Parent Engagement Projects in Schools
Grants and opportunities
Parent engagement is a critical area of focus for schools and is enshrined in the Australian Professional Standards for Principals and Teachers.
Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) and the Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network (QIS Parents Network) have joined forces to elevate and enhance parent and community engagement in independent schools.
Project funding
Queensland independent schools that would like more information on how to apply for parent engagement project funding should contact:
Natalie Horrobin, Education Services Advisor (Teaching & Learning):
nhorrobin@isq.qld.edu.au | 3228 1580
Other opportunities and programs
Schools that want to work with ISQ and the QIS Parents Network to prioritise parent engagement are invited to contact:
Shari Armistead, Director (Strategic Relations) and Board Chair (QIS Parents Network):
sarmistead@isq.qld.edu.au | 3228 1543
Examples of parent engagement in action
A number of independent schools have been funded through the QIS Parents Network and ISQ to undertake parent engagement projects. This funding is administered through ISQ’s Research in Schools Program.
Some of these projects are spotlighted below:
St John’s Anglican College partnered with parents to improve the oracy skills of students and are now reaping the rewards from successive and innovative strategies. | READ
Cannon Hill Anglican College has always valued its parents, but a pilot program running in the Junior Schools’ Japanese language classrooms is proving parents can also be powerful allies when it comes to the educational outcomes of students. | READ
Ipswich Grammar School has brought parents of new boarding students closer to campus life via a range of strategies, resulting in deeper connections within families, with school staff, and with other boarding families. | READ
Hills International College decided to overhaul the way it taught literacy in its Junior School, so recruited a very special group of people to help with the rollout – its Junior School parents. | READ
Fairholme College developed a new approach to connect with the families of a very special cohort of students: those from remote Indigenous communities. | READ
St John’s Anglican College consider parents as “partners” in a child’s educational journey and have implemented a range of family-friendly strategies to boost the oracy skills of new Kindergarten and Prep students. | READ
The Lakes College educated themselves and their parents about the power of parent engagement to make the most out of a popular online Maths program with a ‘parent portal’ feature. READ
The Southport School proved distance is no barrier to engaging parents in their son’s school lives. The Gold Coast school improved its reach and connection with boarding families through the development of an interactive, electronic boarding newsletter | READ
Border Rivers Christian College recognised dads were less visible in the school than mums. The Goondiwindi school used simple, but effective strategies to engage its father figures in the life of the school and the education of their children | READ
St John’s Anglican College saw an opportunity to partner with parents to reinforce classroom learning at home. They implemented a range of strategies to improve the oral language skills of new Kindergarten and Prep students commencing at the College. | READ