Parent Engagement
A strong Parent Engagement programme underpins the Fortes approach to education. Research has proven that when parents are not only engaged but actively participating in their child’s education and learning at home, the child does much better at school and indeed achieves greater success as an adult in life.
Fortes’ Parent Engagement Programme provides parents the required guidance, understanding, infrastructure, resources, parenting tips, support groups, informational workshops, volunteer organisations and channels to assist parents in participating in their child’s learning. A Fortes school Parent Engagement Programme has several key initiatives and channels of communication:
What Makes Our Parent Engagement Programme Successful
Communication Through Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Parent Drop-in Sessions & Parent Teacher Meetings
Parent Curriculum Workshops
Parent Volunteer Groups
Typical events organised by the Parent Volunteer groups include:
- Fundraising (Cake Sales, Gingerbread Raffle, Jumble Sale, Mad Hair Day, Odd Socks Day & Non Uniform Days, Sports Days, School events, and more).
- School Support (International Day & UAE Day, Guided Reading, Library support, Music support, and more).
- Charity Support (Rashid Paediatric Centre, Kerala School Library, Karuna Society for Animals, Manzil Centre for Special Needs, Al Noor Centre for Special Needs, and various other local and international charities and NGOs).
- Social & Fun Events (Secondary end-of-year activities and end-of-year treats for students, and more).
- Coffee Mornings Brunches and Lunches (informal gatherings where parents meet and make friends, and more)
- Parent Socials (fun events such as quiz nights, drumming circles, dinners, paint-balling, & more)
Parents Association
Advisory Council
Other Initiatives
- Opportunities for parents to attend school events including sports, prize days, and cultural fairs.
- Opportunities for parents to join a class to better understand modern teaching and learning.
- Expert speakers to help parents understand child development.
- Parent workshops (coffee hours, focus groups, informational sessions, etc.) on helping children to learn and succeed.
- Guidance, resources and workshops to support parents so they know how to support their child’s learning at home. While many parents know the skills of good parenting, like with other Fortes schools, Sunmarke provides specific skills such as:
- Enabling parents to rear children to grow up healthy and happy while setting them high but realistic standards and expectations academically, behaviourally, and socially.
- Encouraging the parent to have a regular dialogue with his child about his learning, study program, activities, plans, hopes and day at school.
- Providing tips to parents on how to stimulate their child’s learning by asking about the child’s interests, ideas, thoughts, and extending the child’s thinking and mind-space.
- Encouraging parents to share activities with their child such as reading together, solving problems together, conducting science experiments, engaging in home building activities, cooking together and the like.
- Providing positive feedback by praising the child’s efforts and progress.
- Being a role model for the child by displaying a positive attitude and perseverance in the face of challenge.
- Role modelling an appreciation for routine to establish in the child the discipline for achieving results.