the National Parent Forum of ScotlandNational Parents ConferenceSaturday 30th October 2010

Engaging Parents in CfE

Carol McDonald HMI

National Parents Conference

• Engaging parents in Curriculum for Excellence

• Parental input to the inspection process

Engaging parents

• Every parent wants their child to succeed• Parents are the biggest influence on their

children’s development – parental involvement and aspirations shape children’s and young people’s achievements

• Parents should be made welcome by schools as valued participants in their children’s learning and wider development

• Many teachers are also parents themselves

National Parents Conference

Parental involvement

• In an effective school, parents will be fully involved in their children’s learning and in the wider life and work of the school.

Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum for Excellence• Opportunities for increased parental

engagement– Experiences and Outcomes– Development of the skills and attributes of the

4 capacities– Ethos and life of the school as a community– Opportunities for personal achievement– Partnership working

National Parents Conference

• To help me develop an informed view, I can distinguish fact from opinion, and I am learning to try and recognise when my sources try to influence me and how useful these are.

• I am developing confidence when engaging with others within and beyond my place of learning. I can communicate in a clear, expressive way and I am learning to select and organise resources independently.

Second Level Literacy

Discussion

• The role of parents in – the ethos and life of the school as a

community – opportunities for personal achievement

School Inspection

• HMIE has responsibilities to evaluate the quality of education in– pre-school centres– All schools (primary, secondary, special)– Teacher education– Community learning and development– Further education – Local authoritiesAll inspection reports are published on our

website

School Inspection

• The inspection is to find out how well children are being educated and looked after

• Inspections starts with school’s self evaluation • We visit classrooms, observe learning, and talk

to young people and staff about learning• We meet with parents and other partners

involved in the work of the school• We spend time looking at the work of young

people and reading their reports• We may work with young people in small groups

School Inspection

Questions we seek to answer during inspection• How well do young people learn and achieve?• How well do staff work with others to support

young people’s learning?• Are staff and young people actively involved in

improving their school community?• Does the school have high expectations of all

young people?• Does the school have a clear sense of direction?

School Inspection - Parental Input

School Inspection• How parents are involved

– Before inspection• Notes for parents• Information to Chair of Parent Council • Questionnaires

– During inspection• Meetings with parents• Meeting with Chair of Parent Council

– Following inspection• Draft report to Chair of Parent Council• Report

National Parents Conference

Discussion

• How can we increase parental involvement in the inspection process?

School Inspection

School Inspection Framework Review

Principles of inspection and review

Separate frameworks for each of the sectors

below

Pre-school(stand alone)

Pre-schooland school

College Education functions of the local authority

Prisoneducation

Learningcommunities

What stage are we at –

and what’s the timescale?

• Launch of the consultation at the Scottish Learning Festival, 23rd Sept

• Consultation runs from 23rd Sept to 17th Dec• Being taken forward by George Street research on

behalf of HMI• Number of responses to date…. • Response from HMIE by 5th February • Trialling aspects in primary schools block 3 & in block 4

following the consultation• Piloting from April 2010• Implementation from September 2011

Why change now?

• completed generational cycle - need to decide on next approach to sampling

• need to respond to government policy on public sector scrutiny – e.g. proportionality and public focus

• want to build further on success of 2008 changes – inspecting ‘with’ rather than ‘to’

• need to adapt to policy & curricular changes• PSR (Public Services Reform) Act: duty of co-operation

& user focus• need to do ‘more for less’ and reduce our

environmental impact

Observing practice and experiences directly: focusing

on outcomes and impact

Independence, impartiality and

accountability

Equality and diversity

Best value

Proportionality, responsiveness and

assessment of risk

Partnership working with the users of our services

and other providers/scrutiny bodies

Transparency and mutual respect

Building on

self‑evaluation Improvement and

capacity building

Having all learners

or users at the heart of inspection

and review

Our ten underpinning principles

The Scottish approach to school improvement

Continuity in some fundamental principles• The primary responsibility for accounting for and

improving service quality lies with the providers (e.g. schools, teachers) themselves

• Quality should be ‘built in’ not ‘bolted on’• Pupils and parents have a right to know how well

their school is performing • Self-evaluation needs an infra-structure of national

support and challenge to be effective

What are our main Proposals?

• Better use of information on schools and centres to make sure we inspect where it really matters.

• Continue to inspect what really matters.• Greater emphasis on getting everyone involved.• Increasing staff involvement in inspection.• Clearer, more accessible reports.• Shorter period of notice.

Principles ofinspection and review

October 2010

How can you get involved?

• Complete the questionnaire now • Join a George Street focus group• Go to our website:

www.hmie.gov.uk & complete the questionnaire

• Call 01506 600200• Call our text phone 01506 600236

the National Parent Forum of ScotlandNational Parents ConferenceSaturday 30th October 2010

Engaging Parents in CfE

Thank you for your engagement today

Carol McDonald HMI