This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Parents urged to make the difference
12/11/2004
A first in a series of information packs for parents to encourage involvement in their childrens' school was launched today.
At Glasgow's St Andrew's RC Secondary Education Minister Peter Peacock said that parents have the power to make a real difference to performance at school - but not all realise how influential they can be.
He highlighted that - as 5-16 year olds spend just 15 per cent of their time in school - the importance of parental involvement should not be underestimated.
As part of the initiative, the Parentzone website - www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk - has also been improved to provide more detailed information on how parents can support their children's learning.
Mr Peacock said:
"A first class education is a key part of our desire to grow a generation of ambitious, confident Scots. But that education does not begin and end at the school gate.
"Parents have a vital role to play in supporting their children and helping them develop their skills. But not all parents know how best to do this and not all parents know where to turn for help.
"The three-tier information package I am launching today is designed to give parents the support and advice they want.
"It is designed to be flexible and to augment information already available from schools in ways that can be used to best suit their local circumstances.
"Helping children acquire the vital skills and self-confidence they need to grow into successful adults sounds like a daunting task. But we must succeed - for the sake of our young people and for Scotland's future.
"Neither parents nor schools can do this alone. But working together we can - and we will - help each and every child get the great start in life that they deserve."
Bruce Lorimer, Chairman of St Andrew's Secondary School Board, said:
"We believe parents play a pivotal role in the education of children and parents in our school always promote the school motto- putting young people first.
"I am proud to be chair of St Andrew's School Board. We work together with the headteacher, parents, teachers and children through excellent communications, including newsletters and our recent parental survey on homework."
Alan Smith, President of the Scottish School Board Association,
said:
"We welcome this as a first step in supporting parents' involvement in their children's education. It will help parents to engage at a level with which they are most comfortable and we appreciate the flexibility of the non prescriptive approach adopted by the Executive."
Graeme Millar, Chairman of the Scottish Consumer Council, added:
"The education of children can only benefit from having parents active and involved in supporting their child's progress at school. To do that, they need information on how to get the best out of the education system.
"We welcome the Executive's initiative to provide parents with such information through these support packages."
Scottish results from the Programme for International Student Assessment, published in June, found that children who had regular discussions with their parents scored considerably higher than those who did not.
The Making the Difference series is being prepared through a partnership between the Executive, the Quality in Education Centre (University of Strathclyde) and Children in Scotland.
Topics to be covered will be decided with the help of parents, schools, education authorities and others. The first package focuses on homework.
Each package will have information at three levels.
Firstly, succinct information for parents - a sample leaflet will be sent to schools or can be downloaded from the Parentzone website so that schools and parent representatives can discuss when and how to use the information.
Secondly, more detailed, practical information for parents is available on Parentzone, for parents and schools who want access to additional support and advice.
Finally, staff development materials for schools will be available on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website.
Research shows that:
- 85 per cent of the language we use as adults is in place by the time we are five and 50 per cent is in place by the age of three
- When schools and families work together, children do better
- When parents are actively involved in home reading, their children's reading scores improve by, on average, between 12 and 18 months
- Doing homework regularly throughout their school career has roughly the same benefit as an extra year's schooling