SPTC Response to The Draft Statutory Guidance for Part 1 of the Education (Scotland) Act 2016,
amending the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000
1.
SPTC Background
SPTC welcomes this opportunity to submit comments on the above consultation. SPTC is a long-standing
parent-led charity and third sector intermediary for parent groups. Our purpose is to support effective parental
involvement in education, which we seek to achieve by providing help, advice and support to parents and by
working across Scottish education with local authorities, schools and other stakeholders to build and share
good practice.
As part of this mission we see a clear connection between parental involvement and successful outcomes for
young people. This comes through involvement in supporting learning, and also in supporting good choices in
education and career planning.
SPTC has both formal and informal contact with thousands of parents and carers over recent years: they have
responded to our surveys, emailed and phoned with their queries and worries, spoken to our team as we work
with them face-to-face at our information sessions. Our membership comprises almost 2000 Parent Councils
and/or PTAs in state schools, representing tens of thousands of parents and carers, as well as individuals and
bodies who support our work.
In response to this consultation we have highlighted what we believe to be some of the key issues from the
perspective of parents and from our position as an organisation working with a range of partners across
education, including local authorities.
2.
Inequalities of outcome and socio-economic disadvantage
While we recognise that the circumstances in which a child lives and the socio-economic position of his or her
family is one of the most significant influences on outcomes for young people in terms of their school and
subsequent education, training and work, it is important also to recognise the following important issues.
Poverty is not confined to specific communities and is in fact - whether visible or invisible – present in every
school community. We therefore must guard against the notion that the issues of disadvantage can be seen
simply within the context of specific communities.
Indeed, inequalities of outcome can be identified in every school, often with a focus on additional support
needs (not necessarily poverty). We know that young people who are looked after and those with disabilities,
in particular, experience significant disadvantage which in turn impacts on outcomes. The apparent inability of
our education system of address this group of young people requires significant and focussed activity.
As evidenced by the report on research conducted by Save the Children and the Children’s Commissioner,
‘Learning Lessons’ in 2014, young people often have high levels of understanding about their situations and
resent many of the assumptions made about their lives by those in authority.
It should also be noted that young people make choices and decisions in light of family circumstances, for
instance avoiding school outings or activities, or not selecting some subjects for further study, which they see
as likely to add a financial burden to their families. This is not an obvious result of socio-economic
disadvantage, but it is one which has a significant impact on the circumstances of our young people, who limit
their experiences and their ambitions and choices for the future.
We agree with the guidance on the importance of identifying gaps in attainment early so that they can be
tackled. However, in order to achieve this a local authority may require to mobilise a wide range of services
and supports, along with other public services and the third sector. In other words, addressing this matter
does not rest exclusively within the walls of a school or between the hours of 9am and 3pm: when families
need support, it should be provided in flexible ways that suit their needs and circumstances. The reality up
and down Scotland at the moment is that services and supports for families – and indeed in schools – are
being cut.
It is also important to increase knowledge of how the attainment gap can be addressed (and the partner
organisations which can support) and to train staff to be aware of the signs and effects of poverty, such as
overcrowding at home and the effects of poor mental health which can affect a child’s ability to learn.
3.
Duties on Local Authorities
The effect of this Statutory Guidance on Local Authorities is to place further responsibility for delivery of
services but also accountability in terms of reporting on the impact of the measures the authority is taking. We
very much support the twin notions of responsibility and accountability. However, we are challenged to identify
the coherence between this Statutory Guidance and the commitment made in the current consultation on
Education Governance, in which there is a commitment to regionalisation and shifting both funding and
decision making to school community level.
The implication of these commitments is that Local Authorities will be accountable for the impact of education
provision (and the other services which support improved outcomes for children and their families), but
potentially not responsible for the delivery. We see this as a fundamental question which requires to be
clarified by Scottish Government.
4.
School Improvement Planning
We are disappointed that parent and young people are referenced in the guidance in this topic area simply in
terms of consultation and sources of evidence. The Parental Involvement Act identifies parents as having a
specific role within the improvement planning process: to SPTC that means parents must be actively involved,
and schools challenged to meet the requirements of the legislation. The guidance should therefore crossreference to this duty.
Effective School Improvement Planning (formerly Development Plans) has been the subject of a significant
piece of work undertaken by the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change. With Government funding,
which we now understand has ceased, the centre led a project around the use of collaborative strategies to
ensure SIPs address educational inequality.
http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/researchprojects/schoolimprovementpartnershipprogrammeu
singcollaborationandenquirytotackleeducationalinequality/
It is disappointing that this work, which has been limited but nevertheless successful, has not been referenced
in this Guidance, nor do the lessons from this active research project appear to be have been built in.
SPTC is currently also piloting Partnership Schools Scotland (based on research undertaken by Dr Joyce
Epstein at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore) which specifically connects school improvement planning and
implementation, with the involvement of parents and other stakeholders to improve attainment and
achievement.
In our view there is much more that can be identified in the guidance which exemplifies the approaches which
strengthen the collaborative nature of improvement planning.
5.
Engagement of pupils and parents
SPTC is pleased that the views of parents of pupils, Parent Councils and wider parent forums within schools
must be sought and taken into regard by the Education Authority when fulfilling their “due regard” duty. The
2000 Act allows the Scottish Ministers to extend through regulations, the scope of duty placed on education
authorities to capture other groups of children experiencing inequalities of educational outcome. However, this
guidance states that there are no plans to use this regulation making power at present, which seems to be a
missed opportunity in relation to inequalities of outcome.
As an organisation whose work is focussed on ensuring effective engagement of families, we believe there is
a long way to go in Scotland to achieve consistently high quality engagement of families within education.
While there are pockets of good practice, there is little consistency or evidence-based practice in the system.
Our beginning teachers may leave University having never encountered a parent or having been introduced to
the body of evidence around the role of families in children’s education, nor having reviewed and understood
strategies for doing so effectively. In effect, they begin their careers believing that the impact they have as a
classroom teacher is the most important in a child’s educational development.
In fact the circumstances of families and the support they are able to provide to their children is the most
significant in a child’s education: education professionals require to understand this dynamic and, most
importantly, how to engage and support families to help their children.
The findings of the SPICe briefing on Closing the Attainment Gap identifies various positive strategies in
family engagement: we believe family engagement should be evidence based, planned, sustained, benefit
from co-production and focus on the capacities of both children and their families. These core elements must
be part of our teacher education programmes if we are to make any impact on this significant shared concern.
Eileen Prior
10 November 2016