Accountability (continued)
Whilst Boards have a general duty to communicate with parents through the normal channels, they are also obliged to hold and attend meetings at the request of parents at which the activities of the Board can be discussed and the parents' views expressed on specified matters.

Schools undergo regular inspections by HM Inspectors of Schools (HMI) who involve School Boards in a number of ways. At the start of an inspection the School Board Chairman (and on occasion, whole Boards) will meet the HMI reporting officer to discuss the Board's views of the school and will be shown a copy of the draft report, in confidence, prior to publication. Following the publication of the HMI report the School Board should be involved in discussions with the local education authority and the Head Teacher who have a responsibility to develop a plan for implementing the report's recommendations.

Beyond their formal duties, Boards may discuss any matter which is of interest to anyone connected with the school, eg. bullying, truancy or the school library. To assist in such discussions the Boards are free to invite anyone to attend any of their meetings as an adviser on matters under discussion. This facility provides Board members with the support required to make decisions upon the direction of the Board, and to participate in the development of school policy.

The Curriculum
In Scotland the curriculum is not prescribed by statute. Instead the Scottish Executive issues national advice and guidance to schools and local education authorities. The 5-14 Development Programme was launched in 1988 and National Guidelines on all aspects of the programme were issued to schools during the period 1993-94. This programme is expected to be fully in place by the end of the 1998/99 school session. Under the programme pupils aged between 5 and 14 study a broad curriculum based on the national guidelines which set out the aims of study, the ground to be covered and the way that pupils' learning should be assessed and reported. The key aims of the 5-14 curriculum are to achieve breadth, balance, coherence, continuity and progression for all pupils. Although the School Board Act does not give specific rights to School Boards on the curriculum, School Boards are encouraged to discuss the curriculum at their meetings in order that they may understand it.

Devolved School Management (DSM)
Following two years of piloting in Dumfries and Galloway and Strathclyde, devolved management for schools began in April 1994 for a small number of Scottish schools, and it is anticipated that all State Scottish schools will attain DSM status by 1998.

Under devolved management arrangements, it will be largely for Head Teachers to make decisions on the day-to-day running of their school. However, Boards will also have the opportunity to become more involved in this process. For example, it is expected that the Board will be consulted more on issues of finance and may become involved in the appointment of all, rather than only senior staff positions at the school. .[1] [2] [3]