Scottish schools need to support parents as well as children

We recognise the stress parents are under when it comes to weekends, but especially when it comes to holidays, and we know that they might perhaps be nervous or worried about food security or childcare.

Every family is totally different and has different levels of support. Every teacher has their own opinion on holidays, but I would personally advocate for a slight readjustment of holiday time. The old, very long summer holiday is probably outdated.

I think there should be a shorter holiday. Before I get lynched by every teacher in Scotland, I’m not saying that we should reduce holidays, I just think they could be spread around the year a little bit better.

I’m not saying we should increase school time, because kids are knackered by the time they get to a holiday as well. They are tired from learning and working hard for a period of weeks.

I would prefer a slightly shorter summer holiday and for weeks to be redistributed across the year.

There needs to be a focus on out-of-school care as well. We’ve seen a massive rise over the last couple of years in summer camps that are offering a free lunch or breakfast, and sadly it seems that the funding for them is starting to dry up.

There’s a local youth group in our area that is absolutely fantastic. I know they have been rejected for funding, and they are fundraising through the year to keep them going through the summer and winter holidays.

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They provide childcare for parents, but also hot meals, fruit and veg, and healthy snacks. I think funding continuing to dry up is a worry as we go on. As the situation is exacerbated the pressure on parents grows. That can increase the stress at home, leading to a chaotic lifestyle, and that can impact on the children.

We do have our eyes open to that, and we try our best to work with parents as best we can, and try to support them. We also recognise that parents have their own experiences of primary school as well, and those aren’t always positive.

If they’ve had a negative experience they can be a bit wary of school staff, and so we spend a lot of time and a lot of resources, especially in Primary 1, 2 and 3, to build the trust of the parents.

It’s something my school does very well. If we build that trust with the parents, it means they will come to us a lot more. We always try to be proactive and encourage parents to come to us with problems straight away, because we don’t want it to build up and build up.

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Some of the parents who have had negative experiences at school are worried about speaking to teachers, or nervous about admitting their numeracy or literacy levels.

We work hard to try and put them at ease, and show that we’re not just there to help their child. We can help them as well.