Parents learning to parent in Curriculum for Excellence

"Jackie Brock is chief executive of Children in Scotland, the umbrella body for the children’s sector, including education, health, social care, early years and childcare. It has more than 430 members and its staff are delivering a wide range of projects and programmes in schools and other settings, with an array of public, private and third sector partners."

She represents some of the bodies who will be working in partnership with Education Scotland and schools to help close the attainment gap and has written an article in Third Force News: "Why rich kids do better at school."

We would like to see Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) updated to underline that it is Scotland’s approach to learning for all – from birth throughout adulthood. If we are to have an unrelenting focus on improving educational attainment, we need to recognise formally within CfE that learning begins from birth and that the pre-formal learning experiences of a child before the age of three – together with the love and support provided by their parents, carers and professionals – provide the crucial pre-conditions for future effective learning.

A commenter hits the mark:

Well that is a sensationalist headline. The article isn't actually about why rich kids do better but how to eliminate the attainment gap and should actually reflect that. .However I have serious reservations about what this article actually states. They are attempting to box up the CfE into measurable outcomes so that children are assessed from birth to adulthood at every potential level. This is fundamentally wrong we need to focus on giving them the opportunity to be who they can and want to be.

The statement I find particularly troubling is - 'that the pre-formal learning experiences of a child before the age of three – together with the love and support provided by their parents, carers and professionals – provide the crucial pre-conditions for future effective learning.' Firstly what does pre-formal mean. I believe it to mean assessment assessment assessment and if they aren't where they are suppose to be in the pre-formal learning experience then somebody will be to blame. [That will be the parents.]

Another article appears in Third Force News on the same topic. This one is by Angela Morgan who gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament`s Education Committee last week as part of their inquiry into how to close the attainment gap.

Focused intervention requires more resources in the classroom – particularly in areas of deprivation, but it cannot stop at the school gates. We need to focus on improving parent/child and child/school relationships and on identifying and, crucially, understanding the underlying causes of why the young person is not engaging.

Finally, these interventions need to happen early and at all stages to stop young people from becoming excluded from education in the first place. [Early and at all stages. Yes the above commenter got it right.]

Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/families-and-young-people/blogs/we-need-to-close-the-attainment-gap#fGlcdPJ4cCgmKiop.99

The Spring edition of `Early Years Matters` is now available. The first article is about the Children and Families Team who explain what they do and generously proclaim.

We all know that parents and families have a key role to play in supporting the success and wellbeing of their children. The role of the children and families team in Education Scotland is to provide high-quality leadership to enable families to learn together and support children and young people’s learning and development, and to improve outcomes across Early Learning.

Education in Scotland used to be about educating children in school but somehow it has all been re-worked so that there is never a mention of educating children without also referring to families. Families need to learn how to support their children and they need to start early is the constant refrain.

No credit is given to the natural resilience of children themselves.

No thought is given to the fact that children, particularly in the early years, cannot stop themselves from developing and learning. We have all been children who developed in the early years without formal education and should know that. The Families Team claim too much credit for themselves I think and the advice, support and challenge they offer in relation to working with children and families in the early years is, for the most part, superfluous to requirements.

Does anybody else get the impression that the Scottish Education plan is consolidating and the net is closing in around children and families ?

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/EarlyYearsMatters8_tcm4-854553.pdf