Parents and teachers are often cast as partners in a child’s learning.

Educators seek parental involvement at schools and mums, dads and grand­parents are regular fixtures at social, educational, sporting and cultural events.

Within the classrooms and playgrounds schools encourage a reflection of the societal values found in our homes. When it comes to the world and the way things work, kids expect their ­parents to know everything.

Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.   And sometimes they know how to do something the way it was taught decades earlier.

Many a well-meaning parent has reduced a child to tears by trying to show them their old-fashioned way.

The resulting frustration of the parent and confusion of the child can lead to many things – a parent’s reluctance to engage, a child’s loss of confidence and a general aversion to tackling educational concerns together.

The Department of Education and Communities has recognised a need for consistency in message and parental engagement on that most fraught of battlegrounds – homework.

The School A to Z phone app is a welcome path for parents who want to get on the same page as their kids.

The app is a free download, is available for Apple and android devices and covers a plethora of topics.

It also offers parents the opportunity to model self-directed learning. Express curiosity. Seek answers. Grow their knowledge, for pleasure.

These opportunities are ultimately as important as offering timely and consistent educational tutelage.

And the end result? Parents might not know everything, but they can find out.