CHAPTER TEN: CONCLUSIONS
This evaluation shows that the series of Making the Difference leaflets has been well received by schools and local authorities and, to a lesser extent, by parents. While parents chose to focus on those leaflets perceived to be of greatest relevance to themselves, most identified at least two or three leaflets that would be of use.
The qualitative research with parents suggested that only a limited number of these leaflets had been distributed to parents by schools and there was no consistency in their circulation. That said, there were limited suggestions from some parents that information contained within the leaflets had been utilised and distributed in other formats such as school handbooks. There were some queries from parents over distribution channels utilised by schools and requests for a more consistent approach to distribution of the leaflets to all parents or to whose for whom each leaflet was relevant.
Parents identified a number of different criteria of importance in development of a series of leaflets and the Making the Difference series met most of these criteria. There were some requests for localised information to be provided alongside, or in some cases instead of, that already in the leaflets in order to optimise their usage. There were also some suggestions that co-branding of the Scottish Executive and the school might increase readership of the leaflets. Although it was at times frustrating for some of the parents to read information in leaflets demonstrating options or opportunities that were not available through their school (e.g. crèches at parents' evenings), these do however contain information in relation to possible activities or actions for parents or schools in relation to their children's learning. As a result, the series of leaflets could act as a useful information tool for parents involved in parent forums to highlight options for their schools.
There were high levels of awareness of the Making the Difference series of leaflets from both school and local authority staff, although parents had utilised very few sources of information on parental involvement. A large majority of local authority staff had requested additional copies of leaflets and the bulk of these were distributed to parents at meetings or events. However, this may mean that parents who choose not to go to meetings or events will not be in receipt of these leaflets.
While the leaflets have had an impact on parental involvement, the quantitative data suggests that they may have served more to increase awareness of issues in relation to parental involvement, rather than having a direct impact on actual parental involvement. However, respondents participating in the qualitative discussions noted the importance of continued provision of these leaflets. In the words of one respondent,
"There must be people who do need help and don't know where to go to get it, so if they got a leaflet like this, it would make it easier. There's such a cross-section of people in schools, so I don't think they (the Scottish Executive) are wasting their time."
(Highland, Female, ABC1)
Consideration needs to be given to future distribution channels that are utilised in order to maximise awareness and usage of this series of leaflets. There may well be opportunities for the Scottish Executive to provide guidance to local authorities and schools on how best to work with the information provided. For example, if a leaflet on bullying were produced, respondents would welcome a Scottish overview, alongside local authority and school information on how bullying is dealt with. Consideration also needs to be given as to the most appropriate time to distribute each leaflet and the audience(s) to which each is most appropriate.