messages in different languages
Secondary Home-School Partnerships Programme
Secondary Home-School Partnerships Programme
“Strong and sustained gains in student achievement have been made when schools and families have developed partnerships to support students’ achievement at school”
New Zealand Schools: Ngā Kura o Aotearoa (2002)
Report of the Minister of Education on the compulsory schools sector in New Zealand, 2002
Home-School Partnerships Programmes (Literacy, Numeracy and Secondary) are part of the government’s national Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The Ministry of Education has a commitment to develop partnerships between education providers and their communities in order to lift student achievement. The Secondary Home-School Partnerships programme aims to meet this commitment and support the professional development of teachers in secondary schools to raise student achievement in the context of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Home-School Partnership Programmes are based on the principles of cultural inclusion and partnership in schools. Trained teams of teachers and parents deliver sessions for parents and families that will empower them to help their children develop their learning.
The programmes aim to support, develop, and use the rich resources of diverse people in the school community. We believe that when schools and families work together, students, families, schools and communities all benefit.
Home-School Partnerships are of particular importance for students whose cultural or other background differs from the dominant culture and practices of the school.
“Positive synergies between the home and school environments is an area where schools can make a difference. Therefore it is important that schools work with parents in order to facilitate their interaction with their children and their schools in ways that may enhance their children’s learning.”
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2000
“Quality teaching is not effective for just some learners in some curriculum
areas, but is effective for all learners in all areas.”
Alton–Lee, A (2003), Quality teaching diverse students in schooling: Best Evidence Synthesis, Wellington, New Zealand, Ministry of Education.
Why the secondary focus?
As students move from primary/intermediate to secondary school, there is a significant change in the relationship between the educator and the student, the child and the parent, and the school and the home.
Secondary schools are larger and, instead of having one significant teacher each day, students are encouraged, very quickly, to become independent learners. Parents tend to have less contact with teachers and can be intimidated by the formality of the secondary school.
The vision of Secondary Home-School Partnerships is that all families in the school community will understand that they are part of the school community. All families will be included and involved in school activities and will feel comfortable in their school.
The purpose of Secondary Home-School Partnerships is to:
- reinforce the role of parents and families as one of the greatest influences on children’s learning and development, essential to their success at school;
- endorse what families and teachers are already doing for children’s learning;
- share ways families and teachers work together to make an even greater impact on children’s learning, including literacy and language development;
- increase parents’ and families’ understanding of practical ways of helping children learn;
- encourage secondary school students to participate with their parents in the Home-School Partnership;
- establish a caring, working partnership between school staff and the community.
In 2007 the Secondary Home-School Partnership (HSP) programme was facilitated by School Support Services (SSS) facilitators in a small number of secondary schools in the Wellington and Auckland regions. The Ministry of Education commissioned NZCER to undertake an independent evaluation of this implementation. The final report, which the ministry will receive at the end of 2007, will inform future work, along with findings from the Secondary HSP earlier trial process and the evaluation of the primary HSP.
Informed by interim reports from NZCER and feedback from the advisers delivering the programme in 2007, the ministry has allowed for a more flexible approach to SSS facilitation of the Secondary HSP in 2008. .Instead of delivering the entire five modules of the programme, advisers and participating schools are encouraged to select the number and content of modules that best suit their school’s identified needs. Schools interested in participating in the HSP with facilitation by SSS advisers should contact their regional SSS.
Families of students from migrant or refugee backgrounds are the focus of this HSP initiative. However, other parent groups may also be included in a school’s SSS- facilitated access to the Secondary HSP.
In addition, to enable all schools to self-access the material to use or adapt for their own purposes, the ministry is making the material available on Te Kete Ipurangi.
Programme Facilitation Manuals
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