To mark the start of Children’s Mental Health Week, parents were invited into school on Saturday 5 February to attend our inaugural Parent Partnership Conference.
The aim of the conference was to provide parents with plenty of food for thought and practical guidance to support their sons through the teenage years, helping them to thrive both mentally and academically. The morning started with a keynote talk delivered by Dr Kathy Weston, who explored what is needed to raise an emotionally, academically, and physically resilient teenager. Following this, parents then split into breakout groups to listen to talks delivered by teachers, encompassing a variety of ideas and guidance to facilitate a boy’s journey through the school. The morning finished with a panel discussion offering parents the chance to take part in a question-and-answer session with the key presenters (using technology to preserve anonymity, where required).
The event, which was made possible by a generous donation from the Parents’ Guild, culminated in a hot lunch in the Café Bar.
Fiona Whiteman, Parent Partnership Lead explained, “We were very lucky to have Dr Kathy Weston in school and I would like to thank the Parents’ Guild for making this possible with their continuous commitment to supporting our Parent Partnership Programme. The pastoral care of our boys is our top priority, and the strong relationship between the school and parents is fundamental in making sure we give them the best care possible. Dr Weston was an excellent and extremely knowledgeable speaker. Her understanding of teenagers informed by huge amounts of research in this field was both empowering and enlightening. She offered many ideas and strategies which I hope will have helped our parents continue to support and guide their sons.”
It was encouraging to see so many parents stay for lunch in the café bar afterwards, not only was it wonderful to meet up face to face once again but the chance to sit down after the event provided a great opportunity for parents to digest the learnings and share their own experiences with each other.
Parents’ feedback on the event was very positive. Here is what some of them had to say:
“I just wanted to say a big thank you for organising the Parent Partnership conference on Saturday. It was very helpful and the key note speaker was fantastic so insightful and informative. I felt I really learnt a lot from the whole morning, lots of positive take aways. Well done, it was a great success and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
“Attended your talk yesterday and thought it was brilliant. So very relatable. Probably the best talk I have attended aimed at parents provided in a school setting. Thanks so much for your infinite wisdom.”
“I really enjoyed the breakout talk – thank you Rachel. It was lovely to meet you in person and thank you for sharing some top tips!”