New guidance on parental engagement has been published, including a series of questions that schools can ask themselves to strengthen links with pupils’ families and encourage them to become more actively involved with school life.
The Strategic Framework for Parental Involvement, Parental Engagement, Family Learning and Learning at Home, published by Education Scotland, also draws on the views of initial teacher education universities, local authorities, the Scottish government and national parent organisations.
It is designed to inform professional learning for staff who work with parents and families, and who are leading training in this area for colleagues.
Interspersed through the 43-page document is a series of questions ”to stimulate discussion and support improvement in practice”, which “are not intended to be prescriptive but may be useful as part of your self-evaluation journey”.
These include:
- What evidence do we have that we are aware of the legislative responsibilities and frameworks around parental involvement, parental engagement, family learning and learning at home? How will we measure this?
- How effective are our approaches to reducing barriers to participation for children, young people and families? How do we know?
- In what way(s) are we able to demonstrate the impact of the approaches we use to engage children, young people and families?
- In what ways are the above topics included in our professional learning offer(s)? What evidence do we have that these are being embedded into practice and/or used to drive improvement?
- To what extent can we demonstrate that parents are aware of their entitlements? How will we measure this?
- What evidence do we have that we are aware of “family learning” principles, practices, partnerships and research? To what extent can we demonstrate that the family learning opportunities being provided to families are improving outcomes?
- Do all parents have regular opportunities to contribute to the improvement journey and the wider life of the setting or school? If the answer is “yes”, what evidence do we have? If the answer is “no”, what steps might we take?
- How do we understand, acknowledge and address any personal unconscious bias(es) to fully and meaningfully engage with all children, parents and families that may have previously been overlooked?
- To what extent can we demonstrate that children, young people and families are at the centre of our decision-making processes?
- What evidence do we have that we are actively seeking out the voices of children, young people and families using a variety of mediums?
Gillian Hamilton, interim chief executive of Education Scotland, said: “Engaging with parents and families is essential in creating a learning culture within families, and in raising the attainment of our children.
“From research, we know that this can have a lifelong effect on family’s aspirations and attitudes towards learning, which, in turn, can lead to routes out of poverty.
“That is why the development of this framework has been such an important piece of work as it will support educators who are currently engaging and working with parents and families across Scotland. It will also be an extremely useful tool for the future teacher workforce and demonstrates our commitment to ensuring parental involvement, parental engagement, family learning and learning at home is considered from the outset.”
The document was launched by education secretary Jenny Gilruth last week.
She said: “We want Scotland to be the best place for children and young people to grow up and it is important to acknowledge the crucial role that parents, carers and families play in shaping the future of children’s learning.
“Families are diverse, and each family should be respected and supported.
“Involving and engaging parents, carers and families creates a collaborative environment where everyone works together to provide the best possible education for our children and young people.”
