National Numeracy Day Numbers are all around us – at home and in daily life. But people can often feel overwhelmed by bills, confused by bank charges and wonder if supermarket deals are really worth it. The UK’s first ever National Numeracy Day is on Wednesday 16 May 2018. Taking part can help bring you […]

Working together for our children Reviewing parental involvement: one year on National Parent Forum of Scotland annual conference  When parents are involved in their children’s learning, it benefits children, families and schools: children do better. This was the main finding of the NPFS 2016 review  of the 2006 Parental Involvement Act. One year on since publishing […]

Scottish Government have been consulting on the  changes they believe will improve educational outcomes for young people, how they will work in practice, and what legislative changes are needed to enable them to happen. Many thanks to the parent councils and parents who took part in focus groups and got in touch with us to share your […]

Colleagues in BEMIS have let us know about a new project that they are involved in. Parents 4 all aims to: empower parents of the host societies and of migrant origin in dealing with ethnic and cultural diversity at schools Create tailor-made training material for parents, helping them to develop intercultural skills and actively support […]

EMPOWERING SCHOOLS: A CONSULTATION ON THE AIMS OF THE NEW EDUCATION BILL The new Education Bill will go to Parliament by June 2018. The Scottish Government is currently consulting on what should be in the Bill. Following is a summary and the points that we would really like to hear from you on. Please email […]

NPFS has developed this updated publication for parents which provides a helpful overview of the National Improvement Framework. The National Improvement Framework (NIF) sets out what needs to be done to improve Scottish education so that every child can achieve their full potential. It uses accurate information, gathered from schools, local authorities and national organisations, to […]

The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. We are delighted to be sponsoring the 2018 Parents as Partners in Learning Award. Parents are valuable assets to any school community, from early years through to primary and secondary schools. The Scottish Education Awards recognise that partnerships with parents […]

Scottish Government recently consulted on their guidance in relation to Extending Children’s Rights. You can read our response by clicking here: NPFS re Extending Children’s Rights

Scottish Government recently consulted on their proposed measures to gauge the attainment gap, as well as their proposed milestones towards closing it. You can read our consultation response by clicking here: NPFS NIF Response on attainment gap

National Parent Forum for Scotland (NPFS) and Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG) are delighted to launch a national Cost of the School Day toolkit resource for Parent Councils across Scotland. Insufficient household income can mean that some children and young people don’t have the resources needed for school and can’t easily afford to […]

The Scottish Government would like you to help them find out what matters to parents about their school and their child’s education, focusing on what needs to be done to make the improvements we all want to see. The survey will close on October 16th and will inform the annual report for the National Improvement […]

We are pleased to have received a formal response from John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary outlining how Scottish Government plan to proceed. You can read the full letter by clicking below:

Recently, an NPFS regional rep asked for further information about how SDS services support young people in making well informed choices about their next steps in learning and future careers. The queries and responses are shown in the Q&As below: How are schools, parents and young people engaging with My World of Work. What impact […]

Sexting, cyberbullying, catfishing, FOMO and digital footprints – these are just some of the topics and issues that the Young Scot 5Rights Youth Commission explored in their 15-month investigation. The 5Rights project looks beyond online safety and protection for young people online, and calls for the realisation of their rights in the digital world just […]

NPFS are currently working with Child Poverty Action Group to update their Cost of the School day parent council toolkit to encompass rural issues. We have recently held three focus groups and discussions in South Lanarkshire, Shetland and the Western Isles.  The reports can be read by clicking the links below. NPFS Focus Group Lanarkshire […]

We were pleased to submit written evidence to Scottish Government in response to this consultation. Scotland’s Strategy for the Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs 2017-2026 aims to support improved outcomes for children and young people with complex additional support needs through strategic commissioning of national services; with particular […]

Read our response to the EducationCommittee’s  call for evidence on the Children and Young people Information Sharing Bill here: GIRFEC Response from NPFS

Schools across Scotland start their new academic year this week. Transitions are the moves that children and young people make from stage to stage. Find out how you can support your child and help transitions go smoothly on the Parenting Across Scotland website. There are top  tips on helping your child  get off to a good […]

We know it is a worrying time waiting for exam results This helpful video from SQA shows you exactly what to expect! http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/65952.html

Skills Development Scotland’s Exam Results Helpline will open on Tuesday 8 August as students across the country receive their National, Higher and Advanced Higher results. This is the 25th year of the *free helpline which offers advice, information and support for young people and their parents. It will be open from 8am until 8pm on 8 and […]

We have been hearing from lots of parents who are concerned about the changes to N5s in the new session, and future changes to the other National Qualifications. We’ve helped Scottish Government to compile this guide to the changes, and they’ve added a helpful timeline. You can download it here: National Qualifications – NPFS QA […]

Pupil Equity Funding is allocated directly to schools, targeted at those children most affected by the poverty related attainment gap. From April this year £120m will be provided through the Attainment Scotland Fund directly to Headteachers to use for additional staffing or resources they consider will help reduce the poverty related attainment gap. The funding […]

UPDATE – APRIL 2017 Many thanks to all who responded to our calls for evidence, 1281 responses were received from parens, 461 from parent councils and 96 from professionals working within the field of education. Below are links to all the submitted responses where consent has been given to share the response: Parents:PI Survey Parent […]

If you’re choosing subjects or know someone who is, My World of Work is there to help. The subjects young people choose at school can have an impact on what they can study at college or university and what jobs they can go for in the future. Scotland’s career information and advice web service is […]

Today, November 19th, we were delighted to welcome John Swinney , Deputy First Minister, back to our full forum meeting. Mr Swinney emphasised that the Governance review is not prescriptive. When our Chair, Joanna Murphy, explained the consultation is very hard for parents to engage with, Mr Swinney suggested that parents answer these points and […]

The experience of having a mother, father, brother, sister, other family relative or even a friend go to prison can be incredibly traumatic for a child. Families Outside works with children and families affected by imprisonment across Scotland and have done so for the last 25 years. With their awareness of the difficulties these often marginalised […]

We were delighted to welcome John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to our full forum meeting on Sept 17th in Edinburgh.  Mr Swinney spoke to our volunteer representatives about his plans for Scottish Education, and this was followed by a lively discussion. Closing the session our Chair Joanna Murphy asked […]

The National Parent Forum are currently producing a helpful leaflet ‘Career Conversations in a nutshell’ in conjunction with Skills Development Scotland. The finished leaflet is coming soon!

Scottish Book Trust is delivering the First Minister’s Reading Challenge on behalf of the Scottish Government. The Challenge is targeted at Primary 4 – 7 pupils in all primary schools in Scotland, providing resources to help children develop a love of reading and to support schools to develop reading cultures. Research tells us that reading […]

Our North Lanarkshire Representative Barrie Sheppard, is part of Scottish Government’s Working Group on Assessment and Qualifications.  This group  has met fully on five occasions since February with an initial focus on seeking to reduce assessment-related workload for teachers and learners in advance of session 2016-17. The first report on the work of the Assessment and […]

Our Vice Chair Cheryl Burnett is involved with the review of the National Care Standards  and we are delighted to share this easy to read pocket guide with you, explaining the new National Care Standards and the work of the review group. View the leaflet by clicking this link: NCS-pocket-guide-the-princples

Is your teenager awaiting Exam results? Understanding the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework will help you make sense of their exam certificate and advise on future learning and career choices.  With your teenager’s SQA certificate they will get a profile sheet which includes their SCQF Profile. The SCQF is a way of comparing Scottish qualifications. It covers […]

Young Scot have provided some very helpful advice for young people worried ahead of results day.  They say: Exam results can feel like the be all and end all of your future success, but even if you don’t get all passes you still have plenty of options ahead of you to take the next step […]

On Tuesday 9th of August, more than 142,000 pupils is Scotland will receive exam results.  Skills Development Scotland will  open up a free helpline from 8am to 8pm on 9 and 10 August and from 9am to 5pm until 17 August. The number to call is 0808 100 8000. Further information can be found by clicking […]

We know that talking to your child about their future career can be tricky. That’s why The National Parent Forum of Scotland has joined forces again with Skills Development Scotland to help parents and carers talk about career decisions with their children. The ‘Career Conversations’ nutshell is available electronically below and  will also be sent out […]