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Summary
8. Broad support exists for there being one national parent body in the future. No rationale for the continued existence of both of the current national bodies has been offered by any consultee.
9. Further work led by parents is required to determine its detailed shape and character. In particular, parents newly involved through the promotion of Parent Councils must have the opportunity to play a full part in what emerges.
10. However, some degree of consensus exists as gleaned from survey evidence from parents currently active in school boards and parent teacher associations and other stakeholders to allow the following framework to be advanced for further consideration:
- A body promoting parent involvement with three main roles: to represent parents, support the development of local parents' organisations and provide advice and information to individual parents
- A company limited by guarantee, possibly with charitable status, or a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, under the control of its members
- A body with core membership among local parents' organisations and possibly organisations or agencies with education policy and practice responsibilities, replicating at national level the partnerships so highly valued at local level
- A body governed mainly by parents with support from school staff and key figures in education at national level
- A body having a capacity equal to the opportunities and challenges of this new era for parental involvement
- A body sustainably resourced for its role.
11. A great deal more work is required by interested parents, with support, to develop and refine this framework, for example with regard to:
- different possible ways of discharging the representational and development support roles
- the scale of the advice and information role for individual parents
- the aptness and need for charitable status
- the particular configuration of membership eligibility, and the most appropriate ways to replicate partnership at national level
- the precise composition of a board of directors, and other related structures helping link local and national together
- an appropriate capacity to deliver roles effectively
- building up a stable income sufficient to discharge the roles.
12. Many alternative routes exist to form a national parent body for the future. The recommendations which follow are believed to offer the best prospects for a successful outcome.
13. A new body is required to bring together the experience some parents already have of working at national level with substantial new parent interest attracted through its systematic promotion. The process would be open to all interested parents on an equal basis with the focus of effort on the needs arising from the new legislation. Ministers are recommended to support and provide resources for a process to enable such an organisation to be set up. Those resources fall into two parts: the promotion of parent interest in the national scene, and the support of a steering group established to form a new body.
14. This recommendation is based on the current lack of prospects of the two existing national bodies working together to establish a single body for the future. However, it is recommended that Ministers leave open the possibility that they do come forward jointly to participate in forming a new body.
15. A carefully phased process would have to be set in train to create a new body. This would involve the promotion of a much greater level of interest among parents and be followed by the establishment of a steering group. A steering group would settle the details of role, constitution and initial financing and formally bring a new body into being. The aim would be to have on the steering group a mix of experience alongside the considerable new parent interest emerging from the current promotion of parent councils. The steering group would test its thinking among parents more widely during its work.
16. Work with parents at local authority wide level is an essential component of a successful outcome at national level. Local authorities are recommended to give this attention using recognised community development techniques and integrate their work with similar efforts at national level.
17. The remainder of this report provides more detailed consideration of the issues summarised here, a full discussion of issues and options for the shape of a new national parent body and a summary of the survey results.
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