Strathblane Primary Parent Council
Chair’s Annual Report on behalf of the Parent Council
15 June 2009
Here we are again near the end of another school year and also at the end of the two-year period of office of all the current Parent Council members. We have formed the first Parent Council since the founding legislation to replace the old-style School Boards. As I reported last year, we went through a long process of consultation with parents and guardians to establish what it was that they wanted the Parent Council to work on, which culminated in a dozen priorities. There were a number of lively meetings with parents and teachers in our first year as we all came to terms with the new structures and developed a way of working which established confidence in us as parental representatives.
We began this school year in optimistic mood, with a clear set of actions to pursue and a number of encouraging developments already beginning to take place, including greater clarity about how the Parent Council could work alongside the school staff. It was with some surprise that early on the incumbent Head Teacher, Jennifer Cunningham, announced her resignation to move to the English midlands, where I understand she has now taken on a new headship. Given that Anne Spencer, the Depute Head Teacher, was on sick leave during this period, this led to a school leadership vacuum for a few weeks, creating difficulties for the Parent Council in developing certain policies. However, we were fortunate in having Morven Bulloch step into the role, before Carolyn Randall was appointed as Acting Head Teacher with effect from late November.
The change in Head Teacher represents an important change in the leadership and direction of teaching and learning in the school and one that is likely to lead to the person appointed remaining in the school for a lengthy period. The Parent Council has a legal right to be part of the selection process, forming half the members of the interviewing panel. For this reason, the Parent Council has an especially important role in helping to ensure that the best candidate is chosen for the post. We were particularly fortunate in having an excellent set of candidates to consider, many of whom would have been very able to carry out the role. In the end we were in agreement with the professional and Council panel members in offering the post to Sandra Logan, a highly experienced and personable current Head Teacher in Stirlingshire.
While the immediate future is now clear, we would like to express thanks and appreciation for the work that Carolyn Randall has put into her role, getting to know the teaching staff and the school environment, including constructive working with the Parent Council members. Acting in a connecting role is always demanding and we are aware of the many developments that have been implemented during the last 6 months. We would also like to put on record our thanks to all the teaching staff, many of whom have attended our meetings and offered help of various kinds, including representing the views of the Pupil Council.
In reviewing our progress in achieving the objectives of the Parent Council, as set out in the constitution, I will outline some of the most notable developments and conclude with some thoughts as to what the new Parent Council might wish to consider as they take up the reins in August. We believe that in combination these activities are working towards the enhancement of the educational experience of all children in the school, whether it be focussed on aspects of the learning process or in relation to the wider physical or social environment in which learning takes place. As will be clear from this review, none of these activities could have been achieved to the same degree without the wide and deep commitment from a large number of parents and other members of the community in Strathblane and Blanefield. Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go to achieve all of our current plans and we hope that parents and other colleagues will continue to work together to achieve these and future hopes and wishes for our children.
Without doubt this has been a bumper year for raising funds through the Strathblane Primary Fundraisers, the fund-raising working group of the Parent Council. This has ranged across a number of events, from the Halloween Disco to the recent Summer Fair, and we would like to thank Traci Leven, as co-ordinator, Linda Barclay, as Grand Organiser of the Summer Fair, and the many parents who have been involved in organising or helping on the day to make these activities so much fun and productive. There is no doubt that liberating cash from people’s pockets is that much easier when they are relaxed and being entertained among friends.
Without doubt, much of the focus this year has been on trying to move the MUGA project forward, given its importance in the set of parents’ priorities. Once again, we give especial thanks to Linda Barclay, who has taken up the cause of fund-raising from far and wide, not to mention dealing with various linked organisations, as her current unpaid job. We were somewhat dismayed by the position we found ourselves in back in 2007, when we realised that all the good work done by previous School Board members had largely lapsed, meaning that we had to start again. The progress made over the last 6 months has been stratospheric, with significant funds being raised or promised by a number of organisations, including £7,000 from the work of the Parent Council. Linking our efforts to the important work of Greenheart has been very useful and we hope to continue this partnership over the next few months so that wider recreational facilities are secured for our children and the wider interest of the community.
One of our key areas in our action plan was to develop the extra-curricular activities available to our children, primarily after school finishes each day. Despite delays due to securing disclosure, we were very pleased to have Alex Harvey commence 3 levels of French classes each week and we are hopeful that Spanish classes will be made available early in the new school year. There has been a growth of sports activities, run by parents in the school and others, including netball, TOPS training and football, which we hope will be expanded as and when facilities are available. Detailed discussions have taken place with interested parents and Stirling Council to develop a Science Club, which the school has supported through Mrs Arroll’s agreement to act as the liaison person. Many thanks are due to Robin Hoyle for his helpful advice in this regard and to Debbie Bolton for co-ordinating the various interested parties.
The Nutrition Working Group, supported by Bernd Schwahn for the Parent Council, and the Pupil Council, produced a set of guidelines for healthy snacks, which have now been widely distributed to all parents. This offers practical support to the promotion of the health and welfare of the school pupils.
One of the key priorities for parents of children at our school, unsurprisingly, concerns the development and maintenance of effective communications between parents and teachers. In addition, it has been important for the Parent Council to set up effective two-way communications between itself and all members of the Parent Forum, in order that we might learn from parents and be aware of their concerns, whilst letting them know of decisions that are being made on their behalf. An important aspect of our communication strategy has been to develop and extend the Parent Council website (www.strathparentcouncil.org), where all announcements, news, reports and minutes have been placed. Especial thanks are due to Vivienne Mackay for her excellent and timely help in making all documents available on the website and suggesting improvements that can be made. We have tried to encourage parents to attend Parent Council meetings and, whilst it has been patchy, we believe we have been very open in the way we have given information and listened to what parents say.
Future work will need to keep these developments moving forward, whilst perhaps given more attention to how parents can be involved in and supportive of the Curriculum for Excellence. There is a need, in my view, for greater dialogue over the aims and targets of the School Plan and a corresponding enhancement of the understanding by parents of how they can support the homework activities of pupils. The anti-bullying policy that has been developed has been greatly encouraging, although there is still a need to find ways in which parents can help in this important aspect of school life. While it was a felt need when asked 2 years ago, we have made little progress in discussing the potentially controversial topic of the teaching of religion and alternative faiths in school. Nevertheless, we are pleased to see pupils being taught about different faiths and how parents and others in the community have been invited to talk to our children about their values and what it means to respect others.
In conclusion, I would like to thank my fellow Parent Council members, all of them having made real commitments to working with each other and a range of parents, teachers and children, as well as other members of the community, in an unstinting way over the last 2 years. While we might have different views about how we approach some topics, I have never felt a lack of interest or support in trying to move things forward in line with parental wishes. Without wishing to single anyone out, I extend my thanks to each and every one of them for what they have done and for making my job so much more pleasurable than it would have been without them. I wish the next Parent Council the very best and hope that we have left them sufficient legacy for what they wish to achieve over the next 2 years.
Andy Thompson