Schools

Parent Councils

The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 was established to improve parents’ involvement in their child’s education and in the life of the school generally.

The act has led to the establishment of Parent Councils in schools to enable all parents and carers in South Ayrshire to be:

Involved with their child’s education and learning
Welcomed as active participants in the life of the school, and
Encouraged to express their views on school education generally and work in partnership with the school

Education Culture and Lifelong Learning recognise that parents are the first and ongoing educators of their children and know them best. The Scottish (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 provides us with an opportunity to help parents and schools work together closely to ensure that children benefit from this shared knowledge and expertise. Head teachers have an important role in working with parents and helping to take forward parental involvement in school. Education Culture and Lifelong Learning staff will continue to support schools in developing their links with parents and carers into effective and strong Parent Councils. This joint partnership will help in the drive to ensure all children reach their full potential and take forward the key areas below:

Learning at home

Education, Culture and Lifelong Learning, Head Teachers and school staff all recognise the vital role that parents and carers play in their children’s learning and development. Parents can expect to receive information and support from school to help develop their child’s learning at home.

Home/school partnership

To ensure children get the most out of their time in school, effective home/school partnerships are needed. Schools will be open to the involvement of parents in the work they do. School staff will continue to support and develop ways of providing information that will help them engage with the school and their children’s learning.

Parental representation

The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 gives all parents and carers of children at school an opportunity to become involved in the life of the school and to have their views taken in account. All parents with a child at school are automatically members of the Parent Forum. The Parent Forum will be represented in each school through a Parent Council. The Parent Council will be helped and supported by ECLL staff and the Community Learning and Development team.

We also recognise that not all parents find it easy or straightforward to take up opportunities to become involved in their child’s education. If barriers to parental involvement exist, we would wish to listen to parents to address such issues and help everyone benefit from our plans to work closely together.

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Schools

Parent Councils