Promoting establishment of Parent Councils

Promoting establishment of Parent Councils

The Act requires education authorities to promote the establishment, and provide support for the operation, of Parent Councils. In general, this will entail the creation of a Parent Council for each school. The Act also allows for the establishment of a Combined Parent Council in certain circumstances.

While the education authority must prepare a 'scheme' for establishing a Parent Council at each school, the decision on whether to establish a council is one for the members of the Parent Forum at that school. Preparing the 'scheme' should be an authority-initiated process which has the flexibility to enable parents to reach decisions on arrangements that meet individual school circumstances. School and education authority staff with the necessary facilitating skills should assist parents to identify and consider options for the kind of Parent Council they wish to see in their school and support them to make these arrangements.

Guidance on preparing a scheme for Parent Council

The authority must notify all parents in the Parent Forum in writing of their intention to prepare a scheme for the establishment of a Parent Council for the school. In setting out the process to be followed, the authority should suggest alternatives for how the Council may be constituted and what its constitution may be. Alternatives should only be offered by way of examples and should be framed in accordance with this guidance. In particular, the authority should refer parents to the Scottish Executive toolkit that includes practical materials to assist them in setting up a Parent Council.  The toolkit is designed to help parents, and those local authority and school staff who are supporting parents through the process, reach decisions which are right for their school. The toolkit also includes material highlighting the importance of involving Pupil Councils and pupils generally in arrangements for parental involvement.

It is expected that the process will allow parents the opportunity to discuss arrangements for their Parent Council. One way to do this is to establish a school working party to assist the process as set out below:

• education authority to notify members of the Parent Forum of its intention to establish a scheme for the establishment of a Parent Council and the process to be followed 
• school to convene open meeting of parents to set up a school working group (ideas for engaging parents in different ways are provided throughout the toolkit) 
• working party, supported by local authority, to use toolkit materials to explore options for Parent Council and its constitution 
• working party to engage Parent Forum in discussion of options and ascertain parents views 
• working party to report back to education authority with suggested scheme for Parent Council arrangements and constitution 
• education authority to submit scheme to all members of the Parent Forum inviting them to express their preference from options outlined by the school working party 
• education authority to implement arrangements agreed by majority of parents voting.

The authority, in notifying parents, must also include an invitation for parents to indicate if they wish someone other than the authority to prepare the scheme, or that no scheme is prepared. In most, if not all circumstances, it is expected that parents, with support from the school and the authority, will be able to agree arrangements with which they are happy. In the case of a very small school, parents may choose not to set up a Parent Council, but to agree arrangements between themselves for working with the school and making their views known.

Parents must have reasonable time to consider their preferred option for their school. Therefore, the overall process is likely to vary from school to school depending on the number of pupils in attendance. The authority must provide all members of the Parent Forum with a copy of the Parent Council arrangements agreed for their school. Where parents choose to have someone other than the authority prepare the scheme and run the process for establishing a Parent Council, that person must send a copy of the scheme, including a copy of its constitution, to all members of the Parent Forum inviting them to indicate, within a reasonable timescale, whether the scheme should be implemented. Where the majority of members responding within the timescale agree, the person who prepared the scheme may make appropriate arrangements to implement it.

Advising and informing Parent Councils

It is the intention of the Act and guidance to promote the active involvement of parents and their representatives in the work of the education authority and its schools. Effective involvement and participation of parents depends on positive engagement by staff at all levels. The Act makes provision for an education authority to provide advice and information on any matter in response to reasonable requests from Parent Councils. They must also take appropriate steps to ensure that the headteacher and staff of each school in their area are available to give advice and information to Parent Councils, on what is being done to promote parental involvement.

Supporting Parent Councils

An education authority must provide support to Parent Councils to enable them to operate and to carry out their functions effectively. The authority must consult with the Parent Council and allocate reasonable funding to enable the Council to meet:

• its administrative expenses, including any expenses incurred in the appointment of a clerk to the council 
• expenses for training of its members
• other costs incurred in carrying out its functions under the Act.

The education authority may also provide a Parent Council with services or accommodation. This might include administrative support from the school secretary, or the school web manager, email access, use of photocopying services, distribution of council materials to parents, provision of rooms or other suitable accommodation.

Representations from Parent Councils

The education authority must inform the Parent Council of the school’s arrangements for consultation between parents and teachers. The Parent Council can make representations on these arrangements and other matters of interest to parents to the authority or to the headteacher. The authority and the headteacher must take account of these representations and consider how far they can incorporate them into how they carry out their functions, or, in the case of the headteacher, the duties of the post. The authority and, if appropriate, the headteacher, must reply to all representations received from the Parent Council.

Parent Councils and appointment of senior staff

The appointment of a headteacher or deputy headteacher is of crucial importance to a school and its community. Parents have a particular role to play in the process. The education authority must involve the Parent Council, if any, of the school to which a permanent appointment is to be made. This involvement should extend throughout the appointment process. It could involve the initial drawing up of the job specification, the sifting arrangements and sitting on the interview panel. The education authority should offer training to members of the Parent Council, or anyone assisting the council, with their functions in relation to the appointments process.

The authority must inform the Parent Council of their arrangements for filling senior posts and also immediately, about any changes they make to the process. Education authorities must comply with any regulations drawn up by Scottish Ministers relating to the senior appointments process and pay due regard to any supporting guidance.