Fears new charter will give headteachers more influence over voluntary parent teacher councils

Parent teacher councils in Scotland have published a raft of concerns – not least of which is constant meddling by headteachers in an attempt to undermine them.

The Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) said members were worried headteachers were trying to assert control over meetings and influence their outcome.

It comes as the Scottish Government published details of a charter allowing headteachers to further influence the curriculum by 2018.

It will also put them in more control of funds and staffing.

The Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) said members had reported a raft of concerns including heads demanding control over the agendas for meetings and refusing to provide information.

But the move to give headteachers more powers has concerned the SPTC. In a paper it states: “Over recent months we have recorded a distinct trend towards headteachers assuming a position of authority over the parent council in their school, which is contrary to parental involvement legislation.

“This has manifested in a number of ways, including headteachers attempting to dictate parent council agendas and work, refusing reasonable requests for information and demanding changes to the parent council bank account to gain direct access.

“Our helpline has handled a significant number of calls on these and similar issues since the start of the 2017/18 session – a trend which concerns us and which leads us to the view that those headteachers who seek to control rather than work with their parents are misinterpreting the proposals from government for increased authority.”

A survey of parent councils found a growing trend of their funds being used to pay for essentials in schools rather than additional items.

The survey highlighted the use of parent-raised funds to buy books, refurbish libraries and provide study guides to pupils.