Minutes of Parent Council meeting 5th September 2012
Roslin Primary School Parent Council
Minutes of meeting 5 September 2012
1. Present: Shelley Kay(SK), John Phillips(JP)(Chair), Suzanne Rowe(SR), Claire Witney(CW)(Minutes), Annie Douglas(AD), Jennifer Allison(JA), Laura Cameron(LC), Pam Stewart(PS), Caroline Findlay(CF), Zoe Fergie(ZF), Owen Thompson(OT), Sam Hamilton(SH), Lynn Harrower(LH),
Apologies: Pat Brack(PB), Angela Newton(AN), Sarah Keer-Keer(SKK), Anna Hulton(AH), Teresa Reid(TR), Mairi Needham(MN), Suzanne Black(SB), Juliet Ridgway-Tait(JRT)
2. Minutes of meeting on 13th June accepted
3. Matters arising
a) Survey results:
Behaviour Policy: Very positive results with a few issues JA will address. One of these is that many parents are unaware of the anti-bullying statement and the approach the school takes. JA will collate information for JP to put on school website plus letter to parents about how school handles an incident of bullying. SR queried level of bullying. JA informed that each case is addressed on an individual basis and stressed the importance of not labelling children but supporting all individuals involved and improving each child’s situation. JA and JP to action.
Homework Policy: Very positive response with a narrow spread of opinion and the majority of parents preferring homework to be handed out on Mon for return by Fri.
b) P7 camp: LC gave results of questionnaire about the P7 camp from pupils, staff and parents. The vast majority responded that it was a very positive experience. This years P7 will attend in June with pupils from Mauricewood and Glencorse. JP to post results on website.
c) Playground: Play equipment installation was postponed due to wet weather over the summer holiday and will now be carried out during the October break. Nursery equipment has still to be selected so it is unclear when it will be installed. SR will follow up on collection of logs. Scott Jones from Midlothian Council will carry out a risk assessment of logs. SR to action.
4. School Improvement Plan
JA discussed various aspects of the School Improvement Plan including work being undertaken at various levels within school and links being made withBeeslackHigh Schooland the wider community. Part of the plan looked at transition from nursery to P1 and CW commented on positive feedback from parents. SR agreed the start at Roslin site had been positive with parents being invited in to the class to settle their children however the buddy approach taken for trial lunches was not as successful as children wanted to be with their parents. SK and AD commented on the first day at Bilston which had not been as welcoming for parents and that no trial lunch had been held. JA will address issues to achieve consistent approach in future. The School Improvement Plan is available to view in the school reception and on the website.
5. Handwriting Policy
LC has been reviewing different handwriting schemes available and some classes have been involved in a trial. A style has been selected and a draft policy will operate this session and will be available on the school website for parents to view. JP to action.
6. Music
Grant Alexander has obtained additional keyboards for the school and now requires power packs, adaptors and headsets so they can be used. He advised it would also be good to have new one piece beaters for the xylophones. JP has acquired 4 guitars for ₤50. CW and NS requested authorisation from PC for the money raised from the ceilidh and Bags-2-school to be used to fund these purchases. There was unanimous approval. CW and JA to action.
JA has organised African drumming sessions to be held in school and every class will have the opportunity to attend with the possibility of a Friday morning performance for parents (TBC).
SR raised the topic of music tuition in some form as an after school activity. OT advised that Midlothian Council is reviewing music tuition in schools and are keen this should be a no cost activity. He advised JA to contact David Mcleod re possibility of after school sessions and in what form these could take place. JA to action.
7. Dog fouling in wild flower meadow
The new flower meadow in the infant playground was particularly bad with dog foul after the summer break. A discussion followed re options of closing the footpath through the infant playground and it was decided to post notices to the public advising them that if dog fouling continues, this may be the only course of action open to the school in the interests of the health and safety of our children. It was also suggested the dog warden carry out an intensive monitoring session again with aim of identifying owners responsible for dog fouling. JA to action.
8. Audit of PC accounts
AH submitted a written report detailing the bank balance at present is ₤2700 with no major imminent expenditure due. At this stage AH advised it would be appropriate to have the accounts audited by an external source. Various PC members had possible contacts and will enquire if willing to undertake the audit. It was agreed that financial remuneration would not be ideal as the accounts are straight forward and not high value however appreciation in the form of a gift may be more appropriate.
9. Communication
CW received a thank you letter to the PC from Roslin Kirk for their contribution to the church funds for use of the hall last session.
JP has forwarded various emails he has received re training courses and area meetings.
10. A.O.C.B
SR raised a query re pupils who will be receiving additional support from Laura Langdon(LL) this session. JA advised that the first two weeks of term are taken up with establishing IEP’s (Individual Educational Plans) for those pupils requiring them after which focus will turn to selecting pupils from each class with additional support needs. JA stated this support may be for the whole session or blocks of time and will also include support for advanced pupils to ensure they are being challenged enough. ZF had not realised her child was receiving additional support until the parent consultations and felt it would have been useful to know sooner so she could support learning at home. JA will review the procedures with LL and discuss how and when to communicate with parents.
ZF requested the meet the teacher drop in be in the evening as it is difficult for parents to get away from work in time. JA explained that there is an issue with letting the school and that many teachers have children of their own so have childcare challenges. SR suggested possibility of it running even a little later. JA will review and added that on an individual basis, parents can arrange to meet their child’s teacher by contacting the school at any time to make an appointment.
11. Dates for PC meetings this session
It was agreed we hold the first meeting in the second term at Bilston as many PC members have not seen the annex and expressed an interest.
JP advised that the doodle poll set up to select which day is preferred for meetings was inconclusive therefore it was agreed that a poll be repeated with start time of meeting being a factor in addition to day of week. JP to action.
Date of next meeting is Wednesday 11th November at 7pm Roslin Kirk Hall
POST MEETING ITEMS FOR PARENTS
Uniform samples:
Samples were viewed from three companies and it was agreed we change supplier to Border Embroideries. CW and JP to follow up.
Fundraising events:
JRT has agreed to lead the Christmas sale working party again this year. It was agreed we have a separate meeting to discuss this and other fundraising events we hold throughout the session. JP will set up a doodle poll with options of dates from 24/9 to 28/9 inclusive. JP to action.
