Parents' Charter

About the Parents' Charter

For too long the views of parents and carers have not been given the weight they deserve in improving education for all our children. Scotland’s mums, dads, and carers are the  champions of their children. They are the primary providers and first educators of their children and they are taxpayers too! Their voices must be heard. Please sign up here to support this Charter!
 
This Charter – with over 70 ‘asks’ and calls for action from parents and carers to improve Scottish education – is the result of Connect’s thousands of interactions with parents and carers in Scotland. Connect’s parent/carer surveys, our advice services, our online events and our daily contact with parents enable us to make sure parents’ diverse voices are heard. 
 
Connect has championed parents and the role of parents in Scottish education for almost 80 years. This Charter aims to amplify parents’ voices. If you support what parents have to say, and their calls for change, please sign this Charter and join our campaign for a better future for all of Scotland’s children. 

Respect our Rights

Respect our Rights

  • Uphold parents' and families' rights with mechanisms for overseeing this
  • Recognise and respect parents as advocates of their child
  • Involve parents in Rights Respecting Schools
  • Share information with parents about children’s rights
  • Independent complaints procedure for rights’ breaches
  • Inform parents about complaints procedure for rights’ breaches
  • Transparency with parents, children and young people in how data is used and gathered
  • What parents say
Parents' evenings once a year are not effective involvement. It should be a partnership with regular opportunities to be part of each child's support network. I want to know if they are happy, getting access to opportunities, do they feel safe and secure, is someone in the school rooting for them and wanting the best for them.
  • National standards for communicating with parents
  • Service level agreement between Scottish Government and local authorities for communication with parents and carers
  • Named school contact for every family
  • Consult parents on inclusive communication that works for them
  • Jargon-free accessible communications across Scotland
  • What Parents' say
We're lucky our school communications are very good. But jargon is a big issue and even if unintentionally, it can disempower parents.
  • Meaningful updates on learning and progress in plain English with translations if needed
  • Parent Learning Hub - training for parents to build knowledge and confidence
  • Respectful partnerships recognising parents as experts in their child
  • Clear information on parental involvement and rights
  • Quick independent mediation
  • What parents say
Early intervention is key and parents need to be given key updates in a timely manner ahead of any structured reporting. It’s imperative that the teacher and parent/guardian have open communications at all times.
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Parent Representation

Parent Representation

  • Support for Parent Councils
  • Local authority-wide Parent Council meetings/networks, linking to local authority education committees and officers
  • Direct funding for Parent Councils
  • Training and Connect Membership
  • Meaningful involvement in local improvement planning (inspections, policy-making and delivery)
  • What parents say
It is important to have involvement in inspection and planning processes as well as having representation - as long as it is meaningful for the people involved. It is vital that this is not a tick-box exercise and that voices/opinions are heard and respected - there is a need to have a two-way communication and feedback provided at all relevant stages to participants. Where appropriate, it is important to have training/understanding for Parent Council members.
  • Learning and improvement focus for all, centred on children
  • Seeking parent views and providing feedback
  • Whistleblowing process for staff, parents, carers, children and young people for urgent concerns (with follow-up response for whistle-blowers)
  • Direct contact for parents with His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education and the General Teaching Council for Scotland for welfare and safety concerns, requiring a follow-up response (with recording and reporting of these concerns)
  • Meaningful involvement in inspections (local and national)
  • Independent complaints procedure (quick and responsive)
  • What parents say
Parent Councils need more 'power' and more of a voice and need to be taken more seriously and be more involved and have their input valued and taken onboard and implemented.

Often parents have contacts or experience which can help with school improvement planning. We are all in this together and parents' experience should be valued and sought out.
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Support our Children

Support our Children

  • National Additional Support for Learning (ASL) diagnosis pathways and timescales
  • Provision of tailored support (staff, specialists, equipment, IT)
  • Compliance with legislation and national policy (ASL Act, Getting It Right for Every Child)
  • Consistency and clarity in recording support needs with staff, parents, children and young people
  • National Neurodiversity Action Plan and time-scales
  • Local reporting on the Plan to parents (implementation, delivery)
  • National strategy for highly able learners
  • Named ASL school contact and regular dialogue
  • School building design for inclusion
  • ‘Safe’ space/hub in every school
  • Clear guidance on ASL for taking qualifications
  • What parents say
Mainstream primary and secondary schools must do more in this area as right now the system is letting our young people down. Many are not getting the education they need as there is an overwhelming lack of resource and funding and schools are beyond stretched.
  • Counselling services with guaranteed wait times
  • Early response system for concerns (school drop ins)
  • Clear mental health pathways and early alert systems
  • Suicide prevention training for all
  • Share health and wellbeing learning with families
  • Shared understanding of the relationship between health, wellbeing and children's rights
  • What Parents' say
Recognise parents’ concerns around health and wellbeing are valid and work together to address parents’ concerns, including supporting preventative measures that will help to safeguard and protect children.
  • Core values of inclusion, support and kindness shared by all
  • Everyone working together for children and young people
  • Whole school community approaches to inclusion, equalities, anti-racism, anti-bullying etc co-designed with staff, parents, carers, children and young people and the wider community
  • What parents say
I do believe we are all in this together - to raise young people to be good citizens; happy, kind and conscientious people.
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Learning & Achievement

Learning & Achievement

  • An inclusive, engaging curriculum for all
  • Equality/parity for vocational qualifications
  • Expansion of free teacher-led elearning
  • Embed two-year Highers
  • Address barriers to attainment (access to content, ASN, kit, money, study space)
  • Access to qualifications for home-educated learners
  • Support and information for parents about education
  • What parents say
Modern education needs to remain flexible to ensure it is more accessible to all and that it provides a range of learning opportunities away from the 'traditional desk work' and exams/tests. There absolutely should be more of an emphasis on continuous assessment throughout the year. There should more concentration on the vocational/life skills syllabus in order to try and ensure children are more armed for the real world, instead of the more traditional subjects that the vast majority of children will never require to use again once they are away from education.
  • Address barriers to participation (travel, additional support needs, money, kit)
  • Opportunities for all children and young people
  • Recognition of home and community achievements
  • What Parents' say
All children should have the same opportunities for participation within school - irrespective of where they come from or their home life. These opportunities should be welcoming and open.
  • Share learning on health and wellbeing, learning for sustainability, equalities, anti-bullying, anti-racism etc
  • Clear reporting and two-way information-sharing to support learning and wellbeing
  • Embedded and meaningful parental involvement and family engagement
  • Shared focus on the child: development, learning, wellbeing
  • What parents say
We need better, more consistent e-learning materials that adhere to the curriculum and guidance as to how parents can help work alongside their child at home if required.
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Understand our Families

Understand our Families

  • New National Parenting Strategy
  • Recognise that children thrive when families thrive
  • Strong home-school-home communication
  • Respectful relationships-based approaches
  • Learning for all about diversity and inclusion
  • Learning for all about play, health and wellbeing, sustainability
  • What parents say
A new National Parenting Strategy needs to be relevant, free of jargon and widely communicated with all stakeholders in the system. It needs to be compiled using feedback and comments from all involved and needs to avoid any egos from the government.
  • Recognise and respect learning at home
  • Understand, value and respect that learning looks different in different families
  • Support parents to have confidence in their role
  • Value children’s community-based learning, interests and achievements
  • What Parents' say
Learning at home is a vital building block to children's education. It is important to know how certain things are taught in class ie maths, so that parents/ carers can work at home to build on education.
  • Build relationships with families to understand their family culture
  • Support-based approaches to school attendance are essential
  • Inclusive uniform policies for all families
  • Positive local authority support for home education
  • What Parents' say
It matters to me that all parents feel included and valued for their input. Especially minority groups.
  • Tailored support for helping children's learning and removing barriers
  • Named advocate/mentor for learning and wellbeing
  • Whole school community awareness training and support approaches
  • What parents say
Education needs to be more flexible as a whole, to meet the needs of the individual and not to tick a box. I think it is vital for schools to have a named, trusted person that children can go to for further assistance/ support - this does not necessarily have to be the class teacher.
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About

At Connect, we strive to make parental involvement and family engagement in education as good as it can be. We do this by working with our Members, parents and education partners and by delivering  a range of training opportunities and projects. 

Our Vision is a Scotland where every child and young person thrives through empowered parental engagement.

Our Mission is to advance effective parental and family engagement, inclusion, and representation in every early years and school community for the thriving future of Scotland’s children and young people.

Supporting the charter

Sign our Charter for a better future for all of Scotland’s children.







0131 474 6199 info@connect.scot
The Melting Pot, 15 Calton Rd, Edinburgh EH8 8DL

Connect is a trading name of Scottish Parent Teacher Council. Scottish Parent Teacher Council is a Company Limited by Guarantee No SC151086 and a registered Scottish charity SC019168

If you wish to make a complaint about Connect, please email us at info@connect.scot

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