
The narrative around parental engagement with schools has been overwhelmingly negative in recent years. We have all heard of parents described variously as vexatious, adversarial and overly demanding.
Moreover, a new wave of parental categorisation has entered the wider lexicon: whether it be the helicopter parent (dropping in to save their child at every opportunity), the tiger parent (hot-housing their child and expecting everyone else to do likewise), or my recent favourite the snowplough parent (flattening every obstacle put in front of their little one), the connotations are largely negative.
A close reading of the data provides further cause for concern. As SecEd’s sister magazine Headteacher Update reported this summer, a survey of more than 1,000 school leaders by the National Association of Head Teachers found that 94% had seen an increase in complaints over the past three years, and 83% reported an increase in vexatious complaints. What seems to be going on here?
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