Parents want home learning adapted to individual families

The Scottish parent association Connect have gathered the views of parents and carers over lockdown to get their 'asks' of government in order to make home schooling and the return to school work.

Connect is urging Scottish Government, local authorities, schools and nurseries to involve families in planning for the return to school at all levels.  

The survey found that parents want regular contact with teachers to talk about how things are going, and they want what is being sent home to be adapted to ensure it works for families and for different learners. Parents would also like ‘live’ teaching, with the teacher visible to children/young people.

Other asks are to involve parents in local planning for going back to school/nursery, and reaching out to every family and provide help, advice and reassurance to match each family’s needs .

Another asks was for schools to be clear and reasonable about what is expected around doing school work at home; and making sure families have what they need to do this: time, confidence, support, knowledge, printers, devices, work sheets, pencils, paper etc.

Connect also calls for future school learning to be focused not just on the classroom but uses outdoors and creative spaces to bring the curriculum to life. It also calls for creative use of digital platforms which combine sustainable, high quality online learning, combined with pastoral care and classroom teaching, and for partnerships between home and school which recognise the circumstances of families and provides what they need to support school work at home.