ABSTRACT
The activities of PTAs, more open access to school and better channels of communication with parents, the appointment of parent governors - all these things helped to break down the 'them and us' mentality so prevalent for so long and made it possible for a new kind of parent involvement. Ever since the mid-seventies increasing numbers of parents have been coming into school as classroom helpers. This development is by no means without its critics, since it coincided with an increase in educational cuts. Yet moral scruples about parents working alongside teachers as unpaid aides can be looked at from another perspective. Parents identify a wide range of benefits both for themselves and their children and are seldom, if ever, unwilling to take part in this kind of venture.
