URBACT II Programme Project „Involving Parents in the Prevention of Early School Leaving“

Tallinn’s Local Action Plan 2015–2019 on involving parents in the prevention of early school leaving

“Parents in school”

Tallinn 2015

Contents

Introduction ...... 3 Description of the current situation ...... 4 Cooperation with parents in the Tallinn schools participating in the project...... 5 Objectives ...... 10 Implementation Plan ...... 11 Risks and risk management ...... 17 Summary ...... 18

Introduction

The Local Action Plan was prepared in Tallinn as part of the URBACT II Programme project „Involving parents in the prevention of early school leaving“. The duration of the project is from January 2013 until April 2015. Besides Tallinn, also Antwerp, Stockholm, Gijon, The Hague, Munich, Usti nad Labem and Sofia participated in this project, the lead partner was the Nantes City in France.

The project was necessary because there are children who belong to risk groups in all participating cities and early school leaving causes subsequent social and economic problems. The partners decided to share their best practice and develop new measures in order to ensure acquisition of basic education by each student who starts school.

European education researchers and practicians are aware that the role of parents in the prevention of early school leaving is a very important, perhaps even main instrument for its decrease. Schools have to find solutions for several issues in the creation and strengthening of cooperation with parents: how to make the partnership with parents more sustainable, how to 3

involve parents in educational activities in schools, how to plan outdoor studies, incl. in enterprises, etc. by involving parents, how to involve other actors of the field of education who would involve parents in their turn, etc. It is important to review the possibilities of local governments for supporting schools and other stakeholders either by the coordination of these activities or financing of different activities, such as training, campaigns or events.

The aim of the project was to share experience and skills of partner cities on the methods of reduction of early school leaving, identify the best practice and present recommendations.

The following schools in Tallinn participated in the project „Involving parents in the prevention of early school leaving“:

1. Kalamaja Põhikool (Kalamaja Basic School) 2. Tallinna Kuristiku Gümnaasium (Kuristiku Gymnasium of Tallinn) 3. Tallinna Südalinna Kool (Tallinn Südalinna School) 4. Tallinna Mustamäe Humanitaargümnaasium (Tallinn Mustamäe School of Humanities) 5. Tallinna Kristiine Gümnaasium (Tallinn Kristiine Grammar School) (since autumn 2013; until then Merivälja Kool (Merivälja Basic School) participated).

The Local Action Plan has been prepared in cooperation between these schools and Tallinn Education Department.

Description of the current situation

There are 61 municipal schools in Tallinn in the 2014/15 academic year, three of which are adult upper secondary schools. Students at the basic school age study at 58 schools.

Prevention of early school leaving is among the priorities of the European Union. The Lisbon Strategy and the EU 2020 Strategy have set the goal of reducing early school leaving rates to below 10%. The average respective EU indicator in 2008 was 15%.

Although early school leaving rates have decreased in Tallinn and are approaching the zero level, for instance, 27 students (0.067%) dropped out of basic school in the 2013/2014 academic year, the aim is to achieve that no student would drop out of a basic school. Missing single lessons continues to be a problem, also absence with the permission of parents. This reduces participation of students in school work and creates communication problems between students. Tallinn Education Department analysed absences without a reason in Tallinn in the 2013/2014 academic year on the basis of the information registered in the eSchool system. The average number of absences without a reason per student turned out to be 3 lessons in Years 1 to 3, 7,3

lessons in Years 4 to 6 and already 32,3 lessons in Years 7 to 9. The number of absences without a reason dramatically increases at the last stage of basic school.

Absence from studies is only allowed with a good reason in Estonia. The school evaluates whether reasons for absence from studies can be deemed as justified. Justified reasons for absence from lessons are sickness of a student or provision of health care services to the student, also impassable way to school or other force majeure, including the weather conditions set out in the Minister of Social Affairs Regulation on the basis of clause 8 (2) 3) of the Public Health Act which make absence from studies justified; important family reasons; other reasons regarded as justified by the school. A school establishes the procedure for notification of one’s absence in the internal rules of the school and is obliged to keep records of absences from studies, draw up summaries at least once every quarter of academic year and notify the parent of the summary.

All schools notify parents of their requirements, of results of the studies of the student, etc. and offer opportunities for cooperation to parents. The conventional forms of cooperation are school parents meetings and class parents meetings, development interviews, notifications in the form of letters, publications, students’ study journals and school web site, participation of parents in outings and other outdoor forms of studies for additional ensuring of the security of students. In addition, other forms of cooperation have been used in the recent years, such as participation in round tables organised on different topics, etc. As a case study of the activities organised with parents in the schools of Tallinn we will describe below the cooperation with parents conducted in the course of the project in the schools which participated in the project.

Cooperation with parents in the Tallinn schools participating in the project

In Tallinna Südalinna Kool the cooperation with parents starts already before children start school in the first year. The preschool teacher gets acquainted with the parents and informs them of the requirements of the school, etc. Every year an Open Day and Information Day are organised for the children coming to school and their parents. At the beginning of the school year and in spring the general meetings of parents are organised, followed by meetings of each class. Class meetings are also held more often, if necessary. We organise a brief lecture on topical subjects as a part of the general meeting held for parents in autumn. Besides, we organise a training for parents once a year to discuss issues related to education of children with problems. Annual events are held for parents, such as the Family Sports Day, Fathers’ Day, Christmas Party, Mothers' Day concert, Health Week, etc.

The school follows the principle that a parent should be able to communicate directly with teachers, with the support staff and members of the administration. Parents acquire information on the activities of the school from the school web site, eSchool, from the mailing lists of parents and of the class. Development interviews with children and parents are held once a year in all classes. Many parents assist in the organisation and conduction of events for both the class and the whole school. Parents have been involved in both the conduction of lessons of different subjects and organisation of support studies. Parents of the best students are invited to the reception of the headmaster of school every spring for their recognition. Besides, students and parents are assisted by a specialist of social pedagogy and a speech therapist, if necessary. The speech therapist tests all first year pupils during the first couple of weeks and starts corrective studies immediately to achieve a uniform level of the class. Parents are informed of the need of the child to get assistance, monitoring of the pupil is started (documented) and consultations are provided to the parent. Additional Estonian lessons and support from Estonian language teachers have been provided to new immigrants. Every class teacher and subject teacher is obliged to notice problems of each student and refer them to the next level (special educational needs coordinator). In more complicated cases the class teacher conducts an interview with the child and the parent, involving the support staff and the school administration, if necessary. At the proposal of the special educational needs coordinator (director of studies), round tables are organised with students who lag behind from studies and do not behave properly, and with their parents, to discuss the origin of the problems, find solutions, apply measures and reach agreements. The school offers assistance and support to parents in solving problems and finding solutions. It cooperates with the child protection specialist of the local municipality, Juvenile Committee and the Tallinn Education Department. If necessary, the administration provides consultations to the child and the parents, giving recommendations on how to proceed (e.g. identification of appropriate amateur activities, continuing studies in a vocational school). The best results until now have been achieved as a result of cooperation with local government specialists, the support system and the home, and students who have encountered difficulties have graduated from the basic school.

Tallinna Kristiine Gümnaasium has stopped organising general meetings of parents as these were focused on too general topics. Parents are more interested in specific information on their children. Instead of general meetings, meetings for parents are held in smaller groups which are set up depending on the need to provide information and on the relevance of the topics for the target group. Twice a year the mothers and fathers of students present their job- related experience. Numerous joint events are held. Web-based satisfaction surveys are conducted at the school among students and teachers of Years 6 to 12 and all parents 6

concerning the organisation of studies, security, meals, harassment, movement of information and cooperation with the School Board. In the future it will be necessary to become more familiar with different cultural backgrounds to organise better cooperation with the parents of new immigrants. Development interviews are conducted with students and parents, the parents can contact class teachers, subject teachers and the school administration at any time with any questions.

A happy student of the Tallinna Kristiine Gümnaasium:  comes to school gladly, feels good at school  has friends  finds the school interesting, experiences success and recognition  has everything in good order at home and gets support from home.

A relaxed and active child induces confidence in the school in parents and provides a sense of security. Therefore the school has stopped holding general meetings for parents in order to obtain closer contacts, as such meetings were focused on too general topics. Meetings are held for all parallel classes together and with the participation of a representative of the administration. Parents are more interested in specific information on their children. Meetings intended for smaller groups have also provided opportunities for mutual communication of parents in addition to sharing information. Identification of common positions, participation in the organisation of study trips and events for students, finding common solutions for problems has improved the feeling of “own school” and “own class”. Parents participate in school activities.

The school has a close connection with the kindergartens of the city district. Teachers and the director of studies participate in the meetings of parents, explaining the values, mission, vision and curriculum of the school. Introduction of the school to parents of children who attend the pre-school takes place during the last week of February.

Twice a year the mothers and fathers of students present their job-related experience. Meetings “Alumni at school” are traditionally organised during the whole academic year. Numerous joint events are held. Regular web-based satisfaction surveys are held for students of Years 6 to 12, teachers and parents. The subjects of the survey are organisation of studies, security, meals, harassment, movement of information and cooperation between different interest groups.

We continue the conduction of development interviews to obtain better contacts which the parents also expect from us. The guidelines have been developed and both the teacher and the parent are aware of them. It is important for a parent to get feedback on the development of the child and information about the teacher. The aim of the school is to find out the values of the family, interests of the child outside the school, and to identify the vision and expectations of the parent concerning the curriculum and organisation of studies at school.

Parents can contact the class teachers, subject teachers and members of school administration with their questions at any time.

Tallinna Mustamäe Humanitaargümnaasium regards workshops organised for parents as the most effective form of cooperation; these workshops consist in joint activities with teachers and discussions of topical educational and other issues. A survey is conducted among parents in autumn about the topics on which they wish to hold workshops. Last year (2013) the most interesting workshops were: practical (art) activities, reading difficulties of children, preservation of the mother tongue – how to support the Russian language (Russian is the language of instruction at the school, the workshop was for parents of children who had joined the Language Immersion Programme). Approximately 15% of parents participate in workshops. Feedback is provided after every workshop, and satisfaction survey is conducted among parents at the end of the academic year. In addition to workshops, Open Days are organised for parents – for Years 1 to 3 during the first quarter, for Years 4 to 6 in the 2nd quarter, for Years 7 to 9 and 10 to 12 in the 3rd quarter. Feedback is provided also after Open Days – usually in the form of written feedback after visiting lessons but the school provides an opportunity for reflexion at the meeting which takes place after visiting lessons.

Kalamaja Põhikool organises also „parents’ cafes“ to eliminate their prejudices and dreads about the school. Not the teachers but people from outside school deliver presentations at these events. As the atmosphere is relaxed, the parents get a good contact with the teacher after the presentation and talk more freely about their problems and ideas. Also conduction of workshops is used. First the parents are invited to an information hour. Later the parents choose a group („coffee room“) which is most interesting to them to join and which is on a topic interesting to them so that they can communicate with teachers and other parents.

Tallinna Kuristiku Gümnaasium organises workshops and training events for parents twice every academic year, and also Family Days are organised twice every academic year. A round table with the teaching staff is organised for the preparation of training events to agree on the organisers and responsible persons. Lists of the training events and workshops offered is drawn up and parents/caregivers are informed of the different choices through class teachers. An actual day of training events and workshops is planned on the basis of feedback received from parents through class teachers. Workshops and training events are organised, for instance, on the following topics: Teaching a child to read and development of reading skills in the first year; Development of work habits in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); School readiness and school maturity; Workshops on integration issues; Crafts to strengthen cooperation between fathers and sons; Computer training – use of eSchool, internet security, etc. There are also workshops on health topics and workshops on education and psychology, and groups of amateur activities are introduced (also a wrestling 8

club of fathers and sons) at workshops. Also several joint activities are organised at school: the School Folk Song and Dance Festival, celebration of Father’s Day, festive celebration of the birthday of the Republic of Estonia together with parents from bilingual families and subsequent discussions for the purpose of integration. In the framework of the „Back to School“ project the parents are able to contribute to school activities and speak about their education and on other interesting subjects. The improvement of the image of the school is noticeable. Increasingly more students want to study here then.

Objectives

The general goal is to contribute with project activities to the involvement of parents in school activities and to achieve the situation where no student drops out of basic school.

Objective 1: Schools have good conditions for the organisation of training for parents

Objective 2: Families are able to get timely competent support for the solution of the educational problems of their children

Objective 3: A parent gets positive feedback from the school about the child

Objective 4: Parents are involved in school activities and have a positive attitude towards the school as the cooperation partner

Objective 5: There is close cooperation between the school and the home.

Implementation Plan

Acronyms: O – objective, A– activity; ED – Tallinn Education Department; CG – City Government, SEN – special educational needs, SENC – Coordinator of students with special educational needs

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected result Status in 2014 Time of Responsible implementation persons of activity Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 15 16 17 18 19

O-1. Schools have good conditions for the organisation of training for parents on the following topics: how to teach to study; how to use all opportunities of e- School; which legislation concerns family obligations and issues related to studies A1.1 The City plans City departments The budget Parents will be aware Schools have x x x x x ED, budgetary funds plan in includes funds for of all opportunities limited financial school for the cooperation with the organisation of available in e-School resources for the adminis organisation of schools the trainings. and legislation organisation of trations training for volume of concerning them and training for teachers and training and plan the studies and welfare parents. Each parents on the financial of children, are able to school adopts necessary subjects. resources in the supervise the studies of separate budgetary funds. children. The welfare decisions on the and study results of organisation of students will improve, training, in compliance with cooperation with compulsory school NGOs and city attendance will district improve. governments and other partners.

A1.2 Creation of a The school sets Each school has a Cooperation of schools Cooperation x x x x x Heads cooperation up a working system for the with parents will with parents is of structure at school, group or uses coordination of improve, joint usually schools which focuses on present working cooperation with activities will be better coordinated by topical issues, such methods to parents. coordinated. the as values coordinate administration, education, cooperation with SENC and class consultation in parents in teachers. The education and different forms, effectiveness socio- such as varies by psychological workshops, round schools, there issues, support tables, etc. are sometimes system, etc. no systematic activities.

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected result Status in 2014 Time of Respon implementation sible of activity person Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 s 15 16 17 18 19

The school maps The working School Board has The school will receive Information is x x x x x Heads A1.3. the training wishes group mentioned discussed the information on the mainly gathered of of parents and in Item 1.2. topics of training training preferences of through schools takes care of cooperates with events necessary parents, more people satisfaction finding the trainers the School Board, for parents and has will participate in surveys and and financing administration sent them to the trainings, parents will through the possibilities. and other working group. have more knowledge work of the stakeholders. of education. School Board, the school organises the specific training events. A1.4 At the beginning The working Information hour Parents will be kept in The information x x x x x Heads of each academic group organises has been held at touch with innovations is mainly of year an an information the beginning of and new trends in provided at the schools information hour is hour, parents are each academic school and education, general meetings organised for informed through year. and will be able to use of schools. parents on the e-School, school the information daily. topical social web site and issues related to mailing lists, the school or participants are education, an registered. overview is published on the school web site.

A1.5. Training is The working The training has Parents will have a The situation x x x x x Heads organised once a group organises been conducted. better overview of the varies by of year for new the training, study results of their schools. Some schools eSchool users. identifies new e- children and will be schools organise School users and able to communicate training on the sends them a with the school use of eSchool, personal through eSchool. others provide invitation for written participation in instructions. the training.

A1.6. Schools create a ED sets up a The web site of Parents and children Legislation on x x x ED, section on their working group each school will be aware of their the rights and Heads web site where which develops includes a section rights and obligations, obligations of of parents find the section and on legislation conflicts and children and schools important sends it to each concerning the misunderstandings will parents is legislation school for rights and decrease. available on the concerning the publishing on the obligations of web sites of rights and web site. parents and some schools. obligations of children. parents and children.

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected result Status in 2014 Time of Responsi implementation of ble activity persons Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 15 16 17 18 19

O.2. Families are able to get timely competent support for the solution of the educational problems of their children.

A2.1 A handbook is ED plans the The handbook has Satisfaction of There is no x x ED prepared by necessary been published, students with school handbook, compiling budgetary funds distributed to will improve, parents information is information on for the schools and is can cope better with received from different methods compilation and available on the education problems. specialists and of intervention and publishing of the web sites of the ED from different opportunities for handbook and and schools. sources of getting help with finds the literature. different problems. compilers and the publisher, distributes the published handbook to schools and it will be available as an e-book on the web sites of the ED and schools.

A2.2 Education ED finds At least one The school staff and Each school x x x x ED Department cooperation training for the city parents are able to decides itself supports schools in partners for the has been conducted notice problems in the topics of the organisation of financing and during the time and to solve trainings training for the city conduction of academic year. them. intended for on timely noticing training. teachers and of problems and Information parents and methods of about the conducts the intervention training is sent training, there to all schools in are no training Tallinn. events for the whole city.

A2.3 Each school The SENC of Contact Parents will know Contact x x x x x Heads of publishes the the school information of where to get information of schools contact information gathers the support specialists assistance, if support of support contact is available on the necessary, students specialists of specialists on their information of web site of each get competent the city district web site relevant support school. assistance in case of government specialists, problems. and other publishes it on specialists is the school web available on site and informs the web sites the parents of only a few through schools. eSchool, etc. of its availability.

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected result Status in 2014 Time of Responsible implementatio persons n of activity Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 15 16 17 18 19

A2.4 Training is ED plans The training has Study results and There is no x x x x ED organised for the budgetary funds been conducted. school satisfaction of training for SEN support for the teams of SEN students will SEN support specialists of the SEN support improve. specialists of city. specialists and the city, only for the financing the SENC of training Subject events and Committee has opportunities to been set up for share best the city. practice.

A2.5 The school The working Each school has Parents will have A parent does x x x x Heads of encourages parents group developed closer not feel a schools to communicate mentioned in principles for communication with partner at all with the school. Item 1.2. plans communication the school. schools when the best methods with a parent who contacting the for its school to has contacted the school. make parents school. feel welcome at school and as partners in educational work, and implements them.

A2.6 Child protection The school Each school has Problematic students Some schools x x x x Heads of officials of the city sends sent information on will improve their have close schools district and the information on problematic behaviour and study cooperation school have close problematic students results with the with specialists cooperation. students immediately to the assistance of of the city immediately to city district specialists of the city district the specialists of government, if district government. government, the city district necessary. others only and they have once a year. cooperation for solving problems.

A2.7 ED improves the ED in The school heads School heads will Description of x school heads cooperation with evaluation model is have more attention work with evaluation model to Tallinn School improved in the to the work with parents is value cooperation Heads section of “Public parents. generic in the with the parents Association Relations and school heads develops the Partnerships” evaluation criteria for the model. evaluation of school heads on their work with parents.

O.3. A parent gets positive feedback from the school about the child.

A3.1 A procedure for the The working A procedure for the Parents will receive Often only x x x x Heads of provision of group provision of not only negative but parents for schools feedback to parents mentioned in feedback on the also positive whose children on the progress and Item 1.2. behaviour and feedback on their negative behaviour of the develops a progress of each child from school. feedback child and solving procedure for student has been should be problems has been the provision of developed in each provided are agreed upon in feedback about school. contacted by schools. students and schools. implements it.

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected result Status in 2014 Time of Responsi implementation of ble activity persons Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 15 16 17 18 19

A3.2 Joint activities are The working group Workshops, cafes, Parents will feel Workshops for x x x x x Heads of organised at schools mentioned in Item etc. and other that school is parents, etc. schools which enable parents 1.2. prepares the activities in a their partner, and are organised to get positive plan of events to relaxed and will be more by only some experience be conducted friendly open and schools. during the atmosphere for cooperative in academic year and parents will be the solution of will prepare and organised at problems. conduct the school. activities together with class teachers . A3.3 The school regularly Class teachers A parent has been The behaviour Notification of x x x x Heads of informs the parent of inform parents of informed of the and study results the progress of schools the progress of the the development of progress of the of students will students is not child. the child through child at least once improve. systematic. e-School at least every quarter. once every quarter.

O 4 Parents trust the school and have a positive attitude towards the school as the cooperation partner.

A4.1. The school The school The system of Parents have Parents are x x x x Heads of recognises parents develops a system recognition has become good recognised schools for their contribution for the recognition been developed cooperation only at the end in school activities. of parents and and implemented. partners for the of the implements it. school. academic year, as a rule. A4.2 The school has The school head in The activities in a Parents will be Activities in a x x x x Heads of activities in a relaxed cooperation with relaxed atmosphere more closely relaxed schools atmosphere with the the working group take place at least connected with atmosphere participation of develops principles twice a year in at the school and take place parents, teachers and of the activities in least a half of have more only in a few the administration a relaxed Tallinn schools. opportunities to schools. and active atmosphere and be involved. organisations of the implements them. local community.

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected Status in 2014 Time of Responsibl result implementation of e persons activity Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 15 16 17 18 19

A4.3. Schools conduct Open Days are Parents have the Parents will Open Days are x x x x x Heads of Open Days at held for parents, opportunity to understand the held at schools different stages of for instance register for school better different stages study during which during the 1st participation in and know how of studies in parents have the quarter in Years 1 Open Days, and to the studies are only a few opportunity to to 3, during the get and provide conducted. schools. observe studies. 2nd quarter in feedback. Years 4 to 6, during the 3rd quarter in Years 7 to 9 and 10 to 12. Parents register for participation and can later communicate with the school staff to provide and get feedback.

O-5. There is close cooperation between the school and the home

A5.1 The school organises Class teachers At least one event Parents will Almost all x x x x x Heads of joint activities for jointly prepare and for families has have closer schools schools families at each stage conduct the Family been held at each communicatio organise joint of studies once a Day, conference or school during the n with the events but not year. other event. academic year for school. systematically. each stage of studies.

A5.2. Parents are involved Parents are always Parents participate Parents can Usually the x x x x x Heads of in the organisation of invited to in the organisation participate in school staff schools joint events. participate in the of joint events. choosing the organises organisation of content of events. events intended for events and parents of the trainings and school. in their organisation.

A5.3. Parents (specialists of The positions of Parents will be Parents will be Parents are x x x x x Heads of different fields) are parents are heard involved in the more closely involved schools involved in the in the updating of preparation of connected through the development the Development strategic with the Board of activities of the Plan and documents. school and Trustees. school. preparation of have more other strategic opportunities documents either to be involved. in the form of a survey or other involvement.

No. OBJECTIVE INDICATOR Expected result Status in Time of Responsibl 2014 implementation of e persons the activity Activity Specific activity 20 20 20 20 20 15 16 17 18 19

A.5.4 Information materials ED plans The information Cooperation of There is no x ED are prepared for budgetary funds material is on the schools with such schools on methods for the preparation ED web site. parents will information of involvement and of information improve, joint material. different methods for materials in activities will be the organisation of electronic form better events and training based on best coordinated. for parents. practices and publishes the final materials on its web site.

Risks and risk management

Main risks which may set back the implementation of the action plan:

1. Parents have a high workload and have little spare time for cooperation with the school. Several different types of activities taking place at different times, also publishing of the same information on web sites have been included in the Local Action Plan to manage that risk. Therefore a parent can plan when to participate and in which activities.

2. Some parents are not interested in having cooperation with the school. The Local Action Plan includes an opportunity to contact support specialists. If a parent fails to do that, the school can interfere and refer the child to a support specialist itself.

3. Lack of resources for the implementation of the activities. The Local Action Plan contains several activities which do not require financial resources. However, for instance, failure to finance training and publications may have a significant effect on the success of implementation of the Local Action Plan.

4. Lack of time of teachers and the school administration. Activity 1.2. provides for setting up a working group at school to coordinate communication with parents. This working group should include teachers who do not have an almost maximum workload and who wish to do such work. This will reduce the load of other teachers of the school in planning and organisation of communication with parents.

Summary

Tallinn’s Local Action Plan for 2015-2019 on including parents in the prevention of early pupil dropouts was compiled between 2013 and 2014 in Tallinn as part of the URBACT II programme project PREVENT. The compiling process included participants from five schools, all schools in Tallinn could comment on the document. The Local Action Plan contains an analysis of the methods used until now for the involvement of parents, the objectives set and the Implementation Plan prepared for the achievement of these objectives

The general goal is to contribute with project activities to the involvement of parents in school activities and to achieve the situation where no student drops out of basic school.

Objective 1: Schools have good conditions for the organisation of training for parents

7 activities have been planned for the achievement of this objective. Both the Tallinn Education Department and headmasters of schools are responsible for their implementation.

Objective 2: Families are able to get timely competent support for the solution of the educational problems of their children

6 activities have been planned for the achievement of this objective. Both Tallinn Education Department and heads of schools are responsible for their implementation.

Objective 3: Parents receive positive feedback from the school regarding their child.

3 activities have been planned for the achievement of this objective. Heads of schools are responsible for their implementation.

Objective 4: Parents are involved in school activities and have a positive attitude towards the school as the cooperation partner.

3 activities have been planned for the achievement of this objective. Heads of schools are responsible for their implementation.

Objective 5: There is close cooperation between the school and the home.

4 activities have been planned for the achievement of this objective. Headmasters of schools are responsible for their implementation.

Four risks have been pointed out in the Action Plan, which may set back the achievement of the objectives, and opportunities for the alleviation or management of these risks have been indicated.

Risks:

1. 1. Parents have a high workload and have little spare time for cooperation with the school. To mitigate this risk, there are various tasks planned at different times, and information is also duplicated on homepages. Parents can then plan which activities to participate in.

2. Some parents are not interested in having cooperation with the school. The action plan includes the opportunity to communicate with support specialists. If parents do not do so, schools may intervene and send the pupil to see a support specialist.

3. Lack of resources for the implementation of the activities. To mitigate this risk, several activities are included which do not require any outlays. Nonetheless, leaving trainings and publications without financial support may have a significant effect on the success of applying the action plan.

4. Lack of time of teachers and the school administration. Activity 1.2 is intended to mitigate this risk as it sees the formation of a working group in schools which coordinates communication with parents. Teachers whose work loads are not 100% and might have interested in coordination should be directed to join this working group. In this case, the work load from planning and organizing communication with parents is reduced for other teachers at the school.

The Implementation Plan includes activities for the years 2015–2019.