The dreaded ‘how to tell a parent, their child has been misbehaving’ is something no teacher looks forward to doing, but there’s no shying away from it. New guidelines suggest giving parents good news first and keeping ‘in touch’ before delivering criticisms about their child. Government’s behaviour tsar Tom Bennett has recommended staff ‘build bridges you don’t yet need’ to assist them when they must speak to families during the ‘bad times’.

He claims teachers should phone parents to praise their children in case they ever need to criticise them. Mr Bennett, who advises Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, said: ‘Some parents only hear from the school when their little dumpling has been caught with fireworks and tobacco in their pencil case’. ‘How often do we contact home to say that things are going well, or have improved, or even something brilliant has happened – an exceptional piece of homework, a target met, a good deed performed?’ We believe it’s much more beneficial know your dealing with so that you can tailor conversations accordingly. The former teacher made the claims in a booklet, Managing Difficult Behaviour in Schools, which is published by public service union, Unison. ‘I know that we don’t have much by way of spare time but I guarantee that if you phone home in the good times, when it comes to the bad times, you’ll have an emotional bank account ready.’

In the booklet, Mr Bennett stresses it is important for teachers to make a personal connection with parents they may have difficult conversations with in the future. ‘If you think you’ll ever need to call home, then take some time to introduce yourself to some of the families,’ he said. ‘These children don’t spring from nothingness; they have an origin, a history and a family. Talk to the families; ask them if you need to know anything special about the student that will help you deal with them. ‘This might be on the school gates as the pupils enter, or filling out forms on open evenings, or as they wait in the reception to collect children. But use the time to build bridges you don’t need yet.’ Mr Bennett also warned that ‘too many people in schools view parents as inconveniences’ when the vast majority of mothers and fathers are concerned for the ‘educational well-being’ of their child. He said: ‘The practical ability to be able to do this, for most teachers, is going to be extremely difficult, particularly in secondary schools where teachers are in contact with usually in excess of 150 different pupils a week.’ Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education and a former head teacher, said it was not ‘feasible’ for teachers to make daily phone calls to parents. But he insisted that regular contact with families is important as the ‘vast majority’ want to support schools. He said: ‘The relationship with parents is absolutely crucial. I think we need a slight change in terms of secondary schools - they need to be more open to parents and more willing to engage with parents.’ We’ve put together our top 10 tips on how to become a successful teacher in the classroom, so hopefully you won’t need to make too many of those dreaded calls.