Minutes of the Meeting of Strathblane Primary School Parent Council
Monday 21st January 2008
Present:
Staff: Jennifer Cunningham, Anne Spencer
Parent Council: Charlie Haggerty, Fergus Mitchell, Gun Orgun, Bernd Schwahn, Andy Thompson
Parents: Libby Brittain, Derek Fabel, Robin Hoyle, Kim Jones, Lynne Kelly, Jane McCallum, Val McCorquodale, Dawn Murray, Erling Riis, Paul Stevens, Jim Wilson, Bronagh Ewart (clerk to the parent council).
Other: Alex Black (Link Education Officer between Stirling Council & SPS)
1.Welcome & Apologies
Andy Thompson opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Apologies were received from Debbie Bolton, Morven Bulloch, Cathie Moir and Anne Scott. Each Parent Council member then briefly introduced themselves.
2.Minute of meeting held on 14 November 2007
Gun Orgun, treasurer of the Parent Council, reported that two bank accounts are being opened, one for Parent Council business and one exclusively for fundraising. The old PTA account has now been closed with the funds being transferred temporarily to the school account until the new fundraising account is open. Other issues dealt with at the AGM will be reviewed at next year’s AGM.
3.Standing Committees
Nothing to report at present. In future feedback from various sub committees will take place during meetings.
4.HMIe Report
Andy Thompson reported that following last year’s HMIe inspection and subsequent report, an action plan had been developed in collaboration with Stirling Council to discern how we can best take steps to improve the quality of education in Strathblane Primary School. He then handed over to Jennifer Cunningham who thanked the meeting for the opportunity to talk about the report and went on to outline the key strengths and points for action. Overall the report was a very positive one, highlighting many good aspects of the school. These were the key strengths:
Pupils – They were polite and well behaved, there was good respect between pupils and staff, they were able to work well in groups, younger pupils were supported by older ones, there was good use of the playground and school lunches were popular.
Attainment – Attainment in Maths in particular was very good, reading was commended and there were good opportunities for play, there was a good understanding of global sustainability, visiting specialists enhanced pupil experience and there was the opportunity to learn French in P6 and P7.
Partnership with Parents – Very positive comments were made by parents. In particular all felt welcome within the school.
Achievements – There were lots of opportunities for pupils to achieve e.g. competitions, sports, outings and extra-curricular activities.
Support for Pupils – This was both commended and also noted as a point for action. Staff had a good knowledge of pupils.
Staff – They were very positive about the school and welcomed the inspectors into their classrooms. Issues were dealt with promptly and there were smooth transitions both into P1 and out of P7. The new role of Depute Headteacher was also proving to be an asset to the school.
These are the main points for action arising from the report:
To ensure greater continuity and progression of pupils’ skills in approaches to writing. This will be a whole school approach.
To improve the pace and level of challenge for all pupils.
To monitor pupil progress in order to encourage and support them in improving their attainment.
To develop a more rigorous approach to self-evaluation.
These are other areas of development, which were not identified as major points for action but will form part of the annual school improvement plan:
To show an increased depth and range of approaches to teaching diversity.
To introduce a new reading scheme.
With parents and pupils, to review the anti bullying policy and practice.
To focus on handwriting and presentation skills.
Jennifer explained that many of these points for action are already in place and changes and improvements are already evident in some areas. The school receives support from Mr Alex Black, an education officer with Stirling Council, who visits approximately every six weeks and will write a final report after two years. Parents will be informed by HMIe about the progress made by the school in achieving the targets set out in the action plan.
There followed a time of discussion when the following issues were raised:
How will diversity of race and equality be taught?
How has the school changed since the action plan was agreed in October 2007?
Could peer assessment have a negative effect on some children?
What about staff shadowing colleagues in other schools?
Have systems been put in place to stretch higher attaining pupils?
Is there going to be more consistency between primary school and S1 & S2?
How will the new reading programme be implemented?
Could we not do better considering the social context of SPS?
How do parents know their child’s academic level with relation to the rest of the class?
These issues were addressed by Jennifer Cunningham, Anne Spencer and Alex Black and the following main points were made:
P5 will be twinned with an urban school in Glasgow.
Stirling Council is promoting the use of Big Tasks – a method of teaching whereby pupils will focus on one topic e.g. Titanic and all curricular activities will be planned around the topic. Parents will also be invited into the school to view pupils’ work. This is a pilot scheme at present.
Beginning in P4, a folio will be compiled for each pupil’s writing which will be carried forward to subsequent years.
Pupils are able to carry out peer assessment very successfully and when self-assessing they match themselves against criteria, not each other.
Staff will be shadowing each other more regularly.
Tracking meetings take place to talk about children individually making sure steps are in place to achieve the appropriate level at the appropriate age.
Jolly Phonics is going well in P1-3 and pupils are progressing more rapidly then previously. The new reading scheme in place for August 2008 will be more challenging to follow on from this. This will ultimately improve the standard of writing.
Andy Thompson thanked Alex for coming and Jennifer for her clear presentation.
5.Parent Council Operational Plan
Andy Thompson stated that the Parent Council aims to increase parental involvement. Following the discussion at the AGM Fergus Mitchell has compiled a list of topics for consultation. This was circulated and comments are invited. It will then be sent to all parents for a response in time for the next meeting. Andy encouraged those parents present to spread the word to others and encouraged feedback and comments at the email address strathparentcouncil@googlemail.com .
6.Any Other Business
Paul Stevens inquired about the current position of the Breakfast Club. Jennifer Cunningham stated that it required a supervisor between 8am and 9am each morning. This post has been advertised within Stirling Council and the village. There have been some expressions of interest. However, if no one is appointed the club will fold.
Andy Thompson closed the meeting, thanking everyone for coming.
7.Date of Next Meeting
No date set but approximately one month from now.