Reference.

[bright sparks]

In the past I have just given the names and numbers of past parents (with their permission!) to the parent wanting a reference. I have had one parent offer to type a letter for me but I think a written letter is better because a typed letter could be a "fake" one and as a parent I would maybe question the authenticity of a typed letter.

Now, I have decided to use my current parents as references via phone numbers (and permission of course) and than I will also show them the goodbye cards I have received from past parents. They are all hand written and have very touching and sincere comments in them so hopefully that is good for a reference. If they were wanting a past parent's reference via phone than I would just get in contact with one and ask if they were okay with this.

All of my written references finish with something like, "please feel free to contact me personally with ay further questions..." And then the parents name and contact number. I totally get what you are saying though, but find that this gives any suspicious minds the opportunity to follow up.