This face-to-face session will provide an opportunity to meet with other Principals, HSCL Coordinators and teachers and share ideas about how to develop positive relationships with parents.

Participants will be encouraged to learn from each other and share approaches and initiatives that have supported parental involvement and engagement in their schools.

This Community of Practice will be facilitated by Anne-Marie McGovern, an Acting Principal in St. Patrick’s Loreto Primary School in Bray. She has previously worked as a HSCL Coordinator, mainstream class teacher and Special Education teacher in Dublin and Wicklow. She has previously been seconded to Tusla Education Support Service as an Integrated Services Manager, with operational responsibility for the HSCL Scheme. Anne-Marie holds a B.Ed. from St. Patrick’s College, DCU, and a B.Sc (Hons) in Psychology from the Open University. With her extensive experience of working with and in DEIS schools and communities, Anne-Marie completed a research Masters in Maynooth University, with a thesis entitled, ‘Time to stop blaming parents: A case study of parents’ and children’s experiences of family life in marginalised communities with implications for parenting interventions, educational welfare and policy’ and was also published in the Children’s Research Digest 2020, with an article entitled, ‘Children as Policy Makers: How the Inclusion of Children’s Voices in Research can Improve Parenting Supports in Marginalised Communities’.

Suitable for Primary & Post Primary School Leaders, Teachers & HSCL Coordinators