PARENT FORUMS/COUNCILS - WHAT WILL THEY DO FOR ME?

As the new Parental Involvement Bill is launched, parents are right to ask "What's in it for me? Will a different type of board or council really make a difference?"

What parents want: Ever since they were first asked, parents have made clear what they want. They have never wanted to run schools, but have always wanted the chance to express their views, to raise issues that are important to them, to be taken seriously, to get a proper response to their requests and questions and to understand better what goes on at school. In a nutshell, that is what the Bill and the new system of Parent Forums and Councils offers.

Accessibility - the opportunity to get more involved: The new Parent Councils will be parent-friendly, shaped and appointed by parents locally in each school (the parent forum) and take account of local differences. So, in a very small primary school the Council could comprise all the parents; in a west coast secondary where some parents live a ferry-ride away, the Council could accommodate some members via an internet or video link; in a big urban secondary the Council could be based on a series of sub-committees at year group level.

The new Councils can be set up and meet in ways which take account of different working patterns in different areas and reflect the fact that parents' "spare" time is always precious and limited.

Focus on parents’ own issues, and priorities: Having established a new Parent Council, the next step will be to focus on issues which really matter to the parent. Top of the list in one school might be an outbreak of head lice, in another, it could be whether to continue to enter S3 pupils for Standard Grade, then there are the pros and cons of school uniform, parking at the school gates, the state of the toilets and so on. In all cases it will be parents rather than anyone else who will set the Council’s agenda.

Right to information: The new Councils will have a right to information so, as at present, parents will have a right to know about school funding and how funds are spent. If a Parent Council does some fundraising of its own, parents will have a good idea of where the spending gaps are and how they might best use any monies raised.

Being taken seriously: The rights of the new Parent Councils are set out in the Bill. The school and the local authority must listen to what parents say and give a proper response. Sometimes information may be enough, sometimes it may mean a change in policy and sometimes it may be a careful explanation as to why the parents’ requests cannot be granted. In all cases parents can expect to influence decisions, to be listened to and be taken seriously.

Getting to know the school: Parents who currently get involved in the school quickly find one of the big benefits is that they have a much better understanding of how the school works and what the teachers do. With the opportunity for more parents to get involved through Parent Forums and the flexible Parent Councils, more parents will experience these benefits.

The real challenges: Of course nothing works smoothly all the time. Individual parents will still have problems that will have to taken directly to the school – indeed the Bill strengthens their right to do just that. Not all the parents in a school will think the same about every issue, so different groups of parents may want conflicting things or disagree with a school policy. The new Parent Councils, like so much else, will depend on people working together in a spirit of goodwill, on parents taking advantage of the new opportunities to get more involved in the school and with the teachers.

TO SUMMARISE:- Parent Councils are an opportunity, rather than a guarantee. They are there for parents to make work, in whatever way they want, to help make their views clear on decisions and matters which worry or concern them. The main benefits are:
• the structure and size of the new Councils will be totally parent-friendly
• they will focus on the issues which are of most concern and most important to parents
• as statutory bodies they will have a voice that cannot be ignored.
In short, they should deliver what parents have long said they wanted.

The above is based on Scottish Executive information