Partnership Schools - what have we learnt?

The first year of Partnership Schools Scotland (PSS) has been full of exciting ideas and activities as well as challenges – for us they are an opportunity to learn and find new ways of approaching the work ahead. 

When there is talk of disengaged parents many people often think of those families who live in deprived areas or have chaotic lives - maybe those living with substance abuse, for example.  But we’ve learned that’s not always the case; there are parents who do not get personally involved with their child’s education but are happy to pay for tutors to provide extra support and then blame the school for not doing their job!

In one school we met parents who were initially very cautious about getting involved with Partnership Schools: they were happy for the school to take the lead as they know best.  After working with PSS, these parents are taking the lead on Golden Time activities and have been successful in implementing a No Smoking rule at the school gates.  It’s been great to see parents growing in confidence and having a sense of achievement.

We’ve also learned that the connection with the School Improvement Plan, a critical part of Partnership Schools, is indeed critical and we’re working hard right now to make sure our teams are working on their plans for next year as part of the improvement planning process.

Our other major piece of learning is that active involvement of the local authority improvement team is an important part of the jigsaw, supporting the schools and helping to keep the focus strong at local level.

You can find out more about Partnership Schools Scotland on our website.

Or you can contact Partnership Development Officer Eleanor Coner at eleanor@sptcinfo