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CHAPTER SEVEN: VIEWS ON MAKING THE DIFFERENCE LEAFLETS

The previous chapter examined awareness and usage of the Making the Difference series of leaflets and this chapter will examine views on the series.

7.1 Impressions of the series of leaflets - schools and local authorities

All respondents participating in telephone interviews were asked to say, based on their knowledge of the Making the Difference leaflets, to what extent they agreed or disagreed with a number of descriptors of the materials.

Chart 7.1 presents the views of school based respondents in respect to each of these descriptors. As can be seen, respondents' impressions of the leaflets were very positive with a large majority agreeing to any extent that the leaflets were:

• of a high standard (97%);
• graphically appealing (93%);
• appropriately worded (92%);
• appropriately presented for the target audience (89%);
• appealing to me (88%);
• important (85%);
• covering all topics of relevance (83%);
• interesting to parents (79%).

A slightly smaller proportion agreed that they were memorable (63%).

Views on whether these were likely to be ignored by parents were split, with 47% agreeing that this was the case and 44% disagreeing.

However, only 11% of respondents agreed that the leaflets were unattractive (4% agreeing strongly).

Chart 7.1 Level of agreement with descriptors relating to Making the Difference leaflets - Schools

Notes to Chart
Source: Q8 Values below 6% not labelled
Base: All School respondents (248)

Chart 7.2 presents local authority respondents' overall impressions of the leaflets in respect of the same descriptors. Local authority respondents were more positive than school respondents, with very high levels of agreement that the leaflets were:

• important (100%);
• of a high standard (100%);
• appealing to me (98%);
• appropriately worded (97%);
• appropriately presented for target audience (97%);
• graphically appealing (95%);
• interesting to parents (92%);
• memorable (89%).

Over three in four agreed that they covered all topics (77%).

Only 17% agreed that the leaflets were likely to be ignored by parents and all respondents (100%) disagreed that the leaflets were unattractive (89% disagreed strongly).

Chart 7.2 Level of agreement with descriptors relating to Making the Difference leaflets - Local Authorities

Notes to Chart
Source: Q6
Base: All Local Authority respondents (35)

Table 7.1 provides a comparison of the views of local authority and school staff in terms of their level of agreement with each of these descriptors.

Table 7.1 Comparison of level of agreement with descriptors relating to Making the Difference leaflets

Notes to Table
Source: Q8 (schools), Q6 ( LA)
Base: All School respondents (248); All Local Authority respondents (35)

All respondents were also asked to say which of the series of leaflets they felt were the most and least effective. As shown in Table 7.2, the leaflets considered most effective by school staff were Homework (33%), Healthy Choices (18%) and Getting Involved in Your Child's School (15%). Only small percentages noted that any of the leaflets were considered least effective.

The leaflet considered most effective by the greatest proportion of local authority staff was A New Law to Support Parents (46%), Homework and Getting Involved in Your Child's School were each cited by 14%. Only 2 respondents noted that any of the series of leaflets were least effective - one mentioned Enterprise in Education and the other Out of School Learning.

Table 7.2 Most and Least Effective leaflets

Notes to Table
Source: Q5c-Q5d (Schools); Q3c-Q3d ( LAs)
Base: All School respondents (248); All local authority respondents (35)

All respondents who considered any of these leaflets to be the most effective were asked to give their reasons for that opinion. Given the relatively small numbers of respondents commenting on each leaflet, the following bullet points provide a summary of the responses emerging across all the leaflets. A full listing broken down by each leaflet is provided in Appendix A, Tables A and B. Key reasons noted by school staff for any leaflet to be most effective were:

• Relevant / appropriate / topical / current information;
• Reinforcement of information / raising awareness / letting parents know what is being tried;
• Helpful / explanatory / providing clarification;
• Good language / format;
• Increase chances of parental involvement / shows how parents can get involved / give support;
• Geared towards parents / friendly / approachable.

Key reasons noted by local authority staff for any leaflet to be most effective were:

• Provides relevant information;
• Important issue;
• Parents can have more direct impact;
• Accessible information;
• Well written;
• Succinct;
• Well laid out;
• Helps to raise awareness of issue.

Reasons given by school staff as to why they considered any of the leaflets to be least effective focused on:

• Already done;
• Leaflets of no interest to parents;
• Not relevant to school;
• No impact / does not change attitude.

7.2 Requirements for the series of leaflets - Parents

During the course of the focus groups and in-depth interviews, parent respondents were asked to comment on the series of leaflets as a whole as well as providing comment on some, or all, of the individual leaflets.

As illustrated by the following quotation, respondents tended to select those leaflets they felt were of most immediate interest to themselves.

"I want to know a bit more about it. Homework, especially because sometimes you get homework and it's like 'oh my god'. Even with a Primary 1 child you get their maths homework and it's a bit daunting. I can't remember when I ever did that. Personal Learning [Planning] I think is helpful because my son is doing his highers at the moment. Enterprise in Education - I think they should get more education on business and what have you. New Technology in Learning - I was amazed when I went to the school and saw that every classroom had computers, so I would like to know what he is doing really. Parents' Evenings, just standard things. And, yes, Getting Involved in Your Child's School, is always useful."

(Highland, Female, ABC1)

7.2.1 A series of leaflets

Respondents noted that this was clearly a series of leaflets, utilising a similar format throughout, that they sat well as a series of leaflets and that they were well presented. There were also comments that they were well produced, although there were some allied queries over production costs. The colours used for this range of leaflets reinforced the view of a series of leaflets designed to complement one another, although there were indications from one group that the brighter the colour used, the more likely respondents were to read it.

7.2.2 The use of photographs

Respondents liked the use of photographs in the brochures as they helped to create interest and break up what might otherwise be dense copy. However, they also commented that photos need to be relevant to the topic covered and to the potential target audience. For example, one parent of a secondary aged child commented that the photographs on the front cover of the Homework leaflet were all of primary aged children and, on that basis, she would assume that the leaflet was not aimed at her as a parent of a secondary aged child.

7.2.3 The use of boxes

Respondents also liked the use of boxes to highlight specific pieces of information. These helped to break up the information and made the leaflets easy to read. On the same basis, question headings were also welcomed.

"Looking through the leaflets is good. The way that it has bullet points and it gives you answers and questions as well, like what does your child do …."

(North Ayrshire, Male, ABC1)

"They are all pretty much in the same format. I mean this in a good way. That it's basic and to the point, with bullet points. I like that sort of presentation. I don't like things where you've got to read 20 pages to find out the important bits."

(Glasgow, Male, ABC1)

The leaflets were welcomed for their brevity and there was a desire for the amount of text to be limited in any leaflets such as these. Respondents noted that dense text serves to suppress likely readership.

7.2.4 The appropriateness of leaflets

Some parents felt that the leaflets were more appropriate for parents with children at primary school or for those with their first child starting school when levels of parental involvement may be non existent and parents may be unaware of the ways in which they can become involved in their child's school life. Starting a New School Year and Getting Involved in Your Child's School were considered to be particularly pertinent for parents of children in P1. There were comments from parents of secondary age children that much of the information contained in the leaflets is known by the time children reach secondary school. One parent selected a number of leaflets that she felt would have been useful to her when her daughter moved from nursery to P1.

"Going through playgroup and then starting up with Primary 1. Me, myself, I found that was a big step. Sharing Information - I think I would have found really good. Enterprise in Education, I don't think that would have been so useful. Getting Involved in Your Child's School - at nursery we did a lot of things for the playgroup. I was involved with some coffee mornings and it let me know how she was getting on. Parents' Evenings, I would think just now I would find it really important. This is the sort of information you need because she is just starting. I don't think they will be so useful as she gets older."

(North Ayrshire, Female, C2DE)

7.2.5 The need for localised information

There was acknowledgement from respondents that information provided in the series of leaflets had to be generic in nature because it was produced for schools across the whole of Scotland. That said, there were also some requests for information to be provided on a more localised basis and some leaflets were rejected by parents because they did not provide localised information. Examples of this were the School Holidays and Homework leaflets. For example, while many parents welcomed suggestions of activities their child could undertake during school holidays, they also wanted information specific to their school or local area. While there was an acknowledgement that the Scottish Executive could not produce tailored leaflets at a localised level, there were some requests for this type of information to come from the schools in conjunction with the leaflet. Similarly, while all parents noted the importance of homework, and that they would have conversations with their children about homework, there were specific queries in relation to homework policy at different schools. A number of respondents noted that school branding on these leaflets might prompt parental readership, and that specific school related information (e.g. how much homework their child should receive each day / week) would be more beneficial.

7.2.6 The need for information to be credible and relevant

In line with requests for localised information, many respondents also noted the need for information provided in the leaflets to be credible and relevant and there were some criticisms that the information provided did not always fit with actual experience. For example, comments on the content of the leaflet on Parents' Evenings were largely positive and respondents liked suggestions such as questions that could be asked. However, the reality for most parents was that time to spend talking to teachers was very limited, particularly at a secondary level. The leaflet suggests that schools may provide a crèche where younger children can be looked after or that schools may arrange a special time to meet if parents have difficulty attending on the day. However, none of our respondents had been offered crèche facilities or alternative dates to meet with teachers. As such, while the leaflet was welcomed and its informational content considered useful, it then lost credibility as suggestions in the leaflet did not match up to the actual experience of parents attending parents' evenings.

Another example where the content in a leaflet did not correspond to experience was in New Technology in Learning. One page notes that "at home, you can help your child learn to use technology such as: computers, DVD players, digital TV" and so on. Parents noted that their experience was that their children explained to them how to use this technology.

7.2.7 The need for leaflets to be within the remit of a school

There were also some comments that leaflets produced need to be within the remit of a school and the Healthy Choices leaflet received mixed responses on this issue. Some respondents felt that this was a useful leaflet that helped to reinforce sensible eating habits, while some others noted that they as parents knew what to feed their children and felt insulted that the school might interfere in what they chose to feed their children.

"This is the sort of thing that you would probably take care of in the home rather than at school, so I wouldn't expect the school to take a lead on something like that." (Glasgow, Male, ABC1)

There were also some comments in relation to the credibility of this leaflet in terms of its content in comparison to the food provided by schools.

"I mean this [Healthy Choices leaflet] is all good stuff but I could show you a school menu and quite frankly, it's [terrible] . You talk about healthy choices and then you get a pizza with synthetic chips and tomato sauce from that packet, with tons of salt in it. Now if that's healthy eating …. "

(Aberdeenshire, Male, ABC1)

7.2.8 The provision of statistics

The provision of statistics was welcomed if they served to reinforce the points being made. For example, although some respondents found the statistics in the Healthy Choices leaflet interesting, others felt that the statistics provided in this leaflet did not serve to provide much by way of useful information. Many indicated a preference for statistics that positively reinforced healthy eating such as "all children should drink at least one litre of water per day" rather than the current text that notes "53% drink fizzy or sugary drinks at least once a day". Conversely, the statistics provided in the Homework leaflet were more welcomed as they provided information that some parents were not previously aware of and that was felt to help reinforce the importance of parental involvement in homework.

7.2.9 The need for titles to be relevant and engaging

Respondents also noted the importance of titles being relevant and engaging. For example, most of the leaflets were self-explanatory from their title and parents noted that where titles were not immediately clear, they would be unlikely to choose to read that leaflet. The two leaflets that were not perceived to have directly relevant titles by many respondents were Enterprise in Education and Personal Learning Planning, with a number of respondents unsure exactly what the topic of the leaflet was from an initial glance.

7.2.10 The need for language to be clear and easy to understand

There is also a need to ensure that language used within the leaflets is clear and easy to understand. For example, one parent noted that the New Technology in Learning leaflet referred to interactive whiteboards but they had no idea what this was or how it was used in school. An explanation is provided for a weblog and they would have liked a similar explanation.

7.2.11 The inclusion of useful links and contacts

One section was noted almost universally as being of primary importance and this was Useful Links and Contacts. Even in instances where respondents felt the content of a leaflet was not useful to them, they welcomed the inclusion of contact points. There were comments from some respondents that all contacts should provide a telephone number as well as a web address, given that not all parents will have access to a computer.

"You've got the follow up there on the back page, of the websites, phone numbers, contact names and things if you want to get more information. And most of them are 0800 numbers, so it's not going to cost any money anyway."

(North Ayrshire, Male, ABC1)

Overall, while views were largely positive in relation to the series of leaflets, there were some perceptions that a lot of the information provided was commonsense and most respondents only picked out a small number of the leaflets as being of relevance or use to them. That said, almost all respondents felt that the Scottish Executive should continue with the series, although there were some queries over whether the parents who would benefit most from these leaflets (i.e. those who are less engaged with their children's education) would actually read them.

7.3 Views on individual leaflets - Parents

The following paragraphs provide comments on each specific leaflet, although it must be borne in mind that these are based on a small number of qualitative comments and are not statistically based.

7.3.1 Healthy Choices

Parents tended to focus on the healthy eating section of this leaflet rather than the other aspects of emotional health and well-being. Parents liked the section on Healthy Eating - The Facts, although most would have preferred more information on what constitutes healthy eating rather than simply providing a listing of the proportion of children drinking fizzy drinks at least once a day and so on. There was a preference for any information to focus on positive information such as what drinks children should have on a daily basis. Those who did notice the section on physical activity felt they already encouraged their children to take part in physical activity and that they understood the necessity of this in contributing to a healthy child.

There were some queries over the credibility of some of the information provided as some schools were still not perceived to be providing healthy lunches for pupils. Also, a small number of parents noted that some schools allow fast food vans outside their gates, thus indirectly encouraging children to eat unhealthy food.

Some respondents also felt this leaflet was, at times, patronising.

7.3.2 Enterprise in Education

Highest levels of interest in this came from parents of secondary school aged children and there was an assumption from most that this leaflet was aimed at parents of secondary children. The leaflet title did not appear directly relevant to some parents and as a result some chose not to read this leaflet. Many parents of secondary aged school children noted the importance of encouraging children to consider a wide range of options available to them rather than just focusing on a university career and this leaflet was felt to reinforce the range of options that could be available.

7.3.2 A New Law to Support Parents

There were mixed reactions to this leaflet. Some of those who had not previously seen this leaflet were interested as the title created a perception that this was aimed directly at parents. Some others were put off this leaflet because of the use of the word "Law" in the title, in addition the content of this leaflet was also noted by some respondents to be the most 'wordy' - with limited use of colour. This again made parents less likely to read this leaflet. Those who had previously been unaware of this leaflet (most of our respondents) queried why they had not been provided with copies.

7.3.4 New Technology in Learning

This leaflet was welcomed by many of the parents, particularly those with limited IT skills and / or knowledge who were unaware of the ways in which ICT is being used in schools. However, there were comments on the lack of credibility of some of the copy. For example, the suggestion that parents could help their child to use technology was at odds with the actual experience of parents, who generally relied on their child to explain how to use technology. It was also noted that it is necessary to explain all the terminology being used in the documents.

"The first two pages were very good and that's telling me as a parent exactly what they mean by new technology in school and what it entails but here when you go on to what can I do to help, getting them used to new technology. It's for young children …[but]… They are underestimating High School children, they really are, because they pick it up so, so quickly and they can teach me a thing or two definitely … I think you would be insulting a fourteen year or a fifteen year old saying, come and sit down and I'll show you how this digital camera works. Interactive whiteboards. I don't understand what this is and it would be helpful to explain that to me. It might be helpful in these leaflets to maybe break it up and say by second year in High School your child will be using this or by fourth year your child will have been introduced to this."

(Glasgow, Female, ABC1)

7.3.5 Personal Planning Learning

This title was not salient to most of our parents and many discarded it on this basis. One respondent noted that it was more relevant for older children. Two respondents at one group were aware of and / or had experience of personal learning planning; one of whom was on a School Board and the other worked within the further education sector. Both of these respondents noted the importance in today's education system of personal learning planning but noted the need to increase awareness of this across all parents.

7.3.6 Parents' Evenings

This leaflet was well received by many respondents, although subsequent reading of this led to queries over the relevance and credibility of some of the information provided. The questions provided as a checklist were welcomed by some respondents, as was the suggestion to write down questions to be asked of the teacher.

"I dread it [parents' evening] because I find it very disorganised. I find that you are allocated five minutes per teacher and it's not a case of what would you like to discuss and how can we help or what information are you looking for about your child? They have everything written down and that is it in 5 minutes. This description in the leaflet sounds good but that's not what I've found."

(Glasgow, Female, C2DE)

7.3.7 School Holidays

This was one of the least well received leaflets, primarily because of a lack of localised information. A small number of respondents suggested that this should be provided in conjunction with the school in order to provide localised information.

"This one doesn't really have all the information you'd need. It gives suggestions of what you could be doing but none of it is what is actually happening in our area. One year we had a brochure called Kids Day Out or something like that. It was like a national thing but it was local information, sports centres and so on. We got information on swimming lessons, athletics and all the various different sporting things and then places to go and visit. They [the Scottish Executive] need to do something like that."

(Highland, Female, ABC1)

7.3.8 Starting a New School Year

This was assumed by most parents to be of greatest relevance to parents of a child starting at a new school or starting in P1, although there were a few queries over whether this information would duplicate information already contained within the school handbook. The questions regarding the school day, dress code, after school activities and so on were felt to be a useful checklist for parents, but many would have preferred local, school specific information rather than the generic information contained in the leaflet as this still left parents requiring to find out the exact information they required. The questions that might be asked of a child such as "how did things go at school today", were considered to be patronising by some who noted that their level of interest in their child is such that they would be asking these questions automatically.

7.3.9 Getting Involved in Your Child's School

This was perceived to be most relevant to parents of primary aged school children who would be more likely to get involved in their child's school and to those whose children were just starting school. The suggestions contained within the leaflet for parents to get involved were considered good, although these reiterated approaches to existing involvement rather than making suggestions for new or different approaches.

One respondent asked when this had been published as the section on Formal Parents' Groups did not make reference to Parent Forums or Parent Councils. This sparked some discussion over how regularly any of these leaflets might be re-published in the light of changes in schools.

7.3.10 Sharing Information

While the concept of sharing information between parents and schools was considered to be good, this was another example of a leaflet where the information provided did not match up to actual experience and many of the parents were relatively cynical about how effective sharing information is in reality. For example, one parent noted that she had attended a meeting about a change to the curriculum in her son's school and felt that the teacher to whom she had addressed a question had been rude in his manner of response and dismissive of her question. This had created a negative impression of the school and led her to question the benefit of attending other meetings, including parents' evenings. Another respondent noted that her child's teacher had had difficulty in remembering her child's name at a parents' evening and questioned whether this teacher would want to be made aware of the many things she knew about her child or what they were doing out of school.

7.3.11 Out of School Learning

As with the leaflet on Sharing Information, this was greeted with a degree of cynicism by some parents. Again, the concept of out of school learning was recognised as important and most parents claimed to be doing this already. Some felt that schools did not readily offer information about out of school activities, particularly when these were offered by organisations other than the school.

7.3.12 Homework

Most respondents perceived that the information contained within this leaflet was commonsense but all felt that homework was an important element of school life. That said, there were queries over a lack of information on a localised basis. For example, 2 respondents commented that they had been unsuccessful in obtaining information from their child's school about expected homework levels, with a small number of others suggesting that specific information on expected level of homework would be more helpful.

7.4 Views on alternative sources of information

Although most parents were unaware of alternative sources of information on parental involvement, during the course of the group discussions they were prompted with copies of the Parents as Partners in Learning Toolkit and screenshots of the Parentzone website.

While almost all respondents were unfamiliar with both, reactions to the Parentzone screenshots were positive and some respondents noted that in future they would consider this as a source of information. They noted that the site looked easy to navigate, clearly signposted and containing information relevant to them as parents.

One respondent (a member of a School Board) had seen the Parents as Partners in Learning Toolkit and noted that his school board had been given a copy of this by his headteacher. The board had worked through the information contained within this and produced a brief 2 page synopsis of key points of relevance to the school. However, he did not consider that this Toolkit would be relevant to parents and neither did other respondents on closer inspection. It was felt that the depth and type of information contained within this was not relevant to the majority of parents.

In summary:

• Parents participating in the qualitative research noted the importance of continued provision of these leaflets and that these could be used to raise awareness of key issues;
• The qualitative discussions identified a number of key requirements for any leaflets and these included:
  • use of photographs, bullet points, questions, sub-headings, brevity in copy;
  • use of boxes and highlighting to break up copy;
  • provision of statistics to back up written information;
  • use of links and contacts for further information;
  • need for information provided to be relevant and credible to readers;
  • titles need to be clear and salient and to be written in a tone and use language that is clear and easy to understand;
• In relation to this series of leaflets specifically, there were preferences for localised material to back up the generic nature of information provided in some of the leaflets. Contradictions between local school activities and those suggested by the leaflets were highlighted by respondents as potentially undermining the credibility of the leaflets or their school.

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