ONLY around half of Scottish parents think headteachers are “approachable” at a time when they are being handed unprecedented power over the running of schools, according to a new poll.
The YouGov survey also shows 44 per cent of parents don’t know whether the flagship Pupil Equity Fund is being spent well by schools, despite the intention to involve families in the decision making process.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS) as part of its response to a Scottish Government consultation on proposals for a Headteachers’ Charter.
Analysis: Better parental involvement the toughest nut to crack in school policy
The charter – part of a new Education Bill to be introduced later this year – will allow school leaders to shape the curriculum, decide on how funding is allocated and choose staff.
The Bill also focuses on improving the involvement of parents in the running of schools to make sure local views are taken into account - including a duty on heads to work in co-operation with parent councils.
However, although 55 per cent of those who took part in the NPFS survey thought headteachers were “open and approachable” the rest either did not or were not sure.
In addition, one third of the 1,000 people who took part did not think their school spent enough money making sure parents were involved.
Joanna Murphy, chairwoman of the NPFS, said: “While it is encouraging around half of parents feel headteachers are approachable we obviously have concerns about how a headteacher in the proposed new governance structure, with a duty to collaborate with parents, could find ways to engage with the remaining 45 per cent.
“It will be vital moving forward with a renewed emphasis on parental engagement that headteachers are supported by councils to explore the experience of their school community from a parent’s perspective.
“For collaboration to work the headteacher should set an example to the entire school staff in ensuring all parents are a valued part of the school community.”
Analysis: Better parental involvement the toughest nut to crack in school policy
Ms Murphy said the next tranche of the multi-million pound Pupil Equity Fund - targeted at schools serving disadvantaged communities - would give heads the opportunity to be “bold and adventurous” in reaching out to parents.
She added: “We acknowledge engagement can be resource intensive and these additional funds should be used, in part, to break down the barriers that many schools have already identified and recognised.
“It is not enough for our schools to carry on with the status quo. Rather than schools labelling parents as hard to reach, now is the time for them to recognise that for many parents it is the school that seems too far from their reach.”
The concerns were backed up in a separate submission to the consultation from parent organisation Connect - formerly the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.
It said: “Parents tell us they do not wish to run schools, but to be seen as co-educators alongside teachers, tutors and coaches.
“Our experience currently is that headteachers’ experience and capability in this area is extremely variable.
“In some parts this is a result of improvement plans often being largely dictated by local authority imperatives, but in others it is because headteachers do not have the skill set necessary to ensure school improvement is a collaborative process involving the whole school community.”
Connect said “critical change” was needed to ensure headteachers saw parental engagement as being central to school improvement.
Jim Thewliss, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, which represents secondary headteachers, said the survey - of around 200 Scottish parents - was positive.
Analysis: Better parental involvement the toughest nut to crack in school policy
He said: “Given the usual caveats around the representative nature of those who reply to surveys it is reassuring to find that over half viewed their relationship with the headteacher in such a positive vein.
“We continue to seek ways and strategies to ensure we can make ourselves more accessible to the small number who feel links with the school are less than satisfactory.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman reforms were focussed on giving schools and headteachers more power and money to raise standards.
She added: “Our proposals are based on international evidence of how high-performing education systems work and will deliver extra help for teachers in the classroom, more professional development and a stronger voice for parents and pupils.
“We welcome feedback in response to our consultation on the Bill and will consider all the responses received.”
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