What is parental involvement?

What does parental involvement in children's learning mean?

There are three main ways parents can get involved in supporting their children's learning:

Learning at home: Parents are the first and ongoing educators of their own children and, as such, should receive information and support to help develop their child's learning at home, in the community and at school.

Home-school partnership: Schools must be open to the involvement of parents in the work they do and they should consider ways of providing information that helps parents engage with school and their children's education.

Parental representation: The Act provides a framework for ensuring that parents have the opportunity to express their views and have these taken into account on policy matters affecting the education of their children.  It makes provision for parents to be a member of the Parent Forum at a school and to have their views represented to the school, education authority and others through a representative Parent Council for the school.

The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 recognises the vital role that parents play in supporting their children's learning by modernising and strengthening the framework for supporting parental involvement in school education.  It places a new duty on Scottish Ministers and education authorities to promote the involvement of parents in children's education and the wider life of the school.  It aims to help parents to be:

• Involved in their child's education and learning
• Welcomed as an active participant in the life of the school
• Encouraged to express their views on school education generally.

A new Curriculum for Excellence is being developed for Scottish schools, which means that schools and parents will need to work together to help all children become:

• Successful learners
• Confident Individuals
• Responsible citizens
• Effective contributors.