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Parent Councils

As of August 2007, Parent Councils became the new representative body for parents, replacing School Boards and parents associations which some schools currently have in place.

Because parents have such a vital role to play in their children's education, the Scottish Parliament passed a new law called the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006, which took effect from August 2007. The new Act changed the arrangements for parental representation in all schools and makes it a top priority for every education authority and every school to support the involvement of parents.

What is a Parent Council?

The detail of what a Parent Council does will be decided by parents, but the Parental Involvement Act lays down certain functions which can be summarised as four broad areas:

• support the school in its work with pupils
• represent the views of all parents
• encourage links between the school, parents, pupils, pre-school groups and the wider community
• report back to the Parent Forum.

Parent Councils will also have a role in the appointment of headteachers and depute headteachers.

The school and the local authority must listen to what the Parent Council says and give it a proper response. Every school's Parent Council will be different because it will be parents in each school who decide such things as:

• how their Council will be set up
• what it should be called
• what size it should be - e.g. in a very small primary school, all parents could be involved
• who should be a member of the Parent Council
• how they should be appointed
• what's the most convenient time to hold meetings
• what will be discussed at meetings - these might be topics such as school uniform, parking near the school, the school's anti-bullying policy, etc.

Generally, members of the Parent Council must be parents of children who attend the school and the chairperson must have a child in the school. However, the Parent Council can decide to co-opt other members from teachers and the community who will have knowledge and skills to help them.

Parent Councils in Clackmannanshire Schools

For information on which schools in Clackmannanshire have Parent Councils in place, you can visit our page entitled Parent Councils in Clackmannanshire Schools.

What does the Law say?

The main aims of the Parental Involvement Act are to:

• help parents become more involved with their child's education and learning
• welcome parents as active participants in the life of the school
• provide easier ways for parents to express their views and wishes.

To help achieve these aims, all parents will automatically be members of the Parent Forum at their child's school and will be entitled to have a say in what happens at the school.

What does being a member of the Parent Forum mean?

As a member, you can expect to:

• get information about what your child is learning
• get information about events and activities at the school
• get advice/help on how you can support your child's learning
• be told about opportunities to be involved in the school
• have a say in selecting a Parent Council to work on behalf of all parents at your school.

Where can I get more information?

You can find out more about the Parental Involvement Act and how it supports the role of parents as partners in their children's learning by:

• using the Parents as partners in the children's learning Toolkit. This toolkit has been sent to every school, school board and PTA. It contains checklists and activities to help parents and schools look at how they can work together
• asking the headteacher or your child's teacher about what you can do to support your child's learning or how you can get more involved with the school
• asking the school board or PTA what the arrangements are for developing the new Parent Council.

You can also find more information about parents as partners in children's learning, or any aspect of Scottish education through the Parentzone website.