Parental Involvement and Engagement Census Scotland 2021/22

Key findings

Parental Involvement and Engagement Census Scotland: 2021/22

These are experimental statistics under development.

This statistical publication provides information on the Parental Involvement and Engagement Census 2021/22 in local authority schools in Scotland, conducted between January and June 2022.

These statistics are currently being developed and have been published to involve users and stakeholders in their development, and to build in quality and understanding at an early stage.

Key findings

• 59.7% of parents and carers agreed overall they are satisfied with how the school engages with them. Agreement is highest for primary schools (65.9%) and special schools/units (69.4%), and lowest for secondary schools (47.2%).
• overall, 67% of parent and carers agreed or strongly agreed the school keeps them well informed about their child's progress in a way they can understand. Agreement was higher for special schools/units (78.4%) and primary schools (71.1%) than for secondary schools (59.7%).
• just over half (52.3%) of parents and carers agreed or strongly agreed the school provides them with useful information about how they can help their child learn at home. Agreement was higher for special schools/units (78.4%) and primary schools (60.5%) and lowest for secondary schools (36.2%).
• less than four in ten parents and carers agreed the school seeks their views and opinions on school policies. Agreement varied by sector, with around half (51.3%) of parents and carers for special schools/units agreeing, compared with 42% for primary schools and 30% for secondary schools.
• around half of parents and carers agreed the school gives them the information they need to support their child's learning. Agreement is higher for special schools/units (59.1%) and primary schools (54.2%) than for secondary schools (30.7%).
• 84.3% of parents and carers reported that their school has a parent council. This was higher for primary schools (89%) than for special schools/units (81%) and secondary schools (78.4%).
• overall, a quarter (25%) of parents and carers agreed the school is making them aware of the Family Learning opportunities. Agreement is higher for special schools/units (40.1%) than for primary schools (28.7%) or secondary schools (17.3%).
• around one in five (19.9%) parents and carers agreed they have taken part in Family Learning activities. Around four in ten (40.9%) parents and carers for special schools/units agreed compared with 25.5% for primary schools and 8.7% for secondary schools.
• around six in ten (62.5%) parents and carers said that work commitments were preventing them from being more active in the life of the school. By sector, 62.8% of parent and carers of primary school pupils said this, 62.6% for secondary schools and 42.3% for special schools.
• nearly a third (32.8%) said they were not made aware of opportunities to take part in the life of the school.  By sector, 27.8% of parent and carers of primary school pupils said this, 43.5% for secondary schools and 24.5% for special schools.
• just over a fifth (22.7%) said there were no opportunities to take part in the life of the school. By sector, 22.7% of parents and carers of primary school pupils said this, 22.9% for secondary schools and 20.9% for special schools/units.
• overall, results from this survey are more positive for primary schools and special schools/units than for secondary schools.
• across the measures, parents and carers in the most deprived areas were more likely to respond favourably. However, results were lower for the most deprived areas as to whether parents and carers said the school had a parent council.
• parents and carers from the most deprived areas are more likely to agree that a lack of confidence was preventing them from being more active in the life of the school, compared with work commitments for those from the least deprived areas.
• across the measures, results are more favourable for females than males. More females agreed their school has a Parent Council than males. Females were more likely to say that caring of younger children and lack of confidence prevented them from being more active in their school than males. Males were more likely to say they were not made aware of opportunities than females.
• results among younger parents and carers (up to 24 years old) and those aged 55 and older were more likely to be favourable across the measures. However, the reporting of whether a school has a parent council was lowest for parents and carers aged up to 24 years.
• parents and carers aged up to 24 years were more likely to have taken part in family learning, agree the school provides them with useful information about how they can help their child learn at home, and agree the school gives them the information they need to support their child’s learning.
• parents and carers aged 25-34 years were more likely to say that the caring of younger children and lack of confidence prevented them from being more active in their school. Parents and carers aged 35–54 years were more likely to say work commitments prevented them from being more active in their school.
• African, Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British parents and carers were more likely to say the school keeps them well informed about their child's progress in a way they can understand; the school provides them with useful information about how they can help their child learn at home; the school seeks their views and opinions on school policies; and the school gives them the information they need to support their child's learning. However, they are less likely to say that the school has a parent council.
• African, Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British, and Caribbean or Black and Other ethnic groups were more likely to say that language barriers and lack of confidence prevented them from being more active in their school.