The Communicating About Character workshop aims to support parents and teachers to have a conversation, as equals, about character and young people; it also gives parents and teachers an opportunity to identify shared concerns and priorities in relation to character education. Developed as part of the Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Character Education project, the workshop was piloted in 11 schools across England and found to be a beneficial, and enjoyable experience.
In delivering the workshop it is hoped schools can develop positive, collaborative relationship with parents and carers for the benefit of the character development of pupils.
The workshop should be delivered to a mixed group of parents and teachers by a facilitator. Ideally, there should be equal numbers of parents and teachers, or as close to this as possible. Facilitators would benefit from an understanding of character education and experience of working with parents. The workshop has been designed to last approximately 60 minutes and suggested timings for the activities are on the plan. The plan is a guide and facilitators may wish to adapt it to meet the particular needs of their group or school.
The following resources are available to download:
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- a detailed workshop plan with printable resources;
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- the accompanying PowerPoint.
It is recommended that you look at the A Framework for Character Education in Schools ahead of delivering the workshop. If you would like to enhance your knowledge of character education, prior to delivering the workshop, the Jubilee Centre has produced a free, online CPD course which you can register for here.
If you have any questions about delivering the workshop, the materials or any feedback, please contact us at jubileecentre@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Further information about the research project, through which the workshop was developed, is available here.