69th Annual Report 2016-2017 Scottish Parent Teacher Council Mansfield Traquair Centre, Edinburgh EH3 6BB t: 0131 474 6199 e: [email protected] www.sptc.info Twitter @parents_sptc The Scottish Parent Teacher Counil is a Company limited by Guarantee, Company No SC151086, Scottish Charity No SC019168 SPTC Mission and Values SPTC’s mission is to support the development and maintenance of high quality parental involvement. We will achieve this by: • sustaining SPTC as a robust, parent-led, independent membership organisation with a focus on research and evidence-based development. • working with parents and carers to build their confidence, knowledge and skills so they feel able to engage in the way they wish, with their child’s school and wider education services. • working in partnership with organisations and individuals in the educational and wider Scottish community, to build awareness of and engagement with parental involvement and its benefits for children, families and communities. Our Values • We are a membership organisation committed to treating all members and stakeholders with respect, honesty and integrity. • The Directors and staff work tirelessly and passionately to create productive, creative partnerships which support positive educational outcomes for all young people. • We engage with our employees respectfully and flexibly, supporting their learning and progression and encouraging their enthusiastic involvement in the development of the organisation. • We support parents and carers to be involved in the way that is right for them: with their own child’s learning; the local school; local authority or at national policy level. • We are committed to equality and dignity for all parents, carers and children. • We utilise evidence and research to advance our work and to support policy and practice. Convenor’s Report A warm welcome to this report, which outlines SPTC’s activities this year. It is a great pleasure to share with you the story of an increasingly vibrant and dynamic organisation which is focussed on making a tangible difference to the way families and educators engage with each other to improve educational outcomes for our young people. Our Projects the important thing is that they learn from the experience. Partnership Schools Scotland We also developed a plan to work with the in-house evaluation team In this programme, which has in Skills Development Scotland, funding support from Skills which is helping to fund the Development Scotland, we are Partnership Schools programme. working to trial and establish the With them we will develop an Partnership Schools model of evaluation plan in order to build experience of SPTC and PCP in school, family and community robust case studies of work being supporting schools to use the partnership which has been taken forward by teams. model. developed by Dr Joyce Epstein We are delighted to have and her team at Johns Hopkins In June, the Scottish Government the continued support of an University in Baltimore. published its plan for changes enthusiastic and committed to Scottish education: Education In the second year of Partnership Reference Group, which meets Governance: Next Steps - Schools Scotland, we moved twice a year to review the work of Empowering Our Teachers, from three local authority areas the project and offer their advice Parents and Communities to (Glasgow, Edinburgh and Angus) and different perspectives, as Deliver Excellence and Equity and twelve schools, to five local well as helping us to spread the for Our Children. We were authorities (adding in Falkirk and word about Partnership Schools pleased to see that Partnership West Lothian) and 28 schools. successes. The Reference Schools Scotland was identified The step-up required a significant Group is made up of a mix of in the plan as a methodology increase in practical support from representatives from across Scottish education could learn the SPTC team. Our Partnership education and schools, as well as from to support greater parental Development Officer Eleanor universities and other bodies. In engagement. We hope to make Coner was helped in the task addition to hearing from SPTC, that a reality over the coming of training and supporting this the Reference Group heard from years. significant group of Partnership some of the teams taking part in Teams by some of our Regional the programme. For the next three years of the Advisors. programme, the focus will be on . Our Executive Director took part supporting the development of a One of the most notable in an international academic range of models for the delivery developments during the course conference (European Research of Partnership Schools while of the year was the creation of a Network About Parents) at we keep the programme small comprehensive Evaluation Tool Roehampton University, along enough to give the teams the for the Partnership Teams to use with Dr Joyce Epstein and Aine support they need and to gather in their planning and evaluation. Lynch from Parent Councils evidence and practice examples. It has been issued to each of the Primary (PCP) in the Republic teams and will, we hope, help of Ireland. Dr Epstein’s practice them as they build a bank of and research around the success learning: some things will have of the programme provided the been successful, others not, but backdrop to the first-hand Our Projects continued OurCPD Training Projects Service continued parental engagement, and we are working with Our Projects continued SCEL to develop a module for the Excellence CPDDuring Training the course Service of the year we launched parentalin Headship engagement, programme, and for we existing are working head with our first training course for school staff. SCELteachers to developwho want a moduleto strengthen for the their Excellence DuringEngaging the Families course of in theChildren’s year we Education launched inleadership. Headship programme, for existing head ourhas firstbeen training endorsed course by the for Scottish school staff.Council for teachers who want to strengthen their EngagingEducational Families Leadership in Children’s (SCEL), Education the body set Stirlingleadership. Council hasup to been provide endorsed school by staff the Scottishwith opportunities Council for for high quality leadership development. Educational Leadership (SCEL), the body set StirlingFollowing Council on from work with Stirling and upOur to programme provide school is the staff only withone opportunitieson their Clackmannanshire Councils last year, we fordevelopment high quality framework leadership to development. address parental for high quality leadership development. Followingworked with on Stirling from work Council, with Stirlingparents and and Ourengagement. programme is the only one on their Our programme is the only one on their Clackmannanshirestakeholders to develop Councils the authority’slast year, we Parental development framework to address parental Wedevelopment plan to develop framework more to professional address parental learning workedEngagement with Stirling Strategy. Council, parents and engagement. programmesengagement. to support professionals in stakeholders to develop the authority’s Parental Engagement Strategy. Weunderstanding plan to develop better more the ‘why’professional and the learning‘how’ of Engagement Strategy. programmes to support professionals in Membershipunderstanding better the ‘why’ & andMember the ‘how’ of Services MembershipDuring this year we introduced & aMember new Services1 2 3 4 Grand membership model, designed to be fairer to Star Star Star Star Total Duringthe wide this range year of we our introduced membership, a new and also 1 2 3 4 Grand membershipto ensure that model, our income designed from to membership be fairer to Star Star Star Star Total thecovers wide the range cost ofof ourproviding membership, the range and of also Club/ 11 1 12 tomember ensure services that our weincome offer. from In addition membership we offer Group coversCorporate the Membershipcost of providing for organisations, the range of and covers the cost of providing the range of GroupClub/ 46 117911 114 1 133912 memberindividual services memberships we offer. for parents,In addition teachers we offer Group ParentGroup 7 14 113 64 198 Corporateand students. Membership The planning for organisations, and implementation and CouncilGroup 46 1179 114 1339 individualof the change memberships was a significant for parents, project teachers which Group 46 1179 114 1339 ParentPTA 71 145 101113 6495 198202 andwent students. smoothly The and planning was well and received implementation by the Parent 7 14 113 64 198 Council ofvast the majority change of was our a members. significant project which CouncilIndividual 3 PTA 1 5 101 95 went smoothly and was well received by the PTACorporate 1 5 101 95 20222 We continue to build on the range of Information vast majority of our members. Individual 3 and Training Sessions available. During the year Grand 8 65 1393 273 1773 TotalCorporate 22 Wedelivered continue 47 sessionsto build on in theschools, range in of 15 Information local andauthority Training areas. Sessions We are available. also delivering During more the year Grand 8 65 1393 273 1773 Total deliveredsessions on-line47 sessions at different in schools, times in of 15 the local day to Total authoritysuit people’s areas. busy We schedules. are also delivering more sessions on-line at different times of the day to Under our new model, our 4* members have the suit people’s busy schedules. option of entering