Why ask the Parents?
A philosopher once said: 'Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannise their teachers.' Sound familiar? It may sound like the favoured chant of 21st century media but in fact, the speaker was Socrates.
It is perhaps one of the earliest suggestions of teachers and parents being ‘in it together’. But far from being tyrannised by the nation’s youth, parents and teachers across Scotland are working in close partnership with pupils to develop an education that is meaningful and relevant to them. In doing so, they are strengthening family ties, encouraging greater community interaction – and having fun.
The notion of parents as partners in learning might be viewed as part of Scotland’s focus on holistic education. Just as Curriculum for Excellence embraces a broad definition of achievement, Parental Involvement suggests a partnership approach in delivering education.
It’s a strategy that Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop made clear in her speech at the recent National Conference: 'I am keen to see parents supporting their children’s learning and ensuring that the parents’ voice is heard and can contribute to education policy,' she said. 'To support this, we have a National Parental Involvement Co-ordinator, Lorraine Sanda, and we have a Field Team of three co-ordinators working with schools and local authorities.'
This follows the implementation of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006, which was made up of three key elements: the establishment of parent councils to replace the previous school board system, supporting learning at home, and developing home-school relationships.
'It’s about encouraging communication and ensuring that schools reflect the needs of parents,' explains Lorraine Sanda. 'I hope that Scotland will be looked upon as an international leader in Parental Involvement'.
'There remains the challenge to make it happen in all our schools and nurseries. We can’t change culture overnight but we are making good progress through our partnership approach. We are not trying to make parents become teachers or teachers parents. Instead, we’re encouraging respect on both sides.'
Back to school
If the first national conference for Parent Councils is anything to go by, parents are certainly keen to play their part. The conference, held by the Scottish Government and Learning and Teaching Scotland on 7 June, attracted 170 delegates from as far afield as Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway. 'It was a really successful event,' says Lorraine. 'Parents are showing their interest, which creates a real buzz, and we have lots to work from.'
The role of the Parent Councils is to support the school by encouraging links between the school, parents, pupils, pre-school groups and the wider community. Of course, there are many levels of interest. Some parents are happy to do their bit to support the school through fundraising and community links, whilst others prefer to support their child at home and attend parents’evenings. Parental Involvement is about supporting parents in whichever level of activity they are most comfortable.
There are many examples of good practice emerging from across Scotland. St Paul’s High School in Glasgow has already revised its traditions to meet parents’ needs. Concerned by falling attendance rates at parents’ evening, the school introduced ‘parents’ week’. Instead of attending appointments with a number of teachers on one evening, one member of staff will report on a pupil’s progress in all areas, and the child is invited to attend. As a result of this greater flexibility, attendance by parents at school has doubled. This in turn supports the school’s goals as a school of ambition.
Strengthening bonds
Whilst Parent Councils and parents’ evenings help engage the parent with the school, parental involvement must work in both directions. 'Support for learning at home is a key challenge,' says Lorraine. 'How do we link it in to what’s going on in schools? How do we cross that bridge?'
One means of bridging the learning is to invite parents to take a more active role in their children’s homework. At St Winning’s Primary School in North Ayrshire, a maths and language project has successfully linked home and school. The school has adopted a range of fun activities across the stages, including ‘mental maths homework’, in which parents of pupils in P1–P3 are given written instructions each Monday to lead their child’s mental arithmetic. This allows for self-assessment and parent comment.
The creation of a class book has also boosted pupils’ proficiency in languages. Each week, the class toy, Tommy Tiger, goes home with a different pupil, and both the parent and the child contribute to a book detailing Tommy’s adventures. Parents have welcomed the activities, telling staff they appreciate the opportunity to support their child’s learning.
'If parents show their children that they’re interested in their education there’s a positive outcome for the child,' says Lorraine. 'The natural spin-off is in attainment and attitudes to learning. However, parental involvement also benefits parents themselves. Many had a negative experience in education and this can completely change their approach. It can even build stronger relationships between parent and child, as parents often feel they ‘lose’ their child when they reach S3 or S4 and become more independent.
'Family learning is a great way of addressing all of those issues. For example, Rosehearty Primary in Aberdeenshire has hosted healthy eating workshops for parents and pupils to attend. Projects like these are a great way of bringing families together not only to create a bond but for the benefit of the community and society as a whole.'
The Parentzone website offers extensive support material, (see below), and Lorraine urges both parents and teachers to engage with these resources. 'We’re not talking about parents running classes, we’re talking about helping them to support their child's learning,' she says. 'Nowhere is this more important than with regards to Curriculum for Excellence. Developing confident individuals, successful learners, effective contributors and responsible citizens can only be achieved through partnership, and parents are a vital part of this. If you don’t have parents supporting you, you’re missing a real opportunity.'
For ideas on how to engage parents at your school, check out the Parentzone website which has a wealth of material to support the Parental Involvement agenda.
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