This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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EIS conference
15/11/2003
Parents have a central role to play in their children's learning and must be enabled to play their part, a conference was told today.
Announcing plans to consult on a new approach to parental involvement, Minister for Education and Young People Peter Peacock said that parents wanted to be involved in their children's education. But he stressed that parental partnerships would bring new responsibilities as well as rights for parents.
In a speech to the EIS conference in Edinburgh, Mr Peacock said:
"Parents want to be valued and welcomed members of the school community. They want to know how to make their voices heard, to know that they will be listened to, involved in decision-making and sure that their views will be taken seriously.
"That's why I want to shift the balance from an institutional view of parental involvement towards making parents partners in the learning process. But in doing so, I want to be sure that we save the best of what we have already by way of parental rights to current involvement.
"We must learn from the schools and education authorities where parental partnerships are strongest and most successful and move away from any inflexible, centralised, one-size-fits-all prescriptive approaches.
"We need clear recognition of parents' wishes and expectations together with a flexible response to meeting them, appropriate to individual schools and groups of parents. Parents and teachers working together will deliver real and lasting results and ensure that all children get the education they deserve.
"I want parents to be involved in shaping these new arrangements. They will also need to be reviewed regularly, with schools asking parents whether the arrangements are right and working well.
"But there are two sides to any deal - parents must also know what we expect of them. Schools should be able to look to engage parents who are willing and better able to support all aspects of their children's learning - as well as ensuring they get to school on time, fit to learn and behave well."
Peter Peacock was speaking at the EIS Conference in Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
The consultation on parental involvement will get underway early next year.