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Session 4. Involving Teachers, Pupils and Parents
Objective. Involve teachers, pupils and parents with respect: share data first, use a short anonymous pupil survey, hold two hard staff conversations and write a clear message for parents.
A plan lives in the hands of the people who carry it out. Teachers do the work, pupils are the reason for it and parents can help in small, real ways. This session is about doing that respectfully and with little time: sharing data first, asking before telling, giving each group one clear role, and letting everyone see what changed because they spoke.
Key ideas
Who needs to be part of the plan
- Make a map of the people the plan touches: teachers who do the work, pupils who are the point, parents who can help, the school board that supports it, and others such as bus operators or the local community.
- For each group write three things: what they need to know, what you will ask of them, and how they will hear back. A group that is only told, never asked, often stops listening.
- A good order is: share the data picture, ask for causes and ideas, agree the plan, then report back. Skipping the first two steps is the most common reason plans are ignored.
Teachers: ownership, not orders
- Show teachers the data picture first, without blame, and ask what they see. Teachers know things the numbers cannot, such as which topics pupils find hardest.
- Begin with two or three volunteers to try the new practice for a month and share what happened. Swap a task rather than add one: say which existing report or meeting this plan replaces.
- Expect two objections: 'this is more paperwork' and 'these data are unfair to my class'. Listen, name what is true in it, show the evidence, ask one question and agree one small step.
Pupils: ask, listen, show what changed
- A short anonymous paper survey of five questions gives honest answers. Use closed questions for counts and one open question for ideas. Never ask pupils to name teachers or to describe their family's money.
- The Lundy model asks four things: Space to speak safely, Voice with a choice of how, an Audience who listens, and Influence so that views change something. A listening circle of six to eight pupils for 20 minutes can add to the survey.
- Close the loop with 'you said, we did' on the notice board. If an answer shows a pupil may be at risk, follow your school's safeguarding rules and do not keep it for the data.
Parents: one fact, one goal, one request
- Write the message in plain Uzbek or Russian, as the family speaks: one fact with a number, one goal with a date, and one thing parents can do. Three sentences are enough.
- Never name a pupil or compare families, and never imply blame. Many parents work long hours or abroad; ask for something small that fits their day, such as a message by 8:00 if the child cannot come.
- Make it two-way: use a class parent meeting, a short note and the usual messaging group, and ask parents what gets in the way. The EEF guidance on working with parents (see the links) is a good companion for planning this.
What each group needs
Teachers
Do the work
- See the data first
- Shape the actions
- Time and a swapped task
Pupils
The reason for it
- Safe, anonymous ask
- Know why we ask
- See what changed
Parents
Can help
- One fact, one goal
- One doable request
- Two-way channel
Hearing pupils safely
Pupils will answer honestly only if they believe it is safe. In a class of 25, a tick-box about 'which teacher' or 'which family problem' can identify a child even without a name, so ask about learning and routines, not about people or home money. Say why you ask. Follow school rules on consent and safeguarding: if an answer shows a child may be at risk, it goes to the child-protection lead, not into the data.
For a listening circle, choose six to eight pupils, ask a teacher who does not teach them to host, and use open prompts such as 'What helps you learn maths?'. Take notes without names, read the summary back, and then show the change on a notice board. Pupils who see that their words changed something will answer next time.
Parents as partners in practical terms
Families differ in time, schooling and language. A note in plain Uzbek or Russian that asks for one small, doable thing works better than a long letter. Ask what gets in the way, for example transport or work hours, and listen to the answer before you repeat the request. Never display lists of pupils with low attendance, compare families or imply blame.
Use channels parents already use: the class meeting, a short written note, the messaging group, and where it helps, the parent committee or the local community. Report back in the same channel. The EEF guidance on working with parents is a good companion for planning this; pick one or two ideas that fit your school rather than trying everything.
Examples from the classroom
Data first in Kokand
Scene. At a staff meeting in Kokand, the head, Jasur, puts the one-page data picture on the board without comment and asks, 'What do you see?' Teachers notice that Monday first lessons are weak and say that the early bus is unreliable. A teacher offers to keep a tally of late arrivals. Jasur says nothing about the plan until the third question, 'What would you try?' Two teachers volunteer for a one-month trial.
Insight. Letting colleagues read the data first creates ownership: the plan then uses their words.
You said, we did in Bukhara
Scene. In Bukhara, Malika asks 30 pupils in Grade 8 five anonymous questions on paper. Seven write that they would like more time to talk about problems and four that the library is too noisy to work in. Two weeks later a notice says: 'You said: more time to talk. We did: 5 minutes of talk in every maths lesson. You said: noise. We did: the library has a quiet table until 4 pm.'
Insight. Closing the loop shows pupils that voice has influence, which is what makes the next survey honest.
The Monday bus in Andijan
Scene. At a parents' meeting in Andijan, the class teacher, Dilnoza, says that Monday attendance is 82 percent and asks, 'What gets in the way?' A father says the first bus after the weekend leaves 40 minutes late. The class teacher writes it down, raises it with the district education office and, meanwhile, puts a lighter lesson first on Mondays. Parents see that the school listened.
Insight. Asking what gets in the way turns a complaint about families into a problem the school and parents can solve together.
Common pitfalls
- Presenting the plan to staff before they have seen the data or been asked for ideas.
- Writing survey questions that name teachers or ask about family money.
- Posting lists of low-attendance pupils or comparing families in front of others.
- Asking for views and then never telling people what changed.
Map, Survey, Hard Conversations and a Parent Note
- Open the Activity Kit. Trios (10 min): fill the stakeholder map (Table A) for the SAMPLE plan: five groups, and for each what they need to know, what you will ask and how they hear back.
- Pairs (15 min): improve the eight draft survey questions in Table B. Keep five good ones, rewrite or drop the rest. Then read the 30 SAMPLE answers in Table C and write one 'you said, we did' sentence.
- Trios (15 min): role-play the two hard staff conversations in Table D. One speaks, one is the colleague, one observes with the script checklist. Switch roles after about five minutes. Use: Listen, Acknowledge, Evidence, Ask, Agree one step.
- Second short activity (10 min): write a three-sentence parent note from the facts in Table E and check it against the checklist (one fact with a number, one goal with a date, one request, no names, no blame, plain words).
- Whole group (10 min): three people read their parent notes aloud. The group says what a worried parent would hear. Revise one note together.
- Alone (10 min): write your school-based task from the Kit and the date for your first staff conversation about your plan.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which stakeholder have you most often told rather than asked, and what would asking look like?
- In the role play, which words calmed the colleague and which made them defensive?
- What would a parent with two jobs be able to do about your request, in practice?
Reflect
- When did a plan in your school fail because the people in it were not asked?
- What do pupils in your school already say about learning, and who hears them?
- How do parents in your school prefer to receive a message, and in which language?
Try it tomorrow
- Show a one-page data picture to three colleagues and ask 'What do you see?' before telling them what you think.
- Write five anonymous survey questions for one class and check each against 'could this identify a child?'
- Draft a three-sentence parent note with one fact, one goal and one request, and read it aloud to a colleague.
Further reading and links
Share the data first, ask before you tell, give each group one clear role, and show everyone what changed because they spoke.