Agenda item

Consider report by Service Director, Young People Engagement & Inclusion (copy attached).

EDUCATION BUSINESS

Present:-    Mr I. Topping, Mr G Wilkinson, (Parent  Representative), Harry Scott (Pupil Representative)

Apologies:- Mr T. Davidson, Lindsay Craig, Katie Brookes.

CHAIRMAN

In the absence of Councillor Carol Hamilton (Executive Member for Children and Young People) the meeting was chaired by Councillor Haslam.

1.1       There had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director, Young People   Engagement & Inclusion seeking approval of the final draft of the Partnership with Parents Framework attached as Appendix 1 to the report.  It was proposed that the Partnership with Parents Framework would reflect and align with the national guidance and legislation outlined in learning together: national action plan on parental involvement, engagement, family learning and learning at home, to provide a clear strategic direction on collaborative practice with parents for all schools and in Scottish Borders Council.  The Partnership with Parents Framework sat within the “Achieving Excellence in Learning play #yourpart”, alongside the Inclusion Strategy and the Inclusion Policy presented to Executive Committee in January 2020.  Scottish Borders Council had a clear vision and commitment to raise attainment and achievement for all our children and young people.  The full participation of parents in learning and school improvement was an essential element in achieving this.  With the aid of a slide presentation, the Quality Improvement Officer, Kevin McCall gave members a summary of the Framework which had been developed based on the information gathered during consultation and on national expectations. The Framework supported the work needing to be undertaken by schools by providing an outline of national policies, research evidence and supportive tools to enable delivery and evaluation of impact. This approach would ensure that all parents living in Scottish Borders could experience a clear and consistent approach to involvement in their school and their child’s learning.

1.2       Members welcomed the development of the Framework and in the ensuing discussion received answers to their questions. In terms of the results of the 2019 Parental Involvement and Engagement Census, detailed in tables within the report, Mr McCall confirmed that the level of parental engagement did drop off between Primary and Secondary and there was also a difference between Primary and Secondary in respect of the gender of parental involvement. This would be one of the focus areas for attention.  With regard to the red and amber indicators in the Census relating to Learning at Home and Family Learning, Mr McCall confirmed this was a key area of focus within the Framework.  However he stressed that the Census had been carried out in 2019, before roll-out of the Inspire Learning programme and before experience gained during the management of education through the Covid-19 pandemic. Within a national context the Local Authority was now well-placed due to the Inspire Learning regime which provided pupils with their individual iPad to facilitate learning whether at home or in school.  Mr McCall explained that most barriers for improvement in terms of parental involvement and engagement were demonstrated to be around practical issues, such as childcare, timing, work commitment etc.  He provided an example of how such an issue was approached when, at the request of parents and due to the current requirement to hold meetings remotely, the timing of regular Parent Council Chair Forum meetings had been moved from evening to lunchtime.  This had resulted in significantly improved attendance.  With regard to the challenges for parents to be able to realistically provide assistance with their children’s education in the light of significant changes in basic methods of learning, Mr McCall explained that following a dialogue with parents started over 18 months ago, regarding training needs, a series of outreach training sessions had been delivered and these were now continuing on-line.  This was a recognised challenge at school level which needed to happen as part of an evaluation to facilitate a collaborative approach with parents.  In this respect and to facilitate an equitable approach, there had been a focus on Community Learning and Development in 18 schools which had been identified as having the greatest level of need and where work was required in terms of relationship building with parents, starting with engagement through the early years teams.

DECISION

AGREED to approve the final draft of the Partnership with Parents Framework, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, and to confirm that this could be circulated to all learning establishments in the Scottish Borders.