Issues for the strategy
Issues for the strategy
Annex B provides checklists that education authorities should have regard to in developing their strategy for parental involvement. Some of the key issues which the strategy should cover include:
Equal opportunities
In meeting their duties under the Act, education authorities must take account of issues of equality and the requirements of equalities legislation. They must have regard to how their strategy for parental involvement will promote equal opportunities. This should include issues of diversity and equality so that children and their families are not discriminated against on grounds of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, language, faith or belief, and age. In the Act, 'equal opportunities' and 'equal opportunity requirements' have the same meanings as in Section L2 of Part II of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. Annex A provides a brief summary of the main equalities legislation to which education authorities should have regard.
Barriers to parental involvement
In the particular context of the Act, education authorities should take into account factors that may act as barriers, discourage or inhibit parents’ involvement in their children’s education or contact with the school. There is a variety of reasons why some parents have little or limited contact with the school, or who have difficulties in supporting their child’s education and learning. For example, some parents’ own experience of school education may have been negative and this may have undermined their confidence to engage with the school. Education authorities and schools need to ensure that their home-school communication arrangements are appropriate for all parents, including mobile families, absent parents, those whose first language is not English and those who have difficulties with written communication. They should also be alert to situations where families experience practical difficulties in terms of challenging family circumstances, domestic or care arrangements which may make it difficult for parents to come into the school. Education authorities and schools should also consider what effect their current structures and ways of working have in encouraging parental involvement. For example, how often and when are staff available to give advice and information to parents, are parents offered a choice of times and dates for parents’ evenings, and do parents have sufficient information to become involved in ways that are suitable for them?
Education authorities should also consider how their strategy links with the authority’s policies for meeting the additional support needs of children who require extra help with their learning so that they can benefit from education. In particular, the authority should consider carefully how their strategy for parental involvement can support families whose children’s education is disrupted or affected by family circumstances, or by disadvantage or inequality. Their strategy should recognise the needs of different groups of parents, such as those in mobile families, or whose home language is not English, foster parents or grandparents or other relatives who may be looking after the child. Education authority and school staff may need to work closely with colleagues from other services, such as home school link services, community learning, health and social work, or other organisations who can support the work of the strategy, or who are working with families.
Over time, consideration should be given by authorities and schools to the differing needs and circumstances of fathers, some of whom, research suggests, perceive barriers to their inclusion in schools. Mothers are often the primary carer so their impact on the child’s development may be more obvious. The positive involvement of fathers in children’s learning is associated with better exam results, better school attendance and behaviour, and better relationships in adult life. Some fathers perceive barriers to their involvement and so authorities and schools must work hard to help break down these barriers in providing a warm welcome to all parents and ensuring that they receive the information they need in order to be able to support their child.
Looked after children
The education authority strategy for parental involvement must include specific reference to the authority’s arrangements for children who are looked after. The Act uses the same definition of ‘looked after’ as that in section 17(6) of the 1995 Act. This refers to children or young people who are accommodated by the local authority or are subject to one of the specified orders made under the 1995 Act, including a child protection order or a parental responsibilities order, or who are subject to a supervision requirement.
Guidance on the 1995 Act emphasises that children who are looked after should have the same education and development opportunities as all other children. The education authority strategy for parental involvement should demonstrate a commitment to providing help, encouragement and support to address additional support needs or to compensate for previous deprivation or disadvantage. Local authorities should, in most cases, and where this is in the best interests of the child, act jointly with parents in relation to the education of children who are looked after on a full-time basis away from home. Their strategy should also complement their arrangements for integrated working with other professionals and agencies working with the children and their families.
It is important that local authorities and schools take account of the views and feelings of the child or young person when seeking to involve parents. Some will find involving parents in their school life can be a positive step in maintaining contact and developing their relationship. Others may find involvement of the parents creates difficulties.
Most parents of looked after children retain their parental rights and responsibilities. Many parents who do not live with their children still wish to be involved in their education. In effect, unless parental rights and responsibilities have been removed, parental involvement in a child’s education should not be affected by the looked after status of the child or young person. Local authorities and schools should work in partnership with foster parents, and where possible, the natural parents to encourage them to support the child or young person to maximise their educational potential. Some parents and carers have shared care arrangements which may involve the child having some overnight stays in their own home during the week. It is important that schools hold the details about fostering and other care arrangements so that parents can be kept fully informed about their child’s education.
Where a child or young person is accommodated by the local authority, the educational establishments must ensure that all relevant information in relation to the child or young person is provided to both carer and parent.
The above guidance does not apply when a looked after child or young person’s care plan specifically states that there should be no involvement with the parent, even if they retain parental rights and responsibilities. The most likely reason behind this decision is that it is in the best interest of the child or young person, e.g. for child protection reasons. Where parents are unavailable, or their contact has been minimised, other relatives, such as grandparents, may be able to play a useful role in offering support and motivation.
In developing their strategy for parental involvement the education authority should take account of HMIE’s quality indicators outlined in 'How good is our partnership with parents? which forms part of the How good is our school? self-evaluation guidance for schools and local authorities. Further information on involving parents in the education of looked after children can be found in the joint HMIE and Social Work Services Inspectorate report, Learning with Care.
Non-resident parents and other parents/carers
As described in paragraph 4 of Section B, the definition of ‘parent’ in the Act is the broad one used in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The education authority strategy should take account of the varying family circumstances to which the definition of parent gives rise. For example, the Act’s provisions can extend to parents who may not live with the child. It also includes parents who are liable to maintain the child. It can also include a person who has been allocated parental rights or responsibilities to be exercised on behalf of a natural parent. The education authority strategy, therefore, should include the arrangements they have in place to assist parents who do not live with their children, or others who have parental or caring responsibilities towards children, to be involved in their education. This should include how they provide parents with advice and information on any matter relating to their child’s education, on meetings involving the child, and on school activities. The circumstances of each individual case will differ so it will be necessary for education authorities to provide their schools with clear guidance on the matter. In doing so, authorities should ensure their guidance reflects the different circumstances covered by the above definition of parent.
Children’s education and development can suffer if they are upset over their parents’ separation. But adverse effects on children can be greatly reduced if parents are able to maintain a positive interest in their child’s education and welfare. Schools and authorities, therefore, should do what they can to help non-resident parents maintain the relationship with their child’s education. Schools may find it helpful to refer parents to A Parenting Agreement for Scotland, which provides advice to help separating parents agree on future arrangements for their children. It is not a legal contract and it is not intended to be enforced by a court. It is intended to help separated parents stay out of court by encouraging them to make practical and workable arrangements for their children by themselves.
Some parents and carers have shared care arrangements and it is important that schools know the details of these arrangements so that they can properly communicate with the home and keep parents fully informed. The more information available to the school, the easier it will be for them to accommodate individual family circumstances. Schools should consider how they can routinely keep parents informed in relation to: parents’ evenings, attendance, exclusion, sports days and other school events, general information about the school and attainment information, etc., regarding their child. In addition, parents should be fully involved in the planning processes in relation to meeting the child or young person’s educational needs. It is important that education authorities and schools do as much as they can to support the continued involvement of parents who don’t live with their children. In doing so, authorities and schools must be sensitive to the needs and wishes of both parents, who may not always agree. It is also important that education authorities and schools pay particular regard to the views of the child or young person in such circumstances.
Placements outwith local authority
The duty on an education authority to promote parental involvement extends to the parents of pupils in attendance at any of its schools. This means that where a child or young person attends a public school outwith their home area, whether or not by virtue of a placing request, then it falls to the host education authority to take steps to promote the involvement of the parents in the child’s education. Where an education authority places a child in an independent special or grant-aided special school, the authority retains responsibility for their education. This is most likely to arise in the case of children or young people who have a particular requirement for additional support for learning. Where an authority funds the placement of a pupil at an independent special or grant-aided special school, it should ensure that there are appropriate arrangements in place for the pupil’s parents and carers to receive the advice and information they need to be involved with and to support the child’s education. The authority’s strategy for parental involvement should demonstrate a commitment to ensuring such arrangements are in place.