We hear a lot (rightly) in education about pupil voice – but where are your parent voices? Parents and carers are at the heart of every school community. Their experiences, feedback and perspectives shape how schools grow and improve. When used thoughtfully, parent voice can also play an important role on your school website, helping to build trust, strengthen communication and support prospective families who are getting to know your school for the first time.

Now is a good time to reflect on how parent voice is currently represented online and how it could be used more effectively using the tools already available within your Greenhouse School Websites CMS (admin login).

Why parent voice matters online

When families visit a school website, they are not only looking for information. They are also trying to understand what the school feels like and whether it will be the right fit for their child. Hearing directly from other parents can be reassuring in a way that formal content cannot always achieve.

Parent voice helps to:

• Build trust through authentic experiences
• Reinforce your school’s values and ethos
• Support families who are new to the school or considering applying

Used well, it adds warmth and credibility to your website content.

Identify where parent voice already exists

Many schools already collect valuable parent feedback but it may not be visible on the website. Take a moment to review what you already have.

This might include:

• Parent survey comments
• Feedback from inspections
• Testimonials gathered during the admissions process
• Quotes from parent forums or PTA groups

Within your website pages, this content can often be repurposed and shared in small, manageable ways without creating new pages from scratch.

Parent voice is most effective when placed thoughtfully rather than grouped into one long page that may not be widely visited. Consider adding short quotes to admissions pages to support prospective families. You could also add them to homepage sections to create a welcoming first impression. Short, well-chosen quotes often work better than long testimonials and are easier to keep up to date.

Keep content authentic and relevant

Parents respond best to language that feels genuine and specific. When selecting quotes or feedback to share, look for comments that reflect everyday experiences rather than general praise. For example, feedback about communication, support, teaching or the wider school community often resonates strongly with other families.

Use parent voice to support key messages

Parent feedback can be particularly effective when it reinforces important messages you already share on your website.

You might:

• Pair curriculum information with a parent comment about learning
• Support wellbeing content with feedback about pastoral care
• Add parent perspectives alongside enrichment or extracurricular pages

This approach helps bring your written content to life and makes it more relatable.

Refresh and rotate content over time

Parent voice should feel current. Using new terms as a review point allows you to remove older quotes that no longer feel relevant and add new feedback from recent surveys or events. Rotate content across different pages to keep the website fresh. Our easy-to-use CMS makes it easy to update text regularly, ensuring parent voice continues to reflect your school as it is today.

Plan for the future

Using parent voice effectively is not a one-off task. It works best as part of an ongoing approach to communication. As you look ahead, consider how parent feedback could continue to shape your website. Some schools build it into annual updates, others align it with admissions cycles or school improvement priorities. Think also about opportunities to gather more feedback – Open Days, school fayres, events, discos, and maybe even having a comments box near reception for use any time of the year. 

By making parent voice a natural part of your website content, you create a site that feels open, welcoming and reflective of your community. Parents like to see that their input and experience is important, just like pupils do!

Your website is one of your most visible communication tools. When parent voice is used thoughtfully and consistently, it adds depth and reassurance that formal content alone cannot provide.