For example, parents of very young children who might use the school in the future, parents from the ethnic minorities who may require help with translation, parents who might use out of school care. In a small school, you may be able to find out the views of all parents. In a large school, you might have to decide on asking only a proportion of all parents. You must be clear about who is to know these views. For example, if it is the teaching staff it may be best to discuss your findings at an open meeting.
Consultation can take a long time.
Setting up public meetings, designing questionnaires, collating responses, and making sense of them, all have to be planned carefully. It is important to estimate how many people will be involved in carrying out the consultation. You may have to allocate a budget to pay for people's time on this, especially if you need help from outside the school. It is a good idea to work closely with the PTA when you are consulting parents. You will have to think about how accurate your findings need to be.