3rd November 2025 - Beyond the School Gates: The Power of Parents in Learning
When parents and schools join forces, children don’t just learn—they flourish. Here’s how the Catch Up® Numeracy and Catch Up® Literacy Interventions can facilitate that partnership.
Why Parental Engagement Matters More Than Ever
What if every child’s learning journey was supported not just by teachers, but by a team that includes their family? Research consistently shows that when parents and schools work in partnership, students don’t just achieve more academically — they thrive socially and emotionally, attendance improves, behaviour issues decline, and academic outcomes rise. According to the EEF’s Teaching & Learning Toolkit, parental engagement approaches are associated with, on average, 4 months’ extra progress per child, and in Early Years this figure rises to 5 months.
Yet, with all the demands of daily teaching, engaging with parents can sometimes feel out of reach. How can schools make that partnership with parents meaningful and sustainable? And what practical steps can they take to ensure that families feel empowered to be part of their child’s learning? At Catch Up, we keep these questions at the heart of our interventions, ensuring our training and resources are designed to help schools and families work together for every child’s success.
What Does Parental Engagement Really Mean?
Parental engagement goes beyond simply attending school events or signing permission slips. It’s built on genuine two-way communication, mutual trust, and a shared commitment to a child’s learning journey. The Department for Education (DfE) underscores how vital this partnership is, noting its powerful impact on academic achievement. Effective parental engagement means schools provide clear information, allow parents time to reflect, invite feedback, and thoughtfully consider parents’ perspectives. The DfE’s 2019 review highlights the importance of identifying Interventions that effectively support parental involvement, especially for families who may not be actively engaged in their children’s education.
How Catch Up® Literacy and Numeracy Strengthen Parental Engagement
Catch Up® Literacy and
Catch Up® Numeracy do more than just support pupils—they actively bring parents and carers into the learning journey. While these interventions are effective on their own, they are built on the belief that strong, ongoing communication with families is essential. By encouraging collaboration at every stage,
Catch Up® helps schools and parents work together, creating a supportive environment where every child can succeed.
Here’s how the interventions actively support parental engagement:
- Clear consistent structure – The Catch Up® sessions are clearly structured making it easier for schools to communicate to parents what their child is working on.
- The Catch Up® diagnostic assessments - provide a clear picture of the child’s needs so that parents better understand what support is required.
- Shared learning goals – Catch Up® provides structured, targeted objectives. When schools share these with parents, families can reinforce skills confidently at home.
- Regular, positive feedback – Progress updates keep parents informed and motivated.
- Empowering parents as learning partners – The practical strategies within Catch Up® give parents clear, manageable ways to help, reducing uncertainty and building confidence.
- Consistency across home and school – the Catch Up® structured approach allows parents to mirror techniques used in school, ensuring continuity.
- Celebrating success – visible, measurable progress enable shared celebration of success.
What do Schools Say?
Schools consistently report that the
Catch Up® interventions make a real difference in parental engagement:
Ruth Deer, an accredited
Catch Up® trainer and for many years an Interventions Leader at a busy inner London Primary school, recently shared her experience in a blog article (Catch Up September 25). She describes how
Catch Up® Literacy and Numeracy have transformed communication with parents in her school.
At a recent parents evening one parent said they were so happy that they now knew exactly what their child needed because of the detailed information gathered during the Catch Up assessments and individual sessions. They were thrilled and said that they had never been so well informed. The class teacher said to me that she was really pleased to see the ongoing impact of Catch Up both in terms of progress and overall wellbeing and that our discussions and sharing of information really supported her in how to share this with the parents.
Another interventions teacher in London, shared a story about a boy who struggled with reading confidence. Although his language skills were age-appropriate in both languages he spoke, his mother felt unsure about supporting him at home due to her own language barriers. The teacher found the
Catch Up® parent leaflets invaluable—they helped the mother understand how she could read with her son at home. The boy brought books from his
Catch Up® sessions to read with his mum, and together they grew in confidence and enjoyment. As a result, his reading fluency improved significantly!
Catch Up® Literacy and Catch Up® Numeracy Resources that Support Parental Engagement:
Communicating with Parents
There are a range of items within the user account to facilitate clear communication with parents including:
- letter templates
- parent leaflets
Providing clear information and feedback and shared Learning Goals
As part of the
Catch Up® Literacy & Numeracy interventions detailed individual records are kept on pupils to ensure that clear information on strengths and needs can be communicated to all involved in the child’s learning, including parents. These include:
- Diagnostic Assessments for Learning records and Assessments for Younger Learners records
- Catch Up® Target Sheets
- Individual Session Sheets
Regular positive feedback
There are a range of proformas to facilitate communication with parents about their child’s progress and attainment including:
- Individual Sessions Sheets
- Catch Up® Target sheets
- Individual Session Sheets
- Liaison sheets
- Catch Up® Certificates to celebrate success
Empowering parents as learning partners
Catch Up provide a range of resources, available via the user account, to support parents as partners in their child’s learning including:
- Information Leaflets for Parents
- Liaison sheets
We are also pleased to offer a bespoke
Catch Up® Literacy course designed for parents and carers.
‘Catch Up® Literacy – Supporting Reading’ is a stand-alone online course which aims to provide straight forward guidance and structures to support a child’s reading in the home. For more information please see our website,
Working with parents – bringing school and home learning together - Catch Up
Conclusion: A Shared Responsibility for Success
Children make best progress when parents are actively involved in their education.
Catch Up® Literacy and
Catch Up® Numeracy are interventions that facilitate partnership working with parents. They don’t just close learning gaps, they close communication gaps, enabling schools and families to work together and children to make best progress.
Want to learn more about how the Catch Up® interventions can strengthen learning partnerships in your school? Visit www.catchup.org for further details and training opportunities.
Alison Haines
Catch Up® Accredited Trainer
