Learning together national action plan: update

Checklist for education authorities

The following checklist sets out a number of questions for education authorities to consider when developing parental involvement strategies in line with the statutory duties of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006.

Developing a strategy

This links to S2 of the Act: strategy for parental involvement.

• What arrangements do you have in place to develop or review, a strategy for parental involvement?
• How do you involve parents in the process of developing or reviewing your strategy?
• How do you consult children and young people about the strategy?
• Have you consulted other stakeholders in developing or reviewing your strategy?

Promoting parental involvement

This links to S1 and S2 of the Act: duty to promote parental involvement and strategies to include reference to equal opportunities and looked after children.

• Does your strategy take into account the four areas of the Learning Together Plan?:

• parental involvement
• parental engagement
• family learning
• learning at home
• Does your strategy seek to address the range of factors which may discourage parental involvement?
• Does it outline how your authority and schools work with parents who find it difficult to support their children’s education due to family circumstances?
• Does it take account of the needs of looked after children (as defined in legislation) and care experienced children and young people (as set out in The Promise)?
• How does the strategy promote diversity and equal opportunities and take account of the needs of minority groups in your local area?
• Does your strategy make links with the authority’s duties under other relevant legislation, e.g. Education (Scotland) Act 2016 or Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004?
• Does your strategy make appropriate links with other relevant policy areas, e.g. Additional Support for Learning, Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing, Curriculum for Excellence or the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)?
• How does your strategy take account of the training and development needs of school staff and others working with children and their families?

Establishing and supporting Parent Councils

This links to S5 and S6 of the Act: Parent Forum and Parent Councils.

• What does your authority do to make parents aware of their membership of the Parent Forum and what this means?
• How does your authority promote and support Parent Councils in your area?
• How do you ensure that parent representatives are informed of the education authority’s duties to promote parental involvement?
• Are parent representatives able to identify what they need to carry out their functions and access appropriate resources?
• What does your authority do to assist parent representatives to ascertain the views of the wider Parent Forum?
• What training and information does your authority offer for parent representatives, in particular, those involved in the appointments process for senior staff?

Communicating the strategy

This links to S3 and S4 of the Act: strategy to inform education authority's improvement plans and school development plans.

• Do local authority staff have a general knowledge of the parental involvement legislation and the authority’s duties to promote this?
• Do appropriate local authority, school staff and support staff have sound knowledge of the provisions of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 and Scottish Government guidance supporting the Act?
• Do all school development plans include parental involvement?
• How are parents made aware of the strategy and how do they access it?
• Does your strategy acknowledge other languages including British Sign Language (BSL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Gaelic or Scots?

Monitoring and reviewing the strategy

This links to S2(3) of the Act: an education authority to review its strategy from time to time.

• How does your strategy link to Education Scotland’s Strategic Framework for Parental Involvement, Parental Engagement, Family Learning and Learning at Home?
• Does the strategy include arrangements to monitor and evaluate the impact of your authority’s policies on parental involvement
• What do you do to consider and respond to parents’ expectations and views on how they are involved in school education?

‘Child’s voice’ statements

Children and young people should have the opportunity to describe things from their point of view.

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that “all children have a right to have their voices heard and taken into account”.

‘Child’s voice’ statements are a useful way of gaining the perspective of children and young people, engaging with them, and valuing their views, wishes and feelings.

In conjunction with the checklist, the following set of ‘child’s voice’ statements are a selection of examples for education authorities to consider in developing parental involvement strategies:

• “I like to, and want to, talk about my learning at school with my parents / carers / family.”
• “I want my parents / carers / family to support me in my learning.”
• “I have positive relationships with my teachers.”
• “I feel supported to express my feelings / emotions at school.”
• “I feel engaged and involved in how I learn at school.”
• “I am supported and challenged in my learning.”
• “I want to learn new skills, including the use of technology, in my learning.”
• “I want to share my opinions about how and what I learn at school.”
• “I feel engaged and involved in other aspects of school life, including sports, arts and crafts, and other fun activities.”