Strong partnerships between families and schools can make a significant difference to a child's wellbeing, confidence, and educational success.
When families and schools work together, children and young people are better supported. They are then able to achieve their potential both in and outside the classroom.
To help strengthen this, Cornwall Council's Together for Families Directorate worked in partnership with Parent Carer Cornwall. Together, they have developed the Parental Engagement Framework (PEF).
The Framework provides practical guidance, resources, and support. This will help education settings build positive and meaningful relationships with families.
The Framework and Toolkit are available free of charge to all education settings in Cornwall. Schools and other settings can use the resources to help develop their approach to engaging and working collaboratively with parent/carers.
The PEF is part of a system wide approach within Together for Families particularly working with The Early Support, SEND and Education Welfare teams.
The Framework can be accessed through the Cornwall Schools platform
Please note that a user account and login are required to access the resource.
About the Framework
The Parental Engagement Framework is designed to help education settings develop a clear and effective strategy for working in partnership with parent/carers. It is intended to support schools and settings in creating a culture where families feel welcomed, valued, and actively involved in their children's learning and development.
The resource includes:
A framework built around seven key themes that support effective parental engagement
Practical guidance, principles, and criteria to help settings assess and strengthen their approach
A wide range of tools, resources, and reference materials that can be tailored to local needs and priorities
Download the Framework Document
Feedback from Schools
"We deeply value the positive impact of the support from the local authority team through the PEF. The high-quality resources and their bespoke, responsive approach have been instrumental in supporting our priority of improving parental engagement. They listened carefully to our context, adapted training to suit our needs, and created a safe, respectful space for staff to engage. We look forward to putting the theory into practice and seeing the impact of their expertise."
Headteacher, St Stephen Community Academy
“We have genuinely enjoyed working alongside you and your coaching has been invaluable. It was lovely to hear all of the fabulous work that is happening across the County under your leadership as part of the Roundtable Discussion with the DfE. You must be incredibly proud of the impact this is having on families and young people”.
Deputy Headteacher, Penrice Academy
Additional Support for Education Settings
Schools and education settings can also access a dedicated support programme to help implement their parental engagement strategy and work towards a 'Certificate of Recognition', demonstrating the impact of their work with parents and carers.
There are currently over 100 schools in Cornwall engaged with the support programme.
The programme is available through the Cornwall Schools platform for £350.
What's Included?
support from a member of the School Effectiveness Team to assist with planning and implementation
access to the Parental Engagement Community of Practice, including resources and termly online networking opportunities
guidance in developing a case study that demonstrates the impact of parental engagement activities
quality assurance and assessment leading to a Certificate of Recognition where the Framework's principles have been successfully implemented
Evidence of impact
The PEF provides schools with a structured, evidence-informed and practical approach to strengthening relationships with families.
Schools reported significant improvements in attendance, reductions in persistent absence, enhanced engagement from harder-to-reach families, stronger communication, improved behaviour and wider educational outcomes.
Schools view the framework as successful because it combines research, practical tools, systematic implementation and sustained support, enabling schools to embed parental engagement as a core element of school culture rather than a standalone initiative.
These resources show the impact of some of this work: