It's very worrying when children suffer because teachers and parents seem unable to work together

Dorit Braun Parentline

According to a survey of 400 parents who called the charity's helpline with school-related concerns, 45% said they had no communication with schools or felt teachers dismissed their concerns when raised.

The most significant problem was bullying (54%), but concerns about how to support children in their homework, how to prevent them playing truant and how to avoid school exclusions were significant.

More than 50% of the parents questioned in the survey were calling about a teenager.

Bullying

Over one-quarter of parents (28%) who tried to talk to their school about serious problems, like bullying, felt the school was not interested in their concerns.

Parentline Plus chief executive Dorit Braun said: "Many parents find it difficult to talk to teachers about their children's problems at school and the response from some schools is making things worse."

"It's very worrying when children suffer prolonged bullying and get no support with their feelings about things like family breakdown or bereavement, because teachers and parents seem unable to work together."

Website

Parentline Plus is holding a national conference in London on Thursday.

The charity takes calls from parents seeking advice

Teachers and other education professionals from across Britain will examine a range of initiatives which can help parents and schools provide more support for children.

A new website, providing information for parents on tackling homework issues and bullying problems, will also be launched.

The charity offers support to approximately 100,000 parents each year.

In September the charity expanded its service with the help of a �180,000 government grant.

The number for Parentline Plus is: 0808 800 2222