Parents as partners in their children’s learning

Toolkit

Scottish Executive, Edinburgh 2006

© Crown copyright 2006

ISBN: 0-7559-5146-8

This toolkit has been provided to all schools and is intended for use by Parent Councils. It may also be photocopied for use by individual parents.

Scottish Executive Education Department
Schools Division
2-B
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ

Email: parentzone@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Tel: 0131 244 0956/0790

Produced for the Scottish Executive by Astron B47116 09/06

Published by the Scottish Executive, September, 2006

The text pages of this document are printed on recycled paper and are 100% recyclable.

Contents

• Introduction — 1
• Section 1 The difference parents make — 3
• Section 2 Involving all parents — 9
• Section 3 Supporting children’s learning at home — 25
• Section 4 Supporting children’s learning: Home and school partnership — 39
• Section 5 Supporting children’s learning: Links with community — 53
• Section 6 Preparing the education authority strategy — 63
• Section 7 The Parent Forum and the Parent Council — 77
• Section 8 Developing a Parent Council — 87

Introduction

This toolkit has been developed by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) to provide parents and staff in education authorities and schools with a practical resource to support partnership with parents in all aspects of children’s learning. SEED is grateful for the help of all those parents, pupils and local authority staff who contributed to its development. Thanks also go to Outside the Box for their input and creative thinking.

It looks at the different ways parents and carers can be involved and includes advice and practical materials to support the arrangements introduced by the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006. The toolkit complements the Guidance to the Act published in September 2006. The toolkit is intended as a resource and readers should refer to the Act and Guidance as appropriate.

Our children mean everything to us, why would parents not want to be involved?

The toolkit includes:

• Checklists
• Practice examples that can be used or adapted
• Activities
• Methods to help people identify issues and express their ideas
• Ways of resolving parental complaints/concerns.

Who the toolkit is for

• Parents: there are ideas about how to get involved in their child's education and learning
• Headteachers and school staff: there are practical methods and good practice about how to develop effective partnerships with parents
• Local authority staff: there is material to support authorities as they develop their parental involvement strategies and set up Parent Councils in partnership with parents and schools.

The toolkit will also be useful to other people, who are helping parents and teachers work together to support children’s learning. This might include Community Learning and Development teams, Family Support staff, Home/School link workers and Learning Support staff. It will be useful to all those people who have an interest in making the school a part of the community it serves, including pupils at schools, children's extended families, local councillors and people from the local community.

Section 1: The difference parents make

Contents

• What does parental involvement in children’s learning mean? — 4
• What are the benefits of parents getting involved? — 5
• Example 1 – parents supporting healthy eating — 6
• Example 2 – parents helping children get to school — 6
• What helps parents, teachers and the education authority work together? — 7
• Checklist: questions to help identify and encourage healthy partnerships — 8

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 Parents 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.

Seeing where your child sits in the classroom makes a world of difference. A parent

I’m desperate to know how I can help my child; it’s just so hard to get the information. A parent

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 with 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.

What are the benefits of parents getting involved?

The benefits for the children are:

• It is easier for children to learn when they get encouragement at home
• They will do better and achieve more when their parents are involved
• Children get access to more activities in and out of school when there are more adults to help
• Their concerns can be sorted out quicker when their parents have a positive relationship with school staff
• They are happy when their parents are enjoying events in the school.

The benefits for parents are:

• Their children do better when they are involved
• They are better able to help and encourage their children
• They have more information about their children’s education
• Parents can build their own confidence and skills
• Where there is a positive relationship between parents and their child’s school there are benefits all round
• Parents get reassurance that their children are receiving a good education.

IMAGE: A father and young child interact outdoors beside playground equipment, illustrating the benefits of parents’ involvement in children’s lives and activities.

The benefits for the school are:

• Parents bring skills which complement teachers’ skills and expertise
• Parents contribute their time, so together parents and teachers are able to do more activities with pupils than teachers can do on their own
• Pupils' attainment and behaviour improve
• Parents have ideas about how the school can best support the children
• Teachers have people with whom they can talk over ideas and get help when developing plans for the school
• Parents can give advice and help around reaching other parents.

The benefits for the education authority are:

• The ideas and experience of a wider pool of people lead to a better strategy which will support participation for more parents
• The education authority gets information on how its policies and education provision are working out in practice
• The education authority is able to discuss plans and ideas for education developments with a wide range of parents
• Parents who are involved in other representative groups help make sure the education policies link in well with the other policies and provision for people living in that area.

Example 1 – parents supporting healthy eating

A primary school in Highland involved parents in improving school meals. Parents tested school lunches and took an interest in the nutritional value of the meals, which led to the school meals service changing its menus. As the school meals improved more children chose to have them regularly.

With the help of a local trust fund and local gardening firm, a school garden was developed to grow fresh produce for use in school meals and for snacks.

Example 2 – parents helping children get to school

A primary school in Glasgow works with parents to provide a ‘walking bus service’ to school. This encourages children to walk to school accompanied by at least two adults. The adults start the walk with the children and pick up others at agreed points along the way.

It encourages a healthy way of getting to school as well as an awareness of road safety.

What helps parents, teachers and the education authority work together?

People can work together most easily when three factors are all present.

• Issues: People are working together on issues which they think are important
• Ways of working: The way they work together respects and values each person’s contribution. It is realistic in terms of the time and effort it takes. The process welcomes and encourages people who have less experience or confidence.
• Getting results: Working together gets results. People can see their effort has been worthwhile and that they have been listened to.

When I started coming to the parents’ meetings I was scared to speak. Now I’m not, and I’d like to be able to speak in public like the others.

A big open message from the headteacher tells you that the school really wants parents involved.

Checklist: questions to help identify and encourage healthy partnerships

• Are parents involved in deciding what the issues are?
• Do parents choose issues that are most important to them? Are all parents involved in this process in ways that are accessible to them?
• Do people know about other routes they can use to raise issues that are of concern to them?
• Do all parents have the opportunity to contribute?
• Is information available in the languages used by parents of children at this school or living in this area?
• Do parents know they can get access to supports such as translators to help them be involved?
• What arrangements are there to include parents who live a distance away?
• Do parents know they can contribute in many different ways – such as text, email, letter, phone, leaving comments and suggestions at the school, as well as through meetings?
• How are people who are less confident or less experienced getting encouragement to take part?
• How will people know if their ideas and views have led to changes?

The National Standards for Community Engagement were developed by the Scottish Executive, community groups from a wide range of settings and staff from local authorities and other formal bodies. They include good practice which people may find helpful.

There is more information at: www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk

Section 2: Involving all parents

Contents

• Involving all parents — 10
• Some of the barriers to parental involvement — 10
• Activity 1 – involving all parents at your school — 12
• Example 1 – monthly drop-in surgeries for parents — 13
• What it looks like when things go well — 13
• Example 2 – supporting Gypsy and Traveller families — 14
• Checklist: questions to help you think about how you support equal opportunities and diversity — 15
• Example 3 – bi-lingual reading club — 16
• Example 4 – involving fathers – the Challenge Dad project — 16
• Activity 2 – identifying skills and experience that parents bring to the school — 18
• Parents and carers of looked after children — 21
• Checklist: questions for schools working with looked after children — 22
• Example 5 – educational support for looked after children — 23
• Checklist: questions for education authorities working with looked after children — 23

Involving all parents

Because all children benefit from the interest and involvement of their parents it is important to make sure that all parents have opportunities to be involved in their children’s learning and education.

Every parent wants the best for their child but may have difficulty in participating in some activities. This does not mean that they are not interested or not doing what they can to support their child’s learning but they may find it difficult to be involved in the school. The key is to ensure that as many opportunities as possible are available to parents. Information about the legal framework for equal opportunities that schools and Parent Councils need to take account of can be found in section 2 of the Guidance on the Parental Involvement Act.

Some of the barriers to parental involvement

Time

Parents are busy people. Parents might be:

• Working either full time or part time
• Bringing up young children on their own
• Have more than one child attending different schools.

Family circumstances

Families come in all shapes and sizes and have different needs. Parents may find it particularly difficult to attend meetings if they:

• Have a child who is disabled
• Have a baby or other caring responsibilities
• Work shifts or work away from home
• Have a complex family structure with parents who are separated; some might have new partners.

Geography

The area parents live in can be a significant factor in how parents are able to be involved with school based activities. This includes:

• Parents and pupils may have to travel some distance to the school and may have difficulty with transport or have to walk through unsafe areas
• Where children are being educated some distance from their home and live in a hostel.

Lack of confidence

Parents may feel uncomfortable in school surroundings for a number of reasons:

• It may bring back unpleasant memories of their own school days
• Some may feel that their own lack of knowledge or skills puts them at a disadvantage
• Some parents may have difficulty themselves with reading or writing
• Parents may feel that there is no place for them in the school or that the school is not welcoming
• Some men may feel out of place and that they don’t have a role because many activities held during the day are mainly attended by women.

Unfamiliarity

Many parents feel that membership of a formal parent body is ‘not for them’. They may perceive them to be ‘closed’, cliquey’, ‘elitist’ or ‘formal’, or not see themselves as the right kind of person to be involved. These perceptions can be a real barrier to parents putting themselves forward.

IMAGE: A father and child read together in a library or learning space, illustrating the importance of family learning and the need to make parental involvement accessible to all families.

Activity 1 – involving all parents at your school

Purpose

• To measure where you are now in involving all parents. This activity can be repeated later to measure progress and to consider how you have achieved this

Who will be involved

• Parent Council
• Other agencies
• School staff
• Pupils

Work in pairs

Step 1

On a scale of 0-5, where would you say you are now in relation to involving parents?

0 = lot of room for improvement

5 = things are exactly how parents want them

Why have you decided on this rating?

Make a list of the different ways parents are involved in supporting their child’s learning.

Step 2

Where on the scale would you like to get to?

What needs to change to move up to where you want to be?

What kinds of things do parents, pupils and staff need to be doing to reach this score?

What difference will this make to pupils, parents and the school?

Step 3

After working in pairs share your scores with others in the group on a blank 0-5 scale to get an overall picture.

Step 4

Share views on why you think you are where you are on the scale and what you could do to improve. Plan out the action that is needed to reach where you want to be – keep this realistic and achievable.

Carry out this exercise again 6 to 12 months later to assess the progress achieved.

Example 1 – monthly drop-in surgeries for parents

A secondary school in Aberdeen has introduced drop-in surgeries which are held on a monthly basis. The headteacher is available for a number of hours during an evening or a Saturday morning. Parents can drop in to the school to speak to the headteacher without having to make an appointment. If a problem or query crops up parents know that they will have an opportunity to take it up imminently. This enables them to overcome issues as soon as they occur. The flexibility makes it easier for working parents or parents with other commitments or child care issues to attend at convenient times.

What it looks like when things go well

• The school is a welcoming place with space for parents and clear indications that they are welcome and valued – e.g. a parents’ room or welcome posters, possibly developed with parents, in all the languages represented in the school
• There are opportunities for parents to meet with teachers to discuss their child’s progress at various times during the day, evening and possibly weekends
• School events and activities take account of any specific cultural or religious festivals that may affect the involvement of some parents
• Parents are able to get actively involved at various times – in both regular (e.g. weekly commitments) and infrequent activities
• The school is aware of any particular difficulties a parent may have in participating in school activities (e.g. through disability, access or language difficulties) and makes arrangements to provide appropriate support
• Parents are asked when their child enrols if there is anything that would help them get involved, e.g. translation, interpretation, childcare, transport
• The School Development Plan provides an opportunity for staff, parents and pupils to have discussions about the different ways parents could be involved in school activities and how these will be developed and supported
• Childcare and/or transport is arranged (or paid for) for parents evenings, Parent Forum or Parent Council meetings or other events where some parents might need it
• There are social events that build relationships between parents, teachers and school staff
• Parents are asked directly and personally to participate in a particular activity by the headteacher or class teacher
• Parents are encouraged to get other parents involved – by bringing a friend
• No parent is turned away if they volunteer to help and the skills and enthusiasm that parent volunteers bring are matched to the needs of the school
• There are activities that make it easy for families to take part and develop positive relationships with each other, school staff and other families, e.g. outings, picnics, cultural events.

Example 2 – supporting Gypsy and Traveller families

A primary school in Dunbartonshire supports Gypsy and Traveller families offering parents the chance to take worksheets and lessons with them when they travel away from the site for any length of time. Because the school facilities are so good, many parents will stay at the site for years to maximise their children’s schooling opportunities. However, their travelling lifestyle may require them to leave on a temporary basis. The school accommodates this by making home based lessons available for their time away. That way the child can return to the school, without having lost ground.

This school also accommodates integration by having books in the school library that deal with the Gypsy Traveller lifestyle.

IMAGE: A parent supports a young child on playground equipment, illustrating a family’s participation in everyday activities and the importance of inclusive support for Gypsy and Traveller families.

Checklist: questions to help you think about how you support equal opportunities and diversity

Parents’ circumstances

• Do parents who do not use English as their first language get information about their children's learning and about opportunities to get involved? (This includes parents who are deaf and use British Sign Language as well as people who use other spoken languages.)
• Are parents who have a disability aware of support they can receive to get to the school and to other events such as consultation meetings?
• Do parents and teachers have access to aids and equipment, or to services such as translators, which will help them to communicate with each other?
• Do parents who find it difficult to come to the school on their own know that they can bring a friend or relative who may be able to support them?
• Are there arrangements in place for parents who have other daytime responsibilities to keep in touch with the school?
• Is there encouragement and practical help for fathers to be involved?
• Is the school environment welcoming for dads?
• Are both mothers and fathers encouraged to be involved in every aspect of parental involvement?
• Is there practical support to help parents – mothers or fathers – who are living on their own with the children to be involved?
• Do parents know that their partner or a relative can represent them in situations where the involvement is specific to their role as the child’s parent?
• Do all partners of all parents feel they are welcome to get involved as volunteers at the school, and be part of events to involve families, so that each child is there with their family?
• Are there arrangements in place to make it easy for parents living in each part of the school catchment area to be involved?
• Does the school keep parents of children and young people who are temporarily absent from the school informed of school activities?

Children’s circumstances

• Are the parents of children with additional support needs encouraged to take part in the same range of activities as the parents of other children?
• Are children who are looked after encouraged to identify the people who are taking on parenting roles for them and who they want to see being involved?

Example 3 – bi-lingual reading club

Four primary schools which are part of a Learning Community in an area of Glasgow with a large number of minority ethnic families worked together to set up a Reading Club initiative for parents and children where English is not their first language.

Regular afternoon reading clubs were held for parents and children with interpreters present to translate and support discussion with teachers. Themed storypacks with activities (games, soft toys, puppets) were provided in the families’ own language and sessions were held emphasising the value of reading together at home. Other resources available included:

• Dual language books – fiction and non-fiction
• Dual language dictionaries – Urdu, Slovakian, Russian
• Translation and interpreting services

Many parents reported a benefit to their own learning and felt that their English improved. Mothers reported social benefits in meeting with other mothers, and a general improvement in their own relationships with their children.

Staff said that they have developed a greater insight to and understanding of the needs of bilingual learners and parents. They can now enjoy much more positive, supportive relationships with bilingual parents.

Example 4 – involving fathers – the Challenge Dad project

The Challenge Dad project in Aberdeen engaged men in learning opportunities that valued their existing skills and experience as a parent and as a foundation for further learning.

A range of activities and events are offered through the project:

• Engagement activities, such as 5-a-side football
• Learning activities, such as joint parent and child events and one-to-one literacy work
• Parenting or social skills.

Challenge Dad activities were weekly or monthly dependent on the availability of the dads. Working dads, for example, prefer activities to happen at the weekend.

Other ideas for involving fathers

Some schools have developed successful programmes for involving fathers that are not based on the traditional models of activity based family learning. Examples include:

• Engagement with individual fathers about specific child’s learning and behaviour
• Open House events for fathers, Dads into School days, Dads breakfasts, Dads lunches and ‘celebrate Fathers Day’ evenings
• Making use of father specific skills to support work in the classroom and also to support children in a mentoring capacity
• Father-support networks and adult learning programmes for fathers as part of an ‘extended school’ programme.

IMAGE: Parents and children participate in a bilingual reading activity, illustrating family learning and support for children whose parents speak languages other than English.

Activity 2 – identifying skills and experience that parents bring to the school

Purpose

To conduct a survey at a parents evening to identify:

• The skills and experience parents have that they could offer to the school
• The times that best suit parents for involvement with the school

Who will be involved

• Parent Council members
• Headteacher
• School and local authority staff
• Parents attending Parent evenings

A sample parent survey is provided opposite. Some specific questions could be added.

The survey is designed for an ‘interviewer’ to complete in one-to-one conversation with parents. Parents’ evening or other school events might be good times to carry out the survey.

The survey could be extended outside the school to meet parents in places they feel comfortable. Visits to community groups and projects might help parents feel more at ease. Talking to parents at the school gate as they drop off or pick up their children is another option.

Once the survey has been completed the information can be used to help the school and the Parent Council to work out ways to involve parents by asking them to share their skills and experience. Information about times which are good for parents will help with planning activities, events or meetings.

The survey could be repeated at the beginning of the school year to include parents who are new to the school.

Sample parent survey

Anytown School Parent Council

Introduction

Hello. I wonder if you could spare a few minutes. My name is ………………………………… and I’m a member of the Parent Council. One of the things we do as a Parent Council is support the school by involving all parents as far as possible. We know that everyone is busy but it would really help us if you could answer a few questions about your interests and skills and whether you feel you have time to get involved in some way to support your child and all children at the school.

By answering this you are not making any commitment and you don’t have to take part but it would really help us to plan activities for parents and children in the future. [If parent refuses, offer them the form to fill in at home and return to school if this is what they would prefer.]

Could you tell me your name and which classes your children are in.

Question 1

Do you think you have any particular interests, experiences or skills that could help the school in any way? May be just two or three things?

Prompt

There may be things that you already do at home, cooking, DIY, sewing or craft activities, gardening, decorating.

There may be skills that you use at work, IT skills, typing, web design, catering.

You may have interests or hobbies, sports activities, or arts and music skills or interests that you could share.

Question 2

We know that all parents are very busy people but we would like to ask if you have any time that you could spare to support the school or support school activities. We are not looking for any major commitment but just to get an idea of what times suit people best.

What time would suit you best?

• Before school
• Immediately after school
• During the school day
• Evenings [If yes] start time finish time
• Weekends

Is there anything that would help you attend at any time – e.g. transport or childcare?

If you are interested in getting involved would you rather just do something occasionally (say once a term) or could you make a more regular commitment?

How much time do you feel you would be able to offer – even ten minutes can be useful?

Thank you very much. One of the things we would like to do is to share this information with the school to help us to plan future activities. Are you happy for us to do this?

Yes / No

If yes could you please sign this form to show that you are happy for this information to be shared.

Are there any other comments or suggestions that you would like to make about the school or the Parent Council?

Signed........................................................

Thank you again.

Parents and carers of looked after children

Looked after children and young people face barriers to achieving success in education. A child who is looked after may be cared for in their own home, or in a foster home, residential unit or residential school. The guidance for the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 states, “Children who are looked after should have the same educational opportunities as all other children”. In order to achieve this, it is vital that schools are aware of the children in their school who are looked after and that they keep in contact with the appropriate parent or carer. This may be a relative carer, foster carer, a local authority or another carer.

Unless there are strong reasons against it, parents in contact with their children should receive regular information about their children’s progress in school, including end-of-session reports.
Learning with Care, HMIE, March 2001

Care planning for looked after children should clarify who is taking responsibility for keeping in contact with the school and helping the child with their education. Careful planning and effective joint working between carers/social workers and teachers is of equal importance.

In addition, all local authorities have developed or revised joint policies and protocols on looked after children and all schools should now have a Designated Senior Manager, who is responsible for their looked after children.

Checklist: questions for schools working with looked after children

• Are your records of information about the young person’s personal details accurate and up-to-date?
• Are your contact details for parents, residential staff, foster carers, relative carers and social workers accurate and up-to-date? Do you know which of these contacts is your primary contact (as identified in the child or young person’s care plan)?
• Are there systems in place to ensure these records are treated sensitively and confidentially?
• Does the school consult and communicate with parents, social workers, foster and relative carers and others?
• Does the school link with carers to provide information and support to looked after young people on issues such as careers, further and higher education, and funding for education/training?
• Do you involve relative carers, foster carers and residential staff and others in making decisions about the Parent Council?
• Does the school support carers to ensure there are suitable arrangements for study and completing homework?
• Do the arrangements for parents’ evenings include relative carers, foster carers and residential staff? Are invitations and communications handled sensitively?

IMAGE: Two adults work together at a table in a classroom, illustrating communication and joint planning between school staff and carers.

Checklist: questions for education authorities working with looked after children

• Does the authority ensure relative carers, foster carers, residential staff and social workers, etc. are involved in developing the Strategy for Parental Involvement?
• Does the authority facilitate communication between schools, social work services, carers and parents?
• Is there advice and guidance given to social workers on identifying a key person who will take responsibility for contact with school and helping with the child’s education?
• Is there guidance given to schools on liaising with carers and the parents of looked after children and young people?
• Is there guidance given to parents of looked after children, relative carers, foster carers, residential staff and social workers on liaising with schools?
• Is there guidance or advice given to social work staff and carers on supporting the learning of the children or young people in their care? For example through encouraging homework, providing areas for study, provision of books and IT equipment or knowledge of education system.

Example 5 – educational support for looked after children

One authority, which had a high percentage of its looked after children in residential care, made considerable efforts to make their residential units educationally rich environments. All the children had access to computers and special programs were purchased for children with learning difficulties. Children were encouraged to be library members and there was a wide range of books available.

Another local authority operates a tutoring support service for its looked after and accommodated children and young people. Due to its success, they are expanding the service to include children and young people who are looked after at home.

Many local authorities have created educational support positions for looked after children. These may include learning/behaviour support assistant, outreach teachers and/or educational psychologists for looked after children. They work with, provide support to and liaise between looked after children, parents, carers, schools and social work services, amongst others. They deal with a range of common issues including loss, trauma, attendance, exclusion, achievement and attainment.

IMAGE: A father and child sit together reading a colourful book, illustrating educational support and shared learning in the home.