Talking about meetings
Meetings about support can be a source of stress and anxiety, so it can be helpful to think about how best to start the conversation.
Meetings are a good way of making sure all voices are heard when planning a child’s support at school.
For care experienced children and young people, it can be especially helpful as a means of ensuring the voices of all a child’s supporters are included.
Here, we share some conversation starters to help get a meeting in place and get everyone prepared to engage with the process.
What’s the focus?
💬 “We’ve noticed that Ali is finding Maths particularly difficult, so it would be good to talk about strategies to better support him in those classes.”
💬 “Charlotte and I have spoken about the move. Understandably, she says she’s feeling a bit anxious about it. Can we talk about how we can support her through this transition at school?”
A child’s support at school can be a huge topic, so taking time to think about what the priorities are can be really helpful. It might help to think about any specific events or circumstances that have impacted the child recently, as well as what the main priorities are for their learning right now.
Sharing these ideas ahead of the meeting can help ensure that everyone knows what the meeting will focus on.
Here are some ways that you could think about communicating this:
💬 “The biggest barrier to their learning at the moment is…”
💬 “Currently, I’m most concerned about…”
💬 “My child feels that…”
💬 “I noticed that their behaviour seemed to change when…”
Who’s who?
💬 “Maria doesn’t want to come along, but she’s spent some time with her social worker Chris writing down what she’d like us to know about her National 5 choices.”
💬 “I know that Mr Boyd has been working with Kai in quite a few subjects, so could we invite him to the meeting? It would be great to hear his perspective as I know Kai really trusts him.”
Children and young people, and their parents and carers, have the right to have their views heard. For care experienced children and young people, it can also be valuable to include other supporting adults.
Children don’t have to attend meetings, but their views should always be included. It’s also important to consider who has understanding that can help with the focus of the meeting, and how the voices of those who can’t attend will be included.
💬 “It’s important that … can attend, as they’ve been working closely with them on this.”
💬 “Please can you be sure to include…”
💬 “They have asked that their social worker can attend because…”
💬 “My son has asked whether we can invite…”
Setting a date and time
💬 “I’m available on Tuesday mornings, any time from 9am – 11.30am. I could also do after school (3pm onwards) on Wednesdays or Thursdays.”
💬 “For those unable to attend, please could you send any reflections or comments to the agenda by Friday afternoon, so these can be included in the discussion.”
Finding a time that works for everyone can be difficult. Being flexible and offering options can help to ensure that as many people as possible can attend, or contribute some other way.
Some ideas for how to say this might be:
💬 “I’m available at the following days and times…”
💬 “Would you be able to meet me on…”
💬 “As they can’t attend, could I ask that they share their thoughts via email?”
💬 “They have shared the report with me, so I can bring it to the meeting.”
More about meetings
🔗 Check out our conversation starters for Talking to children about missing school
▶️ Hear tips from a teacher about Making school a welcoming place
▶️ Watch our short Navigate video about Making connections
