NI Parent’s Parliament comes to Newry

National charity Parentkind is hosting a “Parents’ Parliament” on Tuesday 2 April 2019 at Rathore School, 23 Martin’s Lane, Newry, where parents, politicians and education stakeholders will come together to discuss school policies that impact directly on families. 

This is the third of five Northern Ireland Parents’ Parliaments that Parentkind, the national charity that enables parents to take an active role in their child’s education, is running across Northern Ireland.

The Parents’ Parliament in Newry will explore topics including the role of parents in the school inspection process, the curriculum and how to establish mechanisms for parental engagement and parent voice to be heard in schools. The Education Training Inspectorate is also attending this event to talk to parents.

In a recent Parentkind survey of over 1000 parents and carers of school-age children in Northern Ireland, it was found that the vast majority of parents say they want to be able to influence education decisions at every level, within school (96%), local government (91%) and with the Education Authority (88%). 

Today only a meagre proportion (9%) of parents feel able to express their views and be heard at local government level. 

The Newry Parents’ Parliament follows the inaugural event held in Bangor in 2018 and a second event in Magherafelt in February this year. 

Similar sessions will take place in Omagh and Belfast culminating in a final event to be held in the Parliament Building, Belfast later in the year.

Jayne Thompson, Northern Ireland Programme Manager at Parentkind, said, “These Parent’s Parliaments are a positive step towards better parental engagement and improved partnership working between home and school. 

“Parents have told us they would like more of a say in the school policies that affect them directly, and indeed, as the major stakeholder in their child’s education, it is only right that they are given a voice and the opportunity to influence decisions that impact on their child’s school life and learning.”

Further information can be found on the Parentkind Parents’ Parliament visitor page.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Mar 28 2019. Filed under Community, What's On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry