Sending a parent something useful, in half a minute

The whole of it

1. Go to theparentbook.com/staff and enter your school email address. A sign-in link arrives; it lasts long enough to use and no password is involved.
2. Pick the concern from the board, or type what you would say out loud: worry, screens, meltdowns, bedtime, divorce, exams.
3. Press Send on whatever you want the parent to have. Add their first name and a line from you if you like. Copy the link, or let it open an email.

The parent gets a page with your school’s name on it, not a login screen and not a bill.

What you can send

• A one-page pack.For any of the subjects we cover: what to do first, what helps, three things to try, and who else can help. The single most useful thing to hand a worried parent, and the one to reach for if you only ever use one.
• A signposting sheet.The organisations we would send a parent to on that subject, what each one does, when it is the right call, and the number to ring.
• A chapter.Fifteen to twenty minutes on one situation, with narration if the parent would rather listen.
• A quick tip.One idea, one minute. Usually the right thing to send on a Tuesday afternoon.
• An activity.Something to do together, with the steps written out.
• A book, a podcast or a short film.Sent as a recommendation, with the reason attached, rather than dressed up as our own writing.
• Up to five of the above, as one link.Tick Add on anything and send the set together.

Three things worth knowing

• Write nothing about the child.The parent’s first name and your line are optional, and both appear on a page with a public web address that the parent can forward to anyone. Treat the box the way you would treat a postcard, not a case note. Your school’s safeguarding record is the place for anything about a child.
• Filter by age.Pre-prep and prep, secondary, or sixth form and beyond, so what you are offered fits the child you have in mind.
• You can print instead.Every pack and every signposting sheet prints cleanly on one or two sides, for the parent who would rather be handed a piece of paper at the door.

What it does not do

It is not a referral, it is not a record, and it is not therapy. It does not replace anything in your safeguarding process, and it is not somewhere to write a concern down. If you are worried about a child, the route is the one your school already has.