1. National Parent Forum of
Scotland
Seminar
www.nationalparentforum.org
@parentforumscot
facebook.com/parentforumscotland
#npfs2014

2. Background
1988 School Boards introduced
2006 Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act
2007 Parent Councils introduced
2009 National Parent Forum of Scotland created
2014 New partnership with Children in Scotland,
Education Scotland and Scottish Government established

3. Parents as partners in learning
‘Parents, carers and families are by far the most
important influences in a child’s life. Parents who
take a supportive role in their child’s learning
make a difference in improving achievement and
behaviour’
‘When parents and schools work together
children do better’
Guidance on the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement)
Act 2006

4. Parental Involvement Act
• Scottish Government and local authorities
have a duty to promote parental
involvement in education.
• Parent Councils provide a means for
parents to get involved in their child’s
school and have their say about education
matters.
• Parent Councils help schools, parents and
local authorities communicate with each
other

5. What is a Parent Council?
• All parents and carers of pupils at a school =
the ‘Parent Forum’. Parent Forum decides if
they want a Parent Council and what type of
Council they want.
• Parent Councils are made up of members of
the Parent Forum, but can choose to bring in
other parents (‘co-opted parents’).
• PCs provide support and information so that
Parent Forum can participate and have their
views heard by the school and the local
authority.

6. What rights do Parent Councils
have?
• PCs should influence decisions, be listened to
and be taken seriously. Should be involved in
important decisions e.g. school’s improvement
plan and recruitment process for the head and
deputy head.
• PCs have the right to receive information and
advise the school and the local authority.
• PCs have the right to receive support from the
local authority – e.g. funding, services and
accommodation.

7. What should Parent Councils do?
• Suggest ways to get parents involved in children’s
learning to improve their levels of achievement
• Help build positive relations between parents and
schools
• Advise on consulting with wider parent forum on
decisions about the school
• Ensure that school events are enjoyable, encourage
parental participation and suit the needs of parents.
• Keep Parent Forum informed about the work they’re
doing.
• Encourage communication between the school, parents,
pupils, nurseries and the wider community.

8. Curriculum •for Excellence
The four capacities:
• Purpose of CfE is encapsulated in the four
capacities - to enable each child or young
person to be a successful learner, a confident
individual, a responsible citizen and an
effective contributor.
• CfE aims to ensure that all children and young
people in Scotland develop the knowledge,
skills and attributes they will need if they are to
flourish in life, learning and work, now and in
the future.

9. Curriculum •for Excellence

10. Curriculum •for Excellence
• Attributes and capabilities can be used as a guide to
check whether the curriculum for any pupil sufficiently
reflects the purposes of CfE.
Developing the four capacities
• Experiences and outcomes: set of statements which
describe the expectations for learning and progression
for each of the eight curriculum areas.
• Importance of the quality and nature of the learning
experience in developing attributes and capabilities and
in achieving active engagement, motivation and depth of
learning. An outcome represents what is to be achieved.
• Experiences and outcomes for each curriculum area build
in all the attributes and capabilities and so develop the
four capacities.

11. Curriculum for Excellence
The eight curriculum areas are:
•Expressive arts
•Health and wellbeing
•Languages
•Mathematics
•Religious and moral education
•Sciences
•Social studies
•Technologies

12. National Parent Forum of Scotland
role
• Provides an independent voice for
parents and carers
• Communicates with parents and Parent
Councils
• Builds partnerships at national and local
levels
• Parent representation on national
committees and working groups

13. Providing information for parents

14. Resources
• Nationals in a Nutshell
• Highers in a Nutshell
• Revision in a Nutshell
• Assessment in a Nutshell
• Progression in a Nutshell
• Skills in a Nutshell
• Learner Journey
• Pointers for Parents
• Let’s Talk
• Sharing Learning, Sharing Assessment
• Plus e-newsletter, policy briefings, focus group reports…

15. Questions?