The right to know: parents, school reports and parents' evenings

Abstract

Successive Conservative Governments and now the Labour administration have emphasized the importance of parental participation. In particular, establishing rights of access to information has been a central feature of recent education policies designed to make schools more accountable to parents. However, as with all reforms, the way they are experienced ‘on the ground’ is likely to be significantly different from the rhetoric surrounding their implementation. This paper, based on research funded by the Nuffield Foundation in collaboration with Research and Information on State Education Trust, looks at the range of practice amongst secondary schools and explores how different arrangements are experienced by diverse groups of parents. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data, it presents two contrasting pictures of home-school reporting. The questionnaire survey of schools illustrated wide variations in reporting practices, both in the number and kind of reports sent to parents. In general, schools were largely positive about what they were doing. However, interviews with parents from four case study schools gave a very different impression. Parents often felt that reports were too generalized and were also confused about grading systems and apparent discrepancies in reports - irrespective of the style of the report. In addition, there was almost universal criticism of the organization of parents' evenings with many reporting that they were frustrating and unproductive encounters. This was especially the case for those with little or no English and for those whose children had difficulties at school. The paper concludes by arguing that, despite Government legislation, schools are still falling some way short of providing parents with the kind of information they need to be able to participate actively in their children's education. It also considers the likely successes of further legislation and parental pressure on effecting improvements in home-school communication.