Partnerships with Parents

Below you will find information on our DEIS plan for partnerships with parents. The co-ordinator for this pillar is Fiona Healy.

Rationale for our Partnership with Parents Targets:

We pride ourselves at Mercy Inchicore in connecting with parents in many formal and informal ways.This has happened through annual Christmas markets, welcoming ceremonies, open nights, parent classes, hairdressing for parents, graduation ceremonies amongst many others. Parents have the understanding that the school and the wider community is here to support their child. True engagement and progression only occurs when the relationship between home and school is genuine and balanced. Our targets below are aimed at our EAL parents, the parents of our poor attenders and the parents of our 2nd year groups with SEN needs. Strong partnerships with parents are essential for improving school attendance because they help identify barriers early, build trust, and create a shared commitment to student success. This is often done through the provision of supports such as HSCL and School Completion (SCP). We also recognise that we have a significant cohort of parents who have recently arrived in Ireland and are without the knowledge of how our systems work. It is important to us that we work with these families to support them through the changes and challenges they are experiencing so that they and their child can feel welcome in our school.

Target

Identify all students with 10 or more days absent by the October mid-term and meet with their parents/guardians to address attendance and early support strategies: Meet at least 80% of parents/guardians by the end of November in Year 1, Increase to 90% in Year 2 and Increase to 95% in Year 3
Invite parents of second-year students with an average standardised test score between 85–90 to a reading workshop. Year 1: Second-year students only, Year 2: Expand to include 1st-year students and Year 3: Target all Junior Cycle students
Improve communication and engagement with EAL parents by translating key school documents and monthly updates into top home languages: Year 1: 5 essential school documents + monthly newsletters translated into the top 1 home language other than English, Year 2: 5 additional key school documents + all monthly updates translated into the top 2 home languages and Year 3: 5 more key school documents + all monthly updates translated into the top 3 home languages

Timeline

October 2025 — Identify students with 10+ days absent

November 2025 — Meet with at least 80% of parents/guardians of identified students

Year 1 (2025/26) — Translate 5 essential school documents and monthly newsletters into top 1 home language; invite parents of target 2nd-year students to reading group

Year 2 (2026/27) — Meet with 90% of parents/guardians of students with 10+ absences; translate 5 additional key school documents and all monthly updates into top 2 home languages; expand reading group to include 1st-year students

Year 3 (2027/28) — Meet with 95% of parents/guardians of students with 10+ absences; translate 5 more key school documents and all monthly updates into top 3 home languages; reading group targets all Junior Cycle students

Monitoring and Review

Inset targets here

Evaluation

Inset targets here

Actions

Partnership with Parents

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