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Don’t forget the parents: preparing trainee teachers for family–school partnership

ABSTRACT The value of strong collaborative relationships between schools and the families of their pupils has been consistently highlighted through research and has been found to benefit all parties involved. Trainee teachers in England however have continued to report feeling unprepared to ‘communicate with parents/carers’, a sentiment that has been supported by the findings of wider-ranging research. This study therefore aimed to determine which elements of family–school partnership (FSP) should be considered as core content when covering the subject in ITE. The findings suggest that home-school communication is the most valued element of FSP for inclusion in the taught content of ITE, specifically the preparation for and running of home-school meetings, dealing with difficult conversations and communicating effectively. Whilst the significance of communication is widely understood, this research argues that setting out a rationale for the importance of FSP and challenging trainees to reflect on their attitudes towards parents foregrounds the development of effective communication skills.