EducareM · Resources for Catholic education

School, Home and Parish: Partners in Mission

Practical approaches to welcoming families, listening to parents, supporting faith at home and working with parishes.

Build relationships through transition, sacramental preparation and continuing accompaniment. Reach beyond the families who already find it easy to join in.

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A shared mission, with distinct contributions

Catholic education brings school, home and parish into partnership for the flourishing of children and young people. Each contributes something essential. Good partnership grows through trust, clarity and listening, alongside shared prayer and service.

Gravissimum educationis, §3 , recognises parents as the primary educators of their children; §8 calls teachers to work in partnership with parents. This invites schools to honour family knowledge and support their educational role.

Amoris laetitia, §§287–288 , explores handing on faith through family life, adapting to children’s needs and respecting their growing freedom. Support families through realistic opportunities and patient encouragement.

Home

Families know the child’s story, strengths, hopes and daily life. Parents and carers nurture relationships, values and learning; Catholic families also have a particular role in nurturing faith.

School

The school provides education, formation, pastoral care and a daily experience of Catholic community. Staff explain the mission, listen carefully and make participation accessible.

Parish

The parish offers worship, sacramental life, catechesis, pastoral accompaniment and a wider community of faith. Partnership includes relationships with clergy, catechists, families and parish groups.

Children and young people

Pupils bring their own questions, gifts and experience. Help them contribute to decisions and grow in understanding, responsibility and discernment.

Begin with the family in front of you

Welcome parents, carers, grandparents and others who care for the child. Do not assume a household structure, shared religious belief or equal confidence in school and Church life. Explain Catholic identity clearly and respect conscience.

A family’s absence from an event does not tell us how much they care. Ask what makes participation possible.

Welcome families and listen with purpose

Make the first contact personal

Provide a named contact and a clear route for questions.
Explain practical routines and Catholic school life in plain language.
Ask about preferred communication, language, access and meeting times.
Offer a short conversation rather than relying only on a lengthy form.
Follow up after the first weeks, including families who join mid-year.

Questions that invite a useful conversation

What would you like us to know about your child?
What helps them feel secure, learn and join in?
What are your hopes or concerns about starting here?
Which parts of our school’s Catholic life would you like explained?
How can we make communication work for you?

Listening should lead to a response

Use small conversations, accessible surveys, parent groups and individual meetings. Include families who rarely attend. Explain what you heard, what will change and what cannot change, with reasons.

Keep individual complaints and safeguarding concerns within the appropriate procedures. A listening event does not replace those routes.

Invite positive contact throughout the year. Share a child’s contribution or progress before contact becomes associated only with difficulties. Offer interpretation where needed, and use appropriate adults rather than children to interpret sensitive discussions.

Support faith at home through manageable invitations

Offer a small number of clear, meaningful resources. Show families how to use them and invite questions. Keep home faith activities voluntary; do not assess a family’s faith or require photographs proving participation.

A short prayer

Suggest a simple prayer of thanks, an intention or a moment of silence. Provide the words and explain the purpose. A busy family should be able to begin without special equipment.

A Gospel conversation

Offer an age-appropriate passage, one question and one possible response. For example: who needed welcome in this story, and whom could we welcome this week?

Faith expressed in daily care

Connect prayer with patience, reconciliation, generosity and care for creation. Invite a small act of service that respects others and does not create pressure to spend money.

Questions and growing independence

Help parents listen to children’s questions. With older pupils, encourage thoughtful dialogue, space for reflection and informed choices about service and parish participation.

Adapt across the school years

Suggested progression in family faith support
Phase	A manageable invitation
Early years and KS1	A short story, a familiar prayer, gratitude for one good thing and a simple act of care.
KS2	A Gospel question, a pupil-led prayer intention and a family conversation about fairness or service.
KS3 and KS4	A discussion about faith and everyday decisions; an invitation to an appropriate parish or school service opportunity.
Sixth form and senior phase	Reflection on gifts, vocation, choices and commitment, with family encouragement and appropriate youth or chaplaincy support.

Adapt these examples for Scotland and Wales using local phases and guidance. Families of other faiths or none should understand what is being offered and feel welcome to discuss school life without being asked to profess beliefs they do not hold.

Build a working partnership with parishes

Agree a realistic relationship with the parish or parishes serving the school. Where pupils belong to several parishes, plan communication that includes them. Avoid assuming that every family attends the nearest church.

Meet: Bring together the school leader, chaplaincy or RE lead, parish priest and relevant catechists or parish representatives.
Understand: Share priorities, capacity, school routines and parish arrangements.
Agree: Choose a small number of purposeful commitments with named contacts.
Prepare: Clarify communication, formation, safeguarding and practical arrangements.
Review: Ask pupils, families and parish partners what helped and what needs attention.

Prayer and worship

Plan appropriate Masses, prayer opportunities, church visits and explanations of parish life. Prepare pupils and families beforehand, including what to expect.

Faith formation

Connect school learning with parish catechesis without assuming they have identical purposes. Offer opportunities for questions and practical explanation.

Service and solidarity

Work with approved parish partners on a genuine need. Listen to those concerned, provide formation and review the usefulness of the response.

Continuity beyond an event

Help families identify a parish contact and an appropriate next step. Plan accompaniment after a celebration, transition or sacramental milestone.

Agree roles rather than relying on goodwill alone. Parish visitors and volunteers must follow the relevant school, parish and diocesan safeguarding arrangements. Explain boundaries, supervision and routes for concerns.

Transition: welcome before, accompany after

A transition pathway for pupils and families
Stage	Practical approach	Check
Before entry	Offer accessible information, a named contact and a conversation about strengths, needs and Catholic school life.	Who has not been able to join a visit or meeting?
First days	Provide a clear welcome, explain routines and introduce trusted adults. Offer supported pupil welcome roles.	Does the family know whom to ask for help?
First half-term	Ask about belonging, learning and communication. Check whether agreed support is working.	What remained confusing or difficult?
Between phases	Connect receiving and sending schools, families and relevant parish or youth contacts. Share necessary information appropriately.	Which relationships and support arrangements need continuity?
Leaving school	Help older pupils identify future opportunities for worship, service and accompaniment. Respect their growing independence.	What support or connection would they welcome next?

For pupils with SEND or other significant needs, plan transition early with families and relevant professionals. Include changes in buildings, transport, communication, prayer routines and social relationships. Mid-year arrivals need their own welcome pathway.

Sacramental preparation: a shared journey of faith

Follow the sacramental policy and programme of your diocese and parish. The order, timing and arrangements may vary. Agree responsibilities with the parish priest and catechetical team; the school should not independently determine eligibility or readiness.

Explain the journey

Provide a plain-language overview of the sacrament, preparation, dates, contacts and next steps. Invite questions without assuming prior knowledge or confidence.

Support family participation

Ask about timing, language, disability, transport and other barriers. Agree accessible arrangements and adapted resources with the catechetical team.

Connect learning and practice

Help pupils understand signs, prayer and meaning through the agreed programme. Offer manageable family conversations and explain what happens at church.

Continue afterwards

Plan an appropriate follow-up invitation, parish contact and opportunity for service or continuing formation. Keep relationships open beyond the celebration.

Accompany questions and difficulties respectfully

If a family misses preparation, contact them personally to understand the difficulty and discuss options with the parish team. Avoid public comparisons or treating sacramental preparation as a school reward system.

Discuss disability-related access and adaptation individually. Refer questions about readiness and sacramental practice to the parish priest and diocesan guidance; do not make assumptions from a diagnosis or level of speech.

Explain sacramental celebrations sensitively to pupils who are not preparing. They remain valued members of the school community. Clarify suitable ways to support and participate without blurring the distinct requirements of sacramental reception.

Reach families who rarely engage

Start by asking what makes the school’s offer difficult to access. Work patterns, caring responsibilities, language, transport, disability, digital access, previous experiences and confidence may all matter.

Notice carefully: Identify missed opportunities without labelling families as uninterested.
Make personal contact: Use a trusted adult and the family’s preferred method.
Listen first: Ask what would help and what they would like explained.
Offer a realistic invitation: Provide an alternative time, short conversation, accessible resource or supported first visit.
Follow through: Keep the commitment made and check whether the approach worked.

Possible adaptations

Repeat a short session at another time; combine a conversation with an existing visit; provide printed information alongside digital messages; arrange interpretation; offer an accessible venue; explain that questions are welcome.

Choose adaptations with families. More events are not automatically the answer.

Keep dignity and trust central

Do not condition welcome or pastoral support on attendance at religious activities. Avoid asking families to disclose private circumstances in a group. Refer practical or pastoral needs through appropriate services with clear information and agreed arrangements.

Where there is a safeguarding concern, follow the relevant procedures promptly. Respectful outreach complements safeguarding responsibilities.

Scenarios for discussion

Use these fictional situations with school and parish colleagues. Identify the need, consider the family’s perspective and agree one practical response.

1. The welcome meeting only some families can attend

Situation: A daytime meeting introduces Catholic school life. Several parents work shifts, and one family needs interpretation. The same confident families attend and ask questions.

Whose opportunity to understand and contribute is missing?
What can we explain in another format or conversation?
How will we know that the alternative worked?

Response: Offer a repeated short session or individual conversation, arrange appropriate language support and follow up with a named contact.

2. Missed sacramental sessions

Situation: A family misses two preparation meetings. Staff assume a lack of commitment. A private conversation reveals a changing work pattern and uncertainty about whom to contact.

What have we assumed before listening?
Which decisions belong with the parish team?
What preparation and support can be arranged within diocesan policy?

Response: Connect the family with the catechetical lead, clarify the next steps and agree a workable communication route. Keep the conversation private.

3. A parent with no religious belief

Situation: A parent asks what happens during prayer and whether their child will be expected to receive Communion. The question is interpreted as criticism of the school.

How can we explain Catholic practice clearly and warmly?
Have we distinguished prayer, learning about faith and sacramental reception?
What rights or arrangements need explaining?

Response: Arrange a respectful conversation, explain the school’s provision and applicable rights, and invite further questions. Do not assume the family rejects the school’s mission.

4. Transition breaks a relationship

Situation: A pupil moves from primary to secondary school. Their family valued a familiar parish and school contact but receives no information about chaplaincy or support in the new setting.

Which connections could continue?
What information can be shared appropriately?
What does the young person want from the transition?

Response: Provide a named receiving-school contact, explain chaplaincy and pastoral routes, and offer an appropriate introduction with the family’s involvement.

5. A parish invitation that never reaches families

Situation: A parish service opportunity is advertised through one school app. Some families cannot access it, while pupils belonging to another parish are unsure whether it includes them.

Is the invitation clear about who can join and what is involved?
Which communication routes are missing?
Have we agreed practical and safeguarding arrangements?

Response: Clarify the purpose and access arrangements with the parish, share information through more than one route and provide a named contact for questions.

Plan the partnership across the year

A suggested annual rhythm · adapt to your local calendar
Period	Focus	Review question
Before the new year	Meet parish partners, plan welcome and transition, agree sacramental contacts and key dates.	Are responsibilities and accessible communication clear?
Autumn	Follow up new families, listen to parents and offer a manageable introduction to prayer and parish life.	Whom have we not heard, and how will we reach them?
Advent and Christmas	Offer simple home prayer and purposeful invitations; check costs, access and workload.	Did families understand and feel welcome?
Spring	Review communication, support locally scheduled sacramental preparation and develop an agreed service opportunity.	What barriers need a different response?
Lent and Easter	Connect prayer and service, support family questions and sustain parish relationships.	What helped faith, understanding or practical care grow?
Summer	Prepare transitions, follow up sacramental milestones and evaluate the partnership.	What should continue, change or be handed on?

A small number of commitments, followed through

For each commitment, record: purpose · families or pupils involved · school contact · parish contact · practical arrangements · support required · review date · what changed.

Family experience

Do families understand the school’s Catholic life, know whom to contact and feel able to ask questions? Ask families who rarely attend as well as regular participants.

Participation and access

Which barriers were removed? Look beyond event numbers to whether people could understand, contribute and take a meaningful next step.

Faith and formation

What opportunities supported understanding, prayer, service and reflection? Respect conscience and avoid measuring private belief.

Partnership quality

Are responsibilities clear, communication reliable and commitments realistic? What do pupils, families and parish partners say improved?

Resources and further support

Catholic Education Service · resources for Catholic education in England and Wales.
Scottish Catholic Education Service · guidance and formation for Scottish Catholic schools.
Liturgy Office prayer resources · use alongside diocesan and parish support.
CES relationship and sex education resources · support clear communication and dialogue with parents.
Keeping children safe in education · current statutory guidance for England.
EducareM resources and Governing with Hope · further formation and reflection.

Use your own diocese’s current sacramental, education and safeguarding guidance. For Scotland and Wales, follow the relevant national and local requirements; England-specific guidance does not replace them.

Contact EducareM to discuss developing school, home and parish partnership across your school or trust.

A prayer for our shared mission

Lord Jesus,
walk with our families, school and parishes.
Help us listen with patience,
welcome with generosity
and explain our faith with clarity and love.
Give us wisdom to notice those we have missed,
courage to remove barriers
and faithfulness to keep our promises.
May our shared work help children and young people
grow in love, understanding and hope.
Amen.