Parents, Teachers and the Pandemic – Lessons from the COVID experience in Wales for home-school partnerships

The home-schooling of children during the Covid-19 pandemic shifted the familiar interactions of schools and parents into a new, online reality and forced a reconsideration of accepted and sometimes entrenched attitudes. This paper investigates the perspectives on the lived experiences of parents and teachers as they negotiated the home-learning period, drawing out themes that emphasise the factors necessary for effective home-school relationships and for stakeholder interactions. These messages provide valuable learning that is relevant for home-school relations in the post-COVID era. The necessity of clear knowledge and understanding, relational partnerships and effective communication are central to the outcomes and conclusions.