7.2.1 The research and policy context

7.2.1 The research and policy context

Research, legislation and Looking at Our School 2016: A Quality Framework for Primary/Post-Primary Schools highlight and give effect to the importance of partnerships in schools

Partnership with parents involves parents and early years educators/teachers working together to share information and expertise, and making decisions that benefit children and young people. Partnership involves responsibility on both sides, with each recognising, respecting and valuing what the other does and says.117 A supportive and open relationship between parents and the setting/school is a pre-requisite for effective partnership. Open communication is essential to building and maintaining positive relations between parents and settings or schools.

Effective partnership with parents is a powerful lever in raising achievement in schools; research findings highlight that children do better when their parents are involved actively with their child’s education.118 The research indicates that parental participation in their child’s learning can enhance children’s selfesteem, increase their motivation and engagement with learning, and improve their learning outcomes.119

The building of partnership by schools with parents is underpinned by the Education Act 1998. In line with the Act, parents are entitled to know how their child is doing at school and to access records kept by the school relating to their child’s progress. Section 22 of the Act requires schools to assess pupil/student progress regularly and to report the results of these assessments to the pupils/students and their parents periodically. Similarly, under the Data Protection Act (1988 and 2003), parents are entitled to their children’s results in any assessments, including standardised tests, that a school has administered.

Looking at Our School 2016 (LAOS), the quality framework that is designed to underpin both school self-evaluation and school inspections, gives prominence to partnership between parents and schools. As outlined in LAOS, principals and other school leaders are expected to build and maintain very constructive relationships with all school partners and to engage in effective and regular communication with them using a range of media. Schools are also expected to seek and listen to the opinions of others, and engage formally and effectively in dialogue with partners.

Legislation and a range of policy documents, frameworks and interventions promote partnerships with parents in early learning and care settings

In relation to partnership with parents, the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (under which Tusla carries out its statutory inspections) set out under Regulation 16 the information in relation to the service which early learning and care (ELC) service providers must share with parents, including the service’s policies and procedures. Tusla’s Early Years Quality and Regulatory Framework, which is designed to support services in meeting the regulatory requirements, explains further that all relevant information about the service, the type of care provided and the facilities available, should be shared with parents in a way they can understand. This includes any updates to policies and procedures. Records in relation to individual children must also be available to their own parents to review.

The Aistear curriculum framework and Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education highlight the important role that parents and families play in children’s lives. The two frameworks provide

117 NCCA (2017) Aistear The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Available at: https://ncca.ie/en/resources/aistear-the-earlychildhood-curriculum-framework/ 118 O’Toole, L., Kiely, J. and McGillicuddy, D. (2019) Parental involvement, engagement and partnership in their children’s education during the primary school years. National Parents Council. Available at: https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/bitstream/10197/9823/2/Parental%20Involvement%20Research%20Doc.pdf; Emerson, L., Fear. J., Fox, S. and Sanders, E. (2012) Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research. Available at: http://www.familyschool.org.au/files/3313/7955/2295/parental-engagement-in-learning-and-schooling. pdf; Kelley-Laine, K. (1998) Overview of 9 OECD Nations: Parents as Partners in Schooling: The Current State of Affairs, Childhood Education, 74(6): 342-345, DOI: 10.1080/00094056.1998.10521146 119 Desforges, C. and Abouchaar, A. (2003) The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievement and adjustment: A literature review. London: DfES. Available at: http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/parenting-andeducational-achievement.pdf

ideas and suggestions to help early years educators build good relationships with parents and families, and work together with parents to support children’s learning and development; the two frameworks also provide ideas on how to involve parents in the ELC setting. Building partnership with parents is one of the pillars of the Aistear Síolta Practice Guide, which supports partnership with parents through self-evaluation tools, examples and ideas of practice, resources for sharing with parents, and action planning tools.

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), led by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), also supports partnership with parents in meeting its objective of helping all children, regardless of ability, to access quality ELC through the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, and creating a more inclusive culture in pre-schools. As part of AIM, Better Start early years specialists work collaboratively with parents, pre-school providers, and with other professionals to develop inclusive learning environments in pre-schools. This includes the creation of an access and inclusion plan for a child, which is prepared collaboratively between the child’s parents and the ELC service, and which can help identify additional supports and resources required to meet the needs of the child in the pre-school room.

In addition, First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028 commits to facilitate and encourage greater parental involvement and engagement in early learning in ELC settings through a range of actions, including the development of advice, guidance and training for ELC settings to build effective working relationships with parents, families and communities; supports for ELC settings to create opportunities to encourage and strengthen involvement of parents such as parent– practitioner meetings, parental advisory boards, home–ELC liaison officers, designated staff with responsibility for supporting parents, including initiatives in collaboration with the National Parents Council (Early Years) and the development and use of appropriate methods to take account of the views of children and parents in the inspection of ELC.

During COVID-19, DCEDIY and funded support organisations provided guidance to ELC and SAC settings and parents in relation to continued engagement and communication. Guidance included supporting children’s return to ELC and SAC settings, and supports on working together and ways to connect, and has involved guidance, frequently asked questions, information sheets, and animated videos with key messages.