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Parents to be more involved in children's schooling |
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Friday, 07 November 2008 |
New Scottish Government moves to give parents a greater role in deciding how their children are educated were announced today.
Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and Early Years, will tomorrow tell the Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) conference that there will be more work on involving parents in planning education, as well as a review of the role of Parent Councils.
These councils have been set up since September 2007 and give parents a voice in how their schools are run. The Government claims that more parents are involved with the new councils than participated in the previous school boards system.
"Parents are the vital link in ensuring the success of our children's education and we are committed to listening and responding to their concerns," he said.
"We have already demonstrated this through our funding of a national parental involvement coordinator, who is working closely with parent bodies, such as the SPTC, local authorities and government to make this happen.
"Furthermore, we have put in place a team of three regional coordinators who are building up local links between parents and schools, promoting partnership working and helping share best practise across the country."
The review will involve both a national survey and researchers attending meetings of councils and important schools bodies, including the Scottish Parent Councils Association and the Scottish Muslims Parents Association.
"We want Parent Councils to be as effective as possible and this survey will determine the support they need, how this can be best delivered and how they can take a more active role in ensuring parent voices are heard.
"The survey will be carried out over the next three months and I will be considering the findings in February 2009," Ingram added.
In addition to the new moves, the Scottish Government is encouraging parental involvement in the Curriculum for Excellence through a new website, educational materials including a DVD, and a range of workshops.
Readers have left 2 comments. 1. Parents to be more involved in children's schooling
Anonymous, Unregistered I hope this 'choice' extends to 'where' as well as 'how'. Across service provision - education included - the SNP needs to wake up to the reality of choice including private sector provision and how this can be better integrated into the mix of provision. 2. Parents to be more involved in children's schooling
Kathleen Webster, Unregistered Whilst heralding a move in the right direction, and laudable to encourage/ facilitate greater parental involvement in the education of their children, reversing the trend of parental apathy built up via the 'Leave it to the professionals; they know best' mantra, chanted by educational experts for too long, is an uphill struggle and will require commitment and dogged determination over a long period of time. Nevertheless, it is an aim worthy of such an effort and every success to it.
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