Minutes of Parent Council meeting 5th June 2013
Roslin Primary School Parent Council
Minutes of meeting on 5th June 2013
1. Present: John Phillips(JP)(Chair), Claire Witney(CW)(Minutes), Simon Bullock(SB), Alex Clark(AC), Brian Hayes(BH), Lyndsey Hayes(LH1), Rhona Farren(RF), Annie Douglas(AD), Jennifer Allison(JA), Laura Cameron(LC), Dorothy Denham(DD), Sam Hamilton(SH), Pam Stewart(PS) ), Sarah Keer-Keer(SKK), Anna Hulton(AH), Caroline Findlay(CF), Jon Steele(JS), Lisa Ritchie(LR), Andrew Coventry(Councillor)(AC)
Apologies: Lynn Harrower(LH), Shelley Kay(SK), Linda Smith(LS) Angela Newton(AN), Mairi Needham(MN), Nina Sobecka(NS), Zoe Fergie(ZF), Kim Blair(KB)
2. Minutes of meeting on 8th May accepted
3. Matters arising
a) Grounds: JP commented on the fencing work which has been carried out and the dog grids. JA says the fences and grids have greatly improved the dog fouling issue within the school grounds and one owner was visited by the dog warden after evidence was captured on CCTV. AC talked about the additional resource Midlothian Council (MC) are dedicating to the problem of dog fouling with the possibility of an additional dog warden being appointed. PS suggested that Alison, the dog trainer in Roslin, may be willing to speak to dog owners to increase their awareness of the issue. AC agreed to fund signs to inform the public of the change to access through the school grounds. JA to liaise with AC.
Staff mentioned that the meadow flowers are coming up and there are lettuces in the garden which will be used in the canteen. SB queried how often wild flower meadow needs re-sown – AH advised 3yearly funded by MC.
b) P7 leaving celebration: Trip to M&D’s planned for Tuesday 11th June – additional parent helpers required.
4. Funds
As discussed at the AGM, Parent Council (PC) funds are in the region of ₤4000 plus ₤900 which the school contributed from the sponsored walk to be specifically put towards improving arts/media equipment eg: stage, radio microphone and a laptop and a further ₤238 from sale of school uniform at sports day. Previously, PC discussed possibility of also funding the installation of a hand dryer in the changing room toilets, and JA had invited BH and LH(*) to this meeting to explore the possibility of the PC funding a Learning Support Package to be purchased for use in identifying additional learning needs of younger pupils in school. Discussion followed regarding the merit and priorities of each item. JA agreed the school would purchase the learning support package and AC offered to fund the purchase of two games which would be used alongside the pack. AH said JA must come back to PC on this if there is any problem making the purchase. There was a general consensus that MC should be looking into improving facilities in our school and AC agreed to investigate possibility of hand dryers being installed by the Council. JA to forward costing analysis of paper towels and repair work required due to misuse to AC.
New staging and additional media equipment has been a priority for some time now and it was unanimously agreed we should pursue this at present. The most recent quote JP received was in the region of ₤3300. This excludes VAT as items can be ordered through school VAT exempt. SB suggested possibility of advertising the supply company for a reduced cost price. RF suggested alternative companies be explored and agreed to check options with contact at the new Lasswade High School. JP will check radio microphone costs and JA will confirm cost of laptop. SB questioned the need for privacy software but was advised this is essential due to the nature of content. SB also queried the amount of money we should be keeping in reserve. CW advised that it was previously agreed we keep minimum of ₤500 in the PC account which would be achievable. SB stated importance of PC labelling items we purchase to increase awareness among the parents and pupils.
A brief discussion about sports day followed. CW advised that uniform sale raised ₤238 and profit from sale of refreshments and hot dogs is in the region of ₤75. A suggestion for next year is to reduce costs by making fruit packs ourselves as per last year or possibly having them supplied by local grocery store. All agreed sports day was a great success and very enjoyable for spectators and pupils and SKK extended a vote of thanks to all who were involved. JA suggested we have a pre sports day meeting with all the helpers next year to iron out any issues. SB mentioned the Commonwealth Games next year which lends itself well to a theme for sports day as per the Olympic year.
5. Consultation
As discussed at the AGM, the PC would like to improve contact with and the involvement of the wider parent body. JA mentioned ways we had consulted in the past three years including a general questionnaire in her first year, behaviour and homework surveys, Head teacher open sessions, invitation to Standards and Quality sessions, creating our Vision statement, Curriculum evenings, parent consultation evenings, PC suggestion box and PC email contact as well as open door policy for parents at end of school day to speak to teachers. JA is always keen to hear opinion from PC members and feels the PC works well with the school staff as a team. To improve on this, the first agreement was to have a PC representative for each year group starting next session as follows:
P7 Claire Witney and Shelley Kay
P6 Pam Stewart
P5 Jon Steele
P4 Anna Hulton and Sam Hamilton
P3 Alex Clarke and Zoe Fergie
P2 Rhona Farren and Annie Douglas
P1 Lyndsey Hayes and Lynne Harrower
Nursery Lisa Ritchie and Sam Hamilton
Also, a photo board was thought to be a good idea as parents would be able to easily identify PC members. CW mentioned a document from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) and JA suggested we follow up on the idea of inviting a representative from SPTC to advise us further. It was agreed we should establish a working party and SB, AH, JS, CW and LH agreed to be involved.
6. Dates of meetings next session
Wednesdays 6.30pm on 4/9/13
6/11/13 (Bilston)
22/1/14
19/3/14
30/4/14
21/5/14 AGM
4/6/14
7. Communication
Request from school newspaper for ₤30 towards printing costs – unanimously agreed to fund.
Thank you card form JA for leaving gift.
8. A.O.C.B
Fun Day 7/9/13 – PS is happy to do a bookshop again particularly for younger children as this proved popular last year. PS suggested we might also sell school uniform and pencils. The main aim is to show our presence and it was agreed a banner would be helpful to display on the gazebo. SKK agreed to arrange this and estimated a cost of ₤50. PS and CW to investigate supplier/cost for pencils.
Staff – AH queried the current position regarding staffing. JA advised that there would be interviews taking place on 6/6/13 for maternity cover for Mrs Woods, application deadline for Acting Depute is 9/6/13 and for Principal Teacher is 6/6/13; interviews before the summer with PC member involved.
(*) Lyndsey Hayes expressed an interest in joining the PC and as we are still at the time of the AGM, she was accepted as an ordinary member unopposed.
