1st December 2021
Over 400 parents and carers took part in our survey, How's It Going? Autumn 2021. Thank you!
There were questions on school-home communications, parent consultations/evenings, Parent Councils, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on families and young people and more. The survey report and a selection of parents' comments are available below:
Our calls for change and improvement as a result of this survey are:
- Schools and local authorities must remember: parents have a legal right to be involved in their child’s learning and this must be complied with and respected; young people with additional support needs have a legal right to support –many parents say their child is still not getting support and help
- Consistent approaches are used across all local authorities: Scottish Government guidance is being applied differently in some schools/nurseries and local authorities on topics such as class outings (‘yes’ to COP26 trips, ‘no’ to pantomimes), class Christmas parties, the use of ‘bubbles’ and more. National guidance is undermined when parents and young people can’t understand these variations
- There is a renewed and consistent focus on supporting remote learning when young people are absent: a lack of internet access and no work given by some schools/teachers remain issues
- Urgent reviews take place in all local authorities: restrictions that impact very negatively on young people in schools must be reviewed frequently, with clear explanations about decision making. Negative impacts include: no hot meals, young people eating lunch at their desks, outdoor play restricted to bubbles, no water refills allowed etc. Some of these practices relate to previous guidance, not current guidance. Pupils must be cared for and listened to
- Communication between home and school is improved: some parents report really positive experiences; others urgently need oneto-one meetings/discussion with teachers (egparents’ evenings online or face-to-face). The benefits of the intense involvement of parents in children’s learning during lockdown may be lost
- Signposting and information to mental health support and services is improved
- Young people must be at the centre of local and national discussions now about 2022 SQA qualifications: parents are already telling us their young person is facing test after test, in case exams don’t happen, when so much learning has been missed by many secondary school pupils
- Parental awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights to the Child is increased.