Martine van der Pluijm

81 Creating partnerships – a formative evaluation the bicycle… and about what she did at school. ” Some parents reported that they had learned new things themselves, like words or reading. A parent with a child in grade 1 said: “ I don’t know so many words in Dutch myself. So, we learn together, my child and I .” However, some parents seemed to adopt a school type of support at home for their young children. Some parents made a schedule to do activities when their child arrived home from school. A parent with a child in grade 1: “ He knows what to do when he gets home: reading and homework (given by the parent educator). An hour. Eating. Homework.” Parents evaluated teachers’ efforts to build SFPs as positive. They valued teachers’ efforts to communicate with them and to involve them in the classroom. All parents were aware that the teachers invested more in parents compared to other teachers in the school or at other schools. A parent with a child in kindergarten noted: “ I really like my child’s teacher. She’s kind, open to me and my child. She explains things to me and shows me what my child learns. But I don’t like all the teachers. Some don’t even say hello when they see you.” A parent with a child in grade 1: “ I have a friend, her daughter goes to a school across the street, and she’s not even allowed to enter her daughter’s classroom. She hardly ever speaks with the teacher. That’s really different. Why?” Parents agreed that these relationships with teachers are important and should become core practice. Some parents wondered why schools did not invest more in parents. Parents also had suggestions. At the top of their list was more homework. Several parents of children in preschool or kindergarten suggested starting with real homework such as learning words, and parents with children in grades 1 and 2 suggested givingmore different assignments (e.g., counting) and language classes (e.g., English). A parent with a child in grade 1 said: “ I know that homework helps my child to perform better.” Finally, parents said that they hoped that the school would continue the partnerships because they thought they were useful. One of the parents said: “ I feel welcome, that’s important to me. ” How can school teams continue their SFPs in support of children’s language development? (research question 4) The interviews helped us to evaluate whether the three school teams wished to continue their work with the prototype and what they would need for a follow-up. This evaluation resulted in opportunities, needs, and suggestions for phased continuation. The teams agreed that continuing to work with the prototype was important, given the improved partnerships with parents. These improvements were reported by teachers and were confirmed by the principals. One of the school principals reported: “ We always hoped parents would come to us. The door is open. But parents have their reasons not to enter. I think this is changing. I see more parents coming into our doors now.” The teams agreed that working with the prototype had developed their knowledge and abilities. An important aspect was