Working with parent groups on costs
St Catherine’s Primary School in Edinburgh had already begun its Cost of the School Day journey, and was taking action to mitigate the effects of school costs on families, but knew that there might be gaps.
To understand what might be missing, the school turned to the Cost of the School Day Toolkit and worked through it with staff groups and parent groups. A parent focus group was formed which reflected the diverse mix of the school community. Using the Toolkit, the parent group identified actions that supported families to deal with costs and further steps that could be taken.
Head Teacher Paul Hunter reflected on the experience:
“We felt this was a really valuable exercise to showcase what we already do well in the school as well as recognising that it is not good to be complacent and there are always other ideas that can make this better. The best way to do this is to ask the very people you are doing it for.”