Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006: updated statutory guidance consultation

Section A – Introduction

The Purpose of the Act

1. The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 (“the Act”) modernised and strengthened the framework for supporting parental involvement in schooling, education and in children’s learning. It aims to help schools, Education Authorities and others to involve and engage parents meaningfully in the education of their children and in the wider school community. It requires Scottish Ministers and Education Authorities to promote the involvement of parents in children’s education at publicly funded schools. It aims to help all parents to be:

• Involved with their child’s education and engaged with their child’s learning;
• Involved and welcomed as active participants in the life of the school or early learning and childcare setting, and;
• Supported to be involved from the beginning of key developments and improvements and in key decisions about the school or early learning and childcare setting.

The purpose of this guidance

2. This guidance is provided in accordance with the duty upon Scottish Ministers under the Act to issue guidance to:

a) Education Authorities on their duties to prepare a strategy for parental involvement and a model or framework for establishing Parent Councils in schools where there is none, and;

b) Parent Councils on how they can carry out their functions.

3. The guidance contains four main sections:

Section B - which explains what is meant by parental involvement and engagement;

Section C - which explains the duties the Act places on Education Authorities and the responsibilities they have;

Section D - which is focused on Parent Councils as a key feature of parental involvement and provides detailed guidance to Parent Councils on their rights, role and responsibilities as set out in the Act as well as detailing the role of head teachers in supporting Parent Councils, and;

Section E - which covers the role of head teachers and school leaders, Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and other key organisations.

4. It is beneficial to read all four sections to gain a full understanding of the different roles and responsibilities of all the groups and people covered under the Act and how they are expected to work together.

Who should read the guidance?

5. This guidance is for anyone who has a part to play in educating our children and young people or in the life and work of our schools, education settings and wider communities. This may include parents, carers, headteachers, teachers, quality improvement officers, home-school link workers or those performing a similar role, family support staff, community learning and development staff, neighbourhood workers, parental and children’s voluntary organisations, health staff and social workers.

Further Advice

Who else may benefit from reading this guidance? The duties in the Act that apply to education authorities only cover those parents whose children attend a public school within those authorities. However, the guidance may also be of interest to parents of children in early learning and childcare settings, early learning and childcare providers and schools not covered by an education authority. The same principles of cooperation, collaboration and partnership as described within the guidance will apply to all parents and education settings but the duties placed upon education authorities under and Parent Councils will not.

Does this guidance cover early learning and childcare settings which are not part of public schools?

The duties placed on education authorities and Parent Councils under the Act only extend to those early learning and childcare settings located within public schools. However the approaches set out in this document are recognised as being best practice for early learning and childcare settings and schools. As such it is recommended that the education authorities and all early learning and childcare providers (including voluntary and private providers) consider this guidance when making provisions for all early learning and childcare settings, even though they are not mandated by any of the duties set out in the Act.

Status of guidance

s19(3)

6. Education Authorities and Parent Councils must have regard to the guidance in carrying out their functions under the Act. This means that they must consider the guidance before carrying out the duties placed upon them by the Act. While there is no specific duty placed on headteachers, they must also have regard to the guidance when exercising functions on behalf of the education authority, which is their employer. Specific references which link the guidance to the corresponding sections of the Act are placed in the page margins throughout the document.

7. The guidance aims to help Education Authorities and parents to understand what duties, rights and responsibilities they have under the Act and to decide how best to put arrangements in place that meet these and are appropriate for their local circumstances.

8. It is designed to help Education Authorities and schools ensure that their policies, practices and arrangements for parental involvement reflect the requirements of the Act. It also aims to help Parent Councils to carry out their functions effectively.

9. However, the guidance is not a definitive interpretation of the Act. Ultimately, this is a matter for the courts.

10. The guidance is supported by a range of practical materials, strategies and tools which may help parents, schools and education settings and Education Authorities to further develop their strategies and approach.

11. These include:

Learning together: national action plan on parental involvement, engagement, family learning and learning at home 2018 – 2021

https://www.gov.scot/publications/learning-together-scotlands-national-action-plan-parental-involvement-parental-engagement/

Engaging parents and families - A toolkit for practitioners

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/engaging-parents-and-families-a-toolkit-for-practitioners

Parentzone Scotland - Ways of getting involved

https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/getting-involved/ways-of-getting-involved/

Definitions

12. Most of the terms used in the Act and in this guidance document have the same meaning as are stated in section 135 of the 1980 Act: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/44/section/135]

13. The one exception relates to the definition of a ‘pupil’ which includes a child who is under school age only if that child is in attendance at an education authority primary school, whether or not the child is in a nursery class in the school. Parents of children attending nursery classes at education authority primary schools are therefore also covered by the Act. This exception does not extend to children attending nursery classes that are located out with education authority primary schools, even if their place at the nursery is funded by the education authority.

Further Advice

‘Jargon buster’ boxes and glossary

Through this document you will find boxes which explain some of the definitions, terminology or names used in the Act and as part of the guidance. We need to use some of these names and terms to be accurate but we recognise that not everyone reading this guidance will have come across these terms before and that some people may use different terms to those set out in the act or in this document. To help make things clearer for everyone we have included a number of Jargon buster boxes through the document which provide a short explanation of each of the key terms we have used.

Jargon buster
Terms	Meaning
Parent	A “parent” includes a guardian and any person who is liable to maintain or has parental responsibilities (within the meaning of section 1(3) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) in relation to, or has care of a child or young person;”
Parent Councils	A group responsible for representing parents’ views. The functions of Parent Councils are set out in the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006
Parent Forum	All parents who have a child attending a public school, including a nursery class at such a school, are automatically members of the Parent Forum for that school. ‘Parent Forum’ is a term which describes the parents of all children and young people who attend a particular school. Membership of the forum allows parents to be involved in key decisions made by their children’s school and enables their collective view to be represented on all matters of interest to parents.
Act	A law passed by the Scottish or UK Parliament.
Duties	A legal obligation or responsibility placed on a person or group.
Education authority	The local authority ‘in the exercise of its education functions’, responsible for ‘public schools’ in their area. The Act’s provisions cover pupils attending an education authority school.
Public schools	A school managed by an education authority, including any nursery class provided within the school.
Scottish Ministers	The name used in the Scotland Act 1998 for ministers who make up the Scottish Government.

Links with other legislation and policies –

14. In implementing their duties under the Act, Education Authorities should also consider their functions under other relevant legislation. In particular, the Act relates to the:

• Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (referred to throughout this guidance as the “1980 Act”);
• Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 (the “2000 Act”);
• Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (the “2004 Act”), and the;
• Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the “1995 Act”).

15. These pieces of legislation involve, to different extents, issues of parental rights and responsibilities and requirements to listen to the view of and act in the best interest of a child. Education Authorities should also take into account duties placed on them in other legislation, whether relating to children, equality or otherwise.

16. This legislation is complemented by Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), the national approach in Scotland to improving outcomes for children, which puts the rights and wellbeing of children and young people at the heart of the policies and services that support them and their parents.

17. The Parental Involvement in Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher Appointments (Scotland) Regulations 2007 were made under the Act and relate to duties placed on education authorities to involve parents in the appointment of school leaders (Head Teachers and Deputy Head Teachers). Separate guidance on the Appointments (Scotland) Regulations 2007 and the involvement of parents and Parent Councils in the appointments process for school leaders can be accessed at:

https://www2.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/180583/0051311.pdf

18. The Education (School and Placing Information) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 ("the 2012 Regulations") were introduced in order to support the provision of School Handbooks by schools – a key aspect of broader parental communication which is underpinned by the Act. Guidance in relation to the 2012 Regulations can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-handbook-guidance/

19. Annex A provides a full summary of relevant legislation and policies and how they relate to the Act. The resources section of the guidance also highlights other sources of advice and information.

Where can I receive further information?

20. Further information on this guidance is available from the Scottish Government’s Learning Directorate who can be contacted at:

Office Address: The Scottish Government, Learning Directorate, Curriculum Unit, Area 2B (North), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ

Email: Parental.involvement@gov.scot

Jargon buster
Terms	Meaning
Legislation	Laws which have been made by Parliament.
Policy	A set of actions or agreed work of an organisation or government body.
Practitioners	People who work in the education profession.
Equality	Equality is about ensuring that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents; and recognising that historically certain groups of people have experienced discrimination. The pursuit of equality therefore requires that measures and protections are put in place to ensure that people are treated equally; to protect people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation; and to foster good relations
Regulations	Legislation made by Ministers under powers contained in an Act of Parliament, which is often used to bring the legislation in to force or make more detailed on an issue.