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RESEARCH REPORT
Dr Pamela Clayton
1.2 Housing
Within the borough in 2001, there were 38,266 households, of which 2,187 were
deemed overcrowded, 2,590 had no central heating and 100 had no private toilet or
bathroom. The proportion of one-person households in the borough was twenty-seven
per cent and of lone parent households with dependent children six per cent.
Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
1.4 Health
Overall health conditions in the borough are better than the national average (for the
following figures the national average will be found in brackets). For all age-groups,
those describing their health as ‘not good’ make up 7.8 per cent (cf. 9.2 per cent ); those
with a limiting long-term illness, health problem or disability 16.3 per cent (cf. 18.2 per
cent); and the ‘percentage of people who provided unpaid care to family members,
neighbours or others, because of long-term physical or mental ill-health or disability, or
problems related to old age’ was 9.5 per cent (cf 10 per cent).
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
provides for guidance to be issued “as to the circumstances in which parents may
choose to educate their children at home”, and requires education authorities to “have
regard to any such guidance”. However, as at June 2003 Education Otherwise and the
Scottish Executive are still in consultation over these guidelines (Education Otherwise,
www.education-otherwise.org/ Legal/SummLawScot.htm, accessed 9th June 2003).
The 1980 Act section 28(1) states:
‘In the exercise and performance of their powers and duties under this Act the
Secretary of State and education authorities shall have regard to the general
principle that, so far as is compatible with the provision of suitable instruction
and training and the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure, pupils are to
be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents.’
Section 30(1) further states: ‘It shall be the duty of the parent of every child of school
age to provide efficient education for him suitable to his age, ability and aptitude either
by causing him to attend a public school regularly or by other means.’
If the child has never attended a state school it is not a requirement that the education
authority be informed that the child is being educated ‘by other means’; but if they
discover the situation they have a right to investigate, in order to ascertain whether your
arrangements are satisfactory. If they deem them to be unsatisfactory and an appeal to
law fails, an attendance order will be issued requiring the parent(s) to send the child to
school.
If a parent decides to withdraw a child from a state school in order to educate him/her at
home, the proper procedure is to ask for the permission of the education authority. If
this is refused or delayed, the parent is technically in breach of the law if the child is
nevertheless taken out of the school; but if it can be proved that the child is receiving a
suitable education it is unlikely that the child will be forced back into school.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
include removing the child from its parents for assessment; (3) a residential or non-
residential care order. Parents may appeal against the Panel’s decision, but if such an
appeal fails, supervision requirements may be reviewed after a shorter period if the
parent or child asks for it, and in any case must be reviewed at least once a year.
(Information and quotations from the Department for Education and Skills [DfES]: The
Standards Site, www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/parentalinvolvement/hsa, accessed 9th June
2003)
These are partnerships between parents and teachers which are intended to raise
educational standards. The agreements set out the roles of the school, parents and pupils
and for it to be effective all should be consulted in the drawing up of the agreement.
Intended outcomes include:
• ‘better home-school communication (for example, on issues such as pupil progress,
information on what pupils will be taught, homework, and domestic concerns that
may affect the pupils' ability to learn effectively);
• ‘parents and teachers working together on issues of concern (for example,
aspirations, expectations, behaviour, bullying and drug education);
• ‘parents supporting and helping their children's learning at home more effectively.’
All parents should be invited to sign a home-school agreement.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
2.5.1.2 SureStart
SureStart, on the other hand, is a special initiative for children in disadvantaged
areas and is part of a drive to reduce child poverty and to help with young
people’s ‘physical, intellectual and social development’. It thus includes baby-
and child-care as well as early schooling. The local partnership model is used
here, too, involving ‘parents, community groups, local authorities, health
agencies, voluntary groups and others, working closely with early years
development and childcare partnerships and the Neighbourhood Nurseries
Initiative’. Each partnership develops a programme focused on local needs.
Intervention may begin before the child is born (for example, to help parents
give up smoking). Within two months of the birth parents receive a visit to
inform them about Sure Start services. Services relevant to the SHARE project
include ‘advice on health and child development … support for parents
including parenting groups, advice on healthy eating and training for work.’
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
models and mentors’ and creating a learning environment. In the Green Paper1
Schools: Building on Success, the DfES stated its intention to ‘promote Family
Focused Schools in areas of high disadvantage’. One kind of support envisaged
is to run parenting classes.
1
A Green Paper is a document produced by the Government on an area in which it is intended to
introduce legislation. The publication of ‘first thoughts’ on this topic acts as an invitation for individuals
and interest groups to make their comments in the hope of influencing the final legislation.
2
‘Exclusion’ here means temporary suspension or expulsion from school on the grounds of bad behaviour
by a pupil.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
3.1 Methodology
The survey described here was not random and was very small, but it throws some light
on the issue of parental involvement.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
The survey was carried out in a primary school in April 2003. It was conducted by a
contracted researcher who is also a parent of a child at the school. The first step was to
request permission from the head teacher to carry out the survey. Once this permission
had been granted, the researcher approached parents waiting with her to collect their
children and asked if they would be prepared to answer a few questions while she took
notes on the interview schedule. In one case the interview was conducted later by
telephone. The researcher wrote up the descriptive data gathered and passed her report,
along with the interview schedules written up in a more legible format, to the author of
this report. Subsequently the researcher was asked to provide additional information to
throw further light on the parents interviewed.
There was no attempt at a random sample: the researcher chose to interview other
parents whom she already knew and who spoke sufficient English to answer the
questions.
The interview schedule was based on the one piloted by the Quart de Poblet but adapted
to the local situation. For example, we did not ask if parents would like to come to
courses at the school, partly because this might have raised false hopes but mainly
because adult education is already provided by a number of organisations, including
community education, the Workers’ Educational Association, university extra-mural
departments and so on. For example, classes, costing £3.00 for adults are run in drawing
and painting, guitar for beginners, cookery, pottery, electronics, French for beginners,
gymnastics, IT, glass painting, archaeology and Successmaker (a computer program) in
the local girls’ high school.
The interview schedule had two foci: contacts by parents with teachers, and
membership of parents/school associations such as the ‘Friends of the School’, a group
of parents who meet one afternoon a week on school premises. (For the full schedule
see Appendix A.) The headmistress attends meetings when possible. The aim of the
group is to help improve the school for the benefit of their children, notably through
raising funds for extra resources for the school.
First parents were asked if they received information about school meetings with
teachers; if they attended all or most of such meetings; and, if so, if they participated
actively in these meetings. If they answered no to either question, they were asked to
explain.
Then they were asked if they received information about school meetings with other
parents, such as PTA meetings, Open Days, the Friends of the School and so on. If they
answered ‘no’, they were asked to say why not. If they answered ‘yes’ they were asked
why they participated and if they had any ideas that would persuade other parents to
attend such meetings.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
3.2.4 Suggestions made for improving attendance at meetings with other parents
The three who attended the Friends of the School meetings gave these responses
concerning how more parents could be persuaded to attend:
1 a) A child-friendly environment would encourage parents with young children to
come.
b) Activities which would keep up attendance. People are more keen if they are getting
something out of it!!!
2 My children are in the older classes, so I have attended for a long time. New parents
perhaps don’t know what it’s like - they’re not used to it. So maybe giving people as
much information as possible really - about what we do - that we’re friendly and not
going to bite off anyone’s head!
3 I don’t know what more we can do - we keep telling people about it, but they won’t
come.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Elements of the analysis below include social class; information; the activities of the
Friends of the School
3.3.5 Information
There is no question that parents received information about the meetings. It is
advertised in the news letter that the school sends to all parents and everyone
interviewed stated that they received this information. Nevertheless, information of its
existence is clearly not enough. The chairwoman reported that ‘we keep telling people
about it, but they won’t come’. One of the non-attenders said that she hadn’t know
much about what they did (but she had made efforts to find out). This lack of qualitative
information was confirmed by one of the members, who suggested that: ‘New parents
perhaps don’t know what it’s like - they’re not used to it. So maybe giving people as
much information as possible really - about what we do.’
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
sporadically. She advocated ‘activities that would keep up attendance’, adding that
‘people are more keen if they are getting something out of it’. The assumption is that the
sacrifice of time needs to be compensated in some way other than mere involvement in
the group.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
3.3.7.4 Language
Many of the parents of children at this school are from ethnic minorities. Some
of these are British-born or arrived many years ago, perhaps as children, and
speak and understand English as native speakers; some are migrants (in Britain
for work or study or family reunion), with a range of levels of English; some
have refugee status or are seeking asylum from persecution in their home
countries, again with a range of levels of English. In this sample one person
reported language problems as her reason for not attending the Friends of the
School meetings. She said not only that her English was not very good and she
had difficulty understanding everything people said, but also that ‘people don’t
want to speak to me’. Such difficulties would militate against her voluntary
participation in any school activities which did not directly involve her child or
children.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
bar to attendance and if activities included a space for English conversation practice.
Given the wide range of languages spoken, translation of invitations into all languages
would be impractical but having translation into the main languages (for example,
Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi, Urdu) would at least give the appearance of openness to all
language groups.
5.2 How has your educational environment benefited from the project?
Since this is a university department of adult education, there is no direct impact; but
circulation of this report will certainly stimulate debate and it will also be passed on to
colleagues in other parts of the Faculty of Education, in particular those training
teachers.
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
APPENDIX A
This is part of a European project, under the Grundtvig/Socrates programme and led by
a local authority (Quart de Poblet, Valencia) in Spain. It is called ‘Sharing new adult
pathways for better schooling’ and the main focus is encouraging parents to take an
active interest in their children’s education by engaging directly with the school - for
example, sitting on school boards of governors, joining the Parent-Teacher Association,
the Friends of the School etc.
It would help us greatly if you would be so kind as to answer the following questions:
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Sharing New Adult Training Pathways for Better Schooling: Final Report, by Dr Pamela Clayton, University
of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
4 Do you receive information about school meetings with other parents, such as PTA
meetings, the Friends of the School, Open Days and so on? YES NO
5 Do you attend ALL OR MOST school meetings with other parents? YES NO
If you answered YES, please go to question 6.
If you answered NO, could you tell me why you don’t go, or don’t go very
often?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
6 Can you tell me why you participate in school meetings with other parents?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
7 Can you think of things that would persuade other parents to attend these meetings?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Thank you very much - this is the end of the questionnaire.
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