Rules on parental information only published by 7% of schools

13 Sep 2018

Vital information for parents on their local school’s performance is only being provided by a handful of secondaries – despite SNP government regulations having been in place for six years.

New research, due to be published next week, will reveal just six schools in Scotland comply with the Education (Schools and Placing Information) regulations.

Those rules were hailed at the time by SNP ministers, who stated: “When parents are successfully and meaningfully involved in their child’s learning, and in the life of their schools, children do better.”

However, Professor Jim Scott’s analysis will show only seven per cent of schools make this information on the curriculum and attainment readily available, while 20 per cent don’t meet any of the requirements set down.

The issue was raised at First Minister’s Questions by Ruth Davidson, who said it was the latest example of the SNP claiming education was a priority, but that not being matched by results on the ground.

The Scottish Conservative leader added that, too often, parents were “left in the dark” about their child’s education and overall school experience.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:

“According to the SNP government’s own rules, schools should give parents clear data on the curriculum and on performance.

“And we agree that it’s crucial that parents can find out about the school they’re entrusting their children with, or make an informed decision about which school to choose.

“But now we learn that parents have almost no chance of doing this, with 93 per cent of schools not fulfilling these requirements.

“Too often in Scotland’s secondaries, parents are being left in the dark as to what’s actually going on inside the school gate, and that needs to change.

“This is just another let down from an SNP government that has proved timid and weak in improving our schools.

“It’s dumped its own Education Bill because it finds it too hard, introduces an action plan it refuses to put into law, and then brings in rights for parents it won’t enforce.

“Nicola Sturgeon likes to say education is her top priority – but when she’s put to the test on this, she fails.”