The Parent Engagement Program

Initiative Description: Text messages being sent directly by schools—via their existing school information management system (‘SIMS’, Schoolcomms or similar system)—to parents’ mobile phones at specific time-points and intervals during the school year. Parents were not made aware of the specific type of text content to expect, but rather that they would receive text messages about their child’s progress in school. Texts included: advance notice of any upcoming tests; notice of missing homework; and brief updates on what their child learned in their lessons, with conversational prompts

Study Results: Children who had the intervention had reduced absenteeism compared to other children. This positive result is unlikely to have occurred by chance.

Reference: Miller, S; Davison, J; Yohanis, J; Sloan, S; Gildea, A; Thurston, A. (2017) Texting Parents: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary. Education Endowment Foundation. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED581121.pdf

Level of Evidence: Very Good