When concerns arise, schools and parents want to work together, in the best interests of children, to find a solution.

Schools and parents believe that the best way to do this is to follow the 'rules of thumb' below,

• Talk about the concern
• Respect each other
• Remember the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved
• Work hard to find a solution

Talk about the concern

• Parents should contact the school as soon as they have concerns
• Parents and schools should share the information they have in order to learn about the situation
• Most concerns can be solved or moved forward quickly and easily

Respect each other

• Parents should respect the professional role of teachers, and teachers should respect the way parents feel about their children

Remember the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved

• All families and teachers are part of a school community and they have rights and responsibilites
• Parents have the right to expect schools to provide a high standard of education, care and guidance to their children. The school has the responsibility to provide this
• The school has the right to set rules, policies and procedures. Parents have the responsibility to support these by working with the school
• Parents and schools have to find a balance between the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved

Work hard to find a solution

• Parents and teachers should deal with each other in a polite, calm way
• Parents and teachers should work together to move matters forward as soon as possible
• Parents and teachers should have reasonable expectations of each other and be reasonable in their dealings
• Parents and teachers should keep looking forward and searching for solutions and avoid blaming each other
• Everyone is working towards a solution which is in the particular child's best interests