Family learning

In 2018, Scottish Government published the 'learning together' national action plan on parental involvement, parental engagement, family learning and learning at home. The plan takes account of available Scottish, UK, and international evidence. It has also been informed by a review conducted by the National Parent Forum of Scotland (2017), Article 5 (Parental Guidance) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (2023), Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and the central role of the family.

Furthermore, the 'learning together' national action plan supports the Community Empowerment Act by tackling inequalities and offering greater support to children, young people, and their families to become more involved in local decision-making in their community. This plan also supports the requirements of the National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan and drives forward the focus, outcomes, and priorities for parental involvement, parental engagement, family learning and learning at home.

The underpinning vision of the 'learning together' national action plan is that every parent and family should be supported to be involved and engaged in their child’s, and their own learning.

The plan sets out the following aims:

• ensure that parents are supported to be fully involved in the life and work of their children’s early learning and childcare setting or school;
• encourage and support collaborative partnerships between practitioners, parents, and families;
• get the right support in place so that parents can engage in their child’s learning;
• expand access to family learning opportunities which meet participants needs;
• improve the quality of all communication between practitioners, staff, parents, and families, and;
• improve the skills of leaders, front-line practitioners, and support staff.

The Promise

In October 2016, the First Minister made a commitment to figure out how Scotland could love its most vulnerable children and give them the childhood they deserve. She commissioned the Independent Care Review and, between February 2017 and February 2020, the Care Review worked together to figure out how to keep that Promise.

The Care Review listened very carefully to those with experience of living and working in and around the ‘care system’ to properly understand what needs to change.

The Care Review heard over 5,500 experiences. Over half were children, young people and adults who had lived in care. The rest were families and paid and unpaid workforce.

As well as listening carefully to what matters to children, the Care Review considered the research on the ‘care system’ and commissioned its own research to fill knowledge gaps. It reviewed all of the laws and rules, collected data, and made connections across the ‘roots and branches’ of the ‘care system'.