Middle Leader Masterclass: Leading your Team in Family-School Partnerships

Description

Effective working partnerships between school staff and families are essential if children are to thrive at school. This workshop will build the capacity of middle leaders working in a pastoral context, to strengthen collaborative relationships with families and enhance student outcomes.

We will explore barriers to engagement and the use of proactive vs reactive communication including dealing effectively with unreasonable parental demands and communications. We will role play leading meetings with parents and discuss protocols for dealing with pastoral crises and complex family scenarios. The processes involved in high stakes decision-making when reaching the thresholds of suspension and exclusion will be discussed and we will consider how to build trust within diverse school communities.

Participants will practise strategies leaders can use to engage parents as partners in learning. We will explore constructively addressing challenges and discuss how to foster a culture of openness and respect. This workshop equips leaders to lead teams in building strong, connected school-family partnerships that support student success.

The significance of developing middle leaders’ skills was highlighted by the 2025 publication of AITSL’s ‘Australian Professional Standards for Middle Leaders’ and this workshop aligns with Standard 6 – ‘Managing effectively’.