More Support For Parents

The first ever national action plan to encourage and support all parents to be fully involved in their child’s education has been launched by Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

The strategy has over 50 recommendations and is supported by £350,000 from the Scottish Government to help address barriers some parents may face. This includes steps to support positive involvement of all parents plus targeted actions aimed at specific groups including ethnic minority parents, parents of children with additional support needs, those with disabled children and those with learning disabilities.

Other commitments include a refresh of Education Scotland’s online ‘Engaging Parents and Families’ toolkit, the establishment of a working group to explore parental volunteer opportunities, a review of the existing statutory guidance on parental involvement and the development of improved guidance and training materials for parent councils.

Mr Swinney met with parents and pupils on Tuesday at Ibrox Primary School in Glasgow who have benefitted from increased parental involvement over the school break through the school’s summer club.

He said: “We want every parent and family to have the right support in place so that they can be involved in every stage of their children’s learning and development. We know there is a strong link between parental engagement and academic achievement and this plan will play a key role in helping to reduce the attainment gap.”

Joanna Murphy, Chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland said: “This strategy takes forward the recommendations of our Review and I hope it will allow all of us to continue to keep parents at the heart of their child’s learning. I welcome this firm step towards a political and legislative environment which champions the voice of parents.”

Image caption: Deputy First Minister John Swinney with pupils from Ibrox Primary School, Glasgow.

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