“It’s vital that parents take an active interest in their child’s education. Evidence shows that pupils behave better, achieve more and have better attendance when their parents are involved in their schooling. This is something we feel very strongly about in Argyll and Bute, and we are committed to developing it”.
These were the words of the council’s Policy Lead for Education, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly when members of the Community Services Committee agreed a revised Parental Engagement Strategy today (Thursday), subject to the launch of the Action Plan to Support Parental Involvement from Scottish Government.
The strategy was drafted with input from parent councils across Argyll and Bute, and will enable parents, schools and the education service to work together in a more effective manner.
Ensuring high quality partnership working through increased parental engagement and participation is one of the key objectives of the council’s Education Vision and Strategy - Our Children, Their Future.
The six objectives of the strategy are as follows:
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Develop strong partnerships with parents.
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Promote and support effective communication between schools and parents.
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Provide support and encouragement for learning at home.
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Support and promote the role of Parent Councils.
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Provide a clear route for parents’ concerns and complaints to be resolved.
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Seek views and respond to feedback from parents about this policy.
Councillor McNeilly continued: “We want to ensure that our children have the very best start in life and are ready to succeed. Encouraging parents to interact more with their children through learning not only strengthens the relationship between the parent and the child, but it also enables parents to develop stronger ties with the school.
“Parents become much more aware of the curriculum for excellence and the individual learnings needs of the child. This strategy has been created with the help of our parent councils, who have told us that they would like to be more involved in strategic decisions.
“We also recently held our first ever annual parent council conference, which was a huge success.
“This is a very positive step for everyone and one which we look forward to building on.”