Stockbridge School Board - Archive Minutes 2 May 2000

Stockbridge School Board - Archive
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Stockbridge Primary School, 23 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5BA. Tel/Fax: 0131 332 6109
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MINUTES OF MEETING ON TUESDAY 2 MAY 2000 AT STOCKBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL, AT 7.00PM.

Present: Graham Bodenham (Chair), John Burton, Helen Cox, Fiona Fraser, Kate Jones

Apologies: Maggie Darling, Gregor Henderson

In Attendance: Jacqui Horsburgh (Head Teacher), Elizabeth Duncan (Clerk), Caron Stoker (PTA) Emila Knight (Clerk designate)

1.0 WELCOME and apologies: Graham Bodenham (Chair) thanked those present for attending and welcomed Caron Stoker as the representative of the PTA and Emilia Knight was introduced as the new Clerk to the School Board. Emilia will be taking up her duties with effect from the next Board meeting.

1.1 Minutes of the meeting of 29 February 2000 were approved, subject to minor amendments as follows:

2.2 spelling corrected to Lazarowiz and in the third line corrected to analyse

2.5 wording of last sentence be amended to ‘actual take up rate might be very much lower'.

4.3 date of meeting should read 2nd not 4th May top

5.1 para 2 Mrs Cox and Mrs Horsburgh supervise the morning break

2.0 MATTERS ARISING

2.1 School Board Clerk position. Graham Bodenham (Chair) was pleased to advise the Board that Emilia Knight has expressed an interest in becoming the Clerk to the School Board and that she would take up her duties with effect from the next Board Meeting. Elizabeth Duncan, following her resignation as Clerk, was reminded of her stated intention to join the Resources sub committee.

2.2 Section 2A Questionnaire national results. Graham Bodenham (Chair) advised the Board that the SSBA have now published the figures collated from the national survey which had been tabulated according to Education Authority. The vast majority of areas had expressed a wish to keep Clause 28. Edinburgh was the only exception to this as they had almost unanimously voted to repeal the legislation. The Glasgow area was split 50/50. Some people had declined to respond due to the lack of time but of the 777 responses the results were as follows: 355 wanted to keep the clause, 307 wanted to keep the clause pending a new wording and 90 wanted the clause repealed. This information has been forwarded to Sam Galbraith for the information of the Scottish Executive. top

2.3 Pelican Crossing. Graham Bodenham (Chair) attended a meeting of the New Town, Broughton & Pilrig Community Council where 21 interest groups were represented - most of whom wanted the Transport Department traffic proposals abandoned. Reference was made to a survey undertaken by residents of the Stockbridge Colonies which was conducted one morning during the hours of 8-9am. Over 400 cars used Hamilton Place/Henderson Row in that one hour period. It was noted that many cars during that time were dropping off children at Edinburgh Academy and Stockbridge Primary School. It seems inevitable that Henderson Row/Hamilton Place and Glenogle Road will experience increased levels of traffic despite reassurances given to the Board at an earlier meeting by Councillor Brian Houston that adequate traffic control measures would be place in advance of any changes to Princes Street. It is understood that the report containing the traffic proposals has been submitted but the content is not yet known. Both John Burton and Kate Jones agreed to make enquiries regarding the content of the report. Meantime Mrs Horsburgh has agreed to contact Dr Ross at Edinburgh Academy as she had expressed concern about the levels of pollution which would result from the expected increased volume of traffic. A few years ago, Stockbridge Primary School was tested and measures taken to reduce the leads levels in the playground and indoors. It is not known who conducted this survey and what constitutes an acceptable level of lead. Mrs Horsburgh will write to Dr Ross to determine if she has any knowledge of this. top

2.4 Review of Co-opted members. Maggie Thompson of Tesco had expressed an interest but had been unable to attend the meeting. Scottish Life staff at Henderson Road were given an invitation to suggest a candidate but to date no-one has expressed an interest. Graham Bodenham (Chair) has therefore written to Stockbridge Health Centre and awaits a reply.

2.5 HMI School Inspection. Mrs Horsburgh confirmed that three Inspectors plus one lay member of the team carried out a very rigorous and fair inspection. The Inspectors had been very supportive in the way in which they carried out their task, which took up most of one week and involved consultation with parents, staff and pupils in addition to very detailed cross-reference to a wide range of documentation. The staff had initially thought that two and a half weeks notice was insufficient but in hindsight agreed that this was preferable to a longer more drawn out process. The school has received a draft of the Inspectors’ report and the lead Inspector will be returning to the school shortly to finalise the fine detail contained therein. Whilst this report is the Scottish equivalent to the Offsted report which English schools receive, the Standards & Quality report gives percentages for the whole school and not on a teacher by teacher basis. The terminology used is very specific and expressions such as 'very good' or 'the majority' have precisely quantifiable definitions. The final report will be available to the wider parent body for those who wish to see it. However, an extract will be sent to all parents. It is hoped that this will be available before the end of this session. top

3.0 REVIEW OF SCHOOL BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR 2000/2001. The final budget figures are not yet available from the Education Authority and Mrs Horsburgh explained the financial year ran from April to March, unlike the academic year. This means that in each academic year, the budget must be expressed as partly in one financial year and the balance in the following year. The school budget is based on a per capita basis, ie determined by the number of pupils. There was a carry forward sum from the last financial year, in addition to a Library Grant of £1,000 and £100 from the Excellence Fund. This had allowed the school to purchase books for the classrooms and the library and some computer software. Increased funding for support for learning time had provided an opportunity for staff to undertake development work, mainly studying available computer software, but also for attendance at the Case for Writing presentation. The school funded a music specialist who attended for half a day each week during the January to Easter period. This supplemented the existing specialists who are as follows:

Art - 1 full day per week for Term 1 (August to Christmas)

Swimming - half a class for the whole session

P.E. - half a day for the whole session top

It is expected that a carry forward will be made into the next financial year. This will be used to phase in the IT facilities and to supplement the provision of playground supervisors. Staffing levels are expected to remain basically the same with the addition of a Task Force Teacher for the incoming P1. It is not known how the Scottish Executive will implement the increase in education budget announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the most recent budget. Mrs Horsburgh advised that this money could be used in a wide variety of ways, most of which would not be at the discretion of the school. In addition, the school cannot vire money above specified limits and is restricted to certain agreed items only. The school cannot 'ring-fence' money to be carried forward even for specific projects.

4.0 REPORTS

4.1 School Meals Sub-Committee half yearly report. Kate Jones advised that currently the main objective of the sub-committee was the setting up of a Fruit Tuck Shop in conjunction with The Edinburgh Community Food Initiative who are promoting their Snack Attack project. It had been hoped that the school would be included in the next cluster of schools to receive support form ECFI and Kate recently enquired about the prospects of this happening soon. A development worker from ECFI has delivered a Snack Attack Pack to the school today and Mrs Horsburgh has briefly discussed this with the P6 teacher Miss Geraldine Hobbs. It is hoped that the scheme could be running for the final month of the school session. Provisional plans indicate that the Fruit Tuck Shop would operate on two days of the week. Pupils would bring money for fruit on a Monday in exchange for fruit vouchers i.e. much the same way as the school already handle money and vouchers for school lunches. The cost is expected to be 10p per piece of fruit and 2 free pieces of fruit per week will be provided for each pupil entitled to free school meals. P6 pupils will be asked to implement the scheme with a view to carrying it forward into their P7 year with a hand-over part of the way through that year to the new P6 class. The location of a suitable storage location for the fruit will be explored. It is hope that the children will become as involved in the scheme as possible and that parent volunteers will be forthcoming. top

4.2 Environment Sub-Committee half yearly report. John Burton confirmed that the pond has been tidied but the slabs surrounding the pond are thought to be unsuitable. The slabs may have to be removed and an alternative edging found which would ensure the children could come close to the edge of the pond without the soil caving into the water. Mrs Horsburgh confirmed that Mrs Turner will be holding a meeting soon about the introduction of playground games and parent volunteers will be welcome to assist with this. With regard to the external environment, John Burton confirmed that the two main items of concern were the need for a crossing to be installed outside the school and the problems encountered when Scotmid delivery vehicles block the road during school hours. There is some suggestion that an informal agreement had been reached in the past with Scotmid to the effect that deliveries would not be made during peak periods when children are coming to or exiting from the school. However, the Board recognised that the managers of the local shop and at their HO may well have changed several times since this informal agreement was last discussed. No-one present at the Board meeting had any knowledge of any documentation which would support this claim and it was agreed that John Burton would write to Scotmid HO at Fountainbridge with a view to confirming an agreement of this nature. Mrs Cox recollects that the Community Policeman had previously been consulted on this matter and if necessary this could be another avenue of approach. Mike Marwick has also been very supportive in trying to resolve the safety problems created by the delivery vehicles and he may also be able to advise John how to approach the subject. top

4.3 PTA Meetings of 22 March 2000 & 26 April 2000. Kate Jones attended the first meeting as a representative of the School Board and Caron Stoker was able to report on the items discussed at the more recent meeting. Kate reported that the Ceilidh had produce a profit of £135 which was pleasing as this was not intended as a profit making event. The profit of £500 from the previous Ceilidh had been depleted by the increased cost of the alternative venue and of the increased band hire expense. A complaint had been received by the PTA about unacceptable behaviour of some of the children attending the event and the PTA have made it clear that parents are solely responsible for their own children. The draft of the Anti-bullying policy was discussed. The PTA agreed to promote the wearing of school uniform by pupils and will continue to make second-hand uniform available. A list of items for sale will be prepared and posted on the noticeboards. Details of the Summer Fair were discussed - to be held on Sat. 3 June. The After School Clubs were discussed and both the Stockbridge and the St. Stephen's clubs will remain independent of each other. The idea of a Breakfast club has been shelved due to funding restrictions. Funding is available but this would only be relevant for parents who wanted to return to work or education and this would not cater for those who are already involved in further education or employment. The demand for care before school time is not thought to be great and the majority of parents who require it seem to have informal arrangements already in place. With regard to a Homework Club, a lottery funding application is being considered and the appropriate 'handy pack' has been requested. The need to employ a suitably experience adult could be a major consideration and it is understood that without this, there is not much hope of receiving funding. The PTA’s after school activities were discussed and in particular the role of the parent helper was explained. Problems had been encountered with some parents not appearing on the day on which they were on the parent helper rota. Consideration will be given to the possibility of starting French and Italian after school activities.

4.4 Next PTA meeting on 31sy May 2000. John Burton agreed to attend as a representative of the Board. top

4.5 School Board Annual Report - progress report. Graham Bodenham confirmed that Pat Langridge-Smith was making progress with the report and Pat intends that this will be produced before the Board meeting on 30th May. It was agreed there would be no need to circulate this report to the wider parent body as it has already been presented verbally and the current year's report is due shortly.

5.0 OTHER BUSINESS

5.1 Consultation on modernisation of the Council's decision making. Graham Bodenham showed those present the explanatory report giving details of the proposed structure which is currently under consideration. A 10 to 15 member Executive would be responsible for policy development in conjunction with a variety of Policy Panels and Consultative Panels. Proposals from the Executive would then be directed via a Scrutiny Panel, as would any draft policies prior to consideration by the Full Council. The Board responded to a questionnaire regarding our views on the present Council decision making process.

5.2 IT Infrastructure and policy. Mrs Horsburgh advised the Board that some computers have been installed from central funding and the school has also funded additional computers. Most of the computers were located in classrooms and consideration is now being given to other areas e.g. an IT suite. It was agreed that care should be taken to carry forward the next stage as part of a carefully considered phased programme in order to ensure maximum flexibility. The school is part of the Broughton Cluster Group, which has produced a very detailed IT policy which will be trialed over the next two years. The staff have contributed to the formulation of the draft policy and Miss Hobbs, the P6 teacher, is the Stockbridge Primary School representative in this regard. Elite training for staff has been planned for the next session and this will cover the necessary skills and software programmes. The first review of the IT policy will be in two years. Mrs Horsburgh has a copy of the draft should anyone want to see it. top

5.3 Training Courses for Board Members. Graham Bodenham highlighted the forthcoming training sessions available. It is hoped that a member of the Board will attend the DSM/Finance training on 10th May. Kate Jones and Graham Bodenham will give this consideration and check their availability.

5.4 Consultative Committee With Parents. Graham Bodenham (Chair) attended the meeting on 25 April when the modernisation of the Council decision making was discussed. A report regarding school leaver trends makes interesting reading. Please speak to Graham if you would like to read this in full. The teaching of Modern Language in Primary schools was discussed and concern was expressed at the variations in the current provision and limited choices due to the piecemeal manner of organisation at present. The intention is to produce a more co-ordinated structure as the current situation leads to a wide range of ability in the pupils who are attending the first year of secondary education. A copy of the minutes of the full meeting of the Consultative Committee is available in the parent's room.