Stockbridge School Board
- Archive
MINUTES
OF MEETING ON TUESDAY, 18TH JANUARY 2000 AT STOCKBRIDGE SCHOOL LIBRARY,
AT 7:00PM.
Present:
Graham Bodenham (Chair), Fiona Fraser, Maggie Darling, Gregor Henderson, Helen Cox, John
Burton.
Apologies: Kate
Jones, Rev. Anne Logan,
In
Attendance:
Jacqui Horsburgh (Headteacher), Elizabeth Duncan (Clerk), Susan Currie
(Teacher),
Geraldine Hobbs (Teacher) Amanda Burton (PTA).
1.0
WELCOME and
apologies: Graham Bodenham (Chair) thanked all those present for attending and
welcomed Amanda Burton as the representative of the PTA, in addition to two
members of the teaching staff.
1.1
Minutes.
The minutes of the meeting of 9 November 1999 were approved by The Board.
1.2
Vote of Thanks.
Graham Bodenham (Chair) expressed the Board's appreciation for the contribution
which Alison Blamire and Pat Langridge-Smith had made over a number of years as
active members of the School Board.
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1.3
Points of Procedure for School Board meetings.
Graham Bodenham (Chair) displayed the Information Pack which is intended for all
new members to the Board. Those newly elected confirmed that they had received a
pack. Graham also displayed a copy of the Introduction to the Legislation Pack
which is also a useful resource for members of the Board. The following points
regarding the make-up of the Board were noted:
1.
The Board comprises of 4 parent members elected for a 4 year term of
office. This is arranged so that only 2 members complete their term of office
each 2 years, thereby giving some continuity to the Board membership.
2. There are in addition 2 co-opted members who may be elected from the community. These appointments can be renewed and 2 vacancies currently exist as Rev Anne Logan's term of office expired in November 1999.
3.
Sub-Committee members need not all be members of the School Board and
representation from the PTA is always welcome.
4.
The Headteacher is not a member of the Board but is 'in attendance' as an
advisor.
5.
The Clerk to the School Board minutes the meetings and deals with
correspondence but is not a member of the Board.
With
regard to recruiting new members of the Board with interests in the local
community, it was agreed that the Clerk would draft a suitable letter to be sent
to Tesco and Standard Life, who are major employers in the area. It is
understood that Nick Saunders of the Community Council has declined to be
considered as a Board member but a more formal approach was felt to be still
worthwhile. Further suggestions included a Health Visitor from Stockbridge
Health Centre and Robert Ray of Theatre Workshop. Draft recruitment letters will
be prepared for the consideration of the Chair.
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2.0
MATTERS ARISING
2.1
School Development Plan
Mrs
Horsburgh referred to the draft document which was circulated along with the
agenda for this meeting and copies of the Performance Indicators were
circulated. These did not include the Performance Indicators for the Nursery
section. Mrs Horsburgh confirmed the SDP covered a three year period and that
the first year had been planned in detail. The current SDP was initially planned
by Helen Cox and staff, prior to the appointment of the Headteacher and the SDP
has subsequently been finely tuned by the Headteacher. Mrs Horsburgh advised
that the structure of the SDP and the Performance Indicators are pre-determined
by the Scottish Office in the format currently in use by the School. The process
of developing the SDP involves the review and assessment of the previous plan
and the gathering of evidence to support any findings. Some items from the
previous plan have gone onto a maintenance basis. National and local initiatives
are considered carefully e.g. the development of creative writing skills.
The
first review of the plan is due in May, when the initiatives will be reviewed
and levels of progress assessed. Any
additional factors which may affect the progress of the plan will be identified
e.g. the delay of installation of the IT equipment, the resultant training
slippage and any staff changes. Mrs Horsburgh agreed that the proposed School
Board Newsletter should included a simple summary of the content of the SDP in
brief, bite sized pieces for the information of the wider parent body. The
School Board Report should also contain an overview of the SDP and be circulated
to all parents. top
Mrs
Horsburgh proposed that the Headteacher's Annual Report should take the form of
a Standards & Quality Report, with the first draft being available for the
start of the next Session. A maximum of 2,500 words is anticipated. This type of
report, it was agreed, would reflect the life of the School and it's
achievements in a wider, richer sense, by comparison to the more structured SDP.
The final version of the SDP would be still be available in the Parent's Room
for those who want greater detail on certain aspects of the SDP.
Gregor
Henderson suggested that parents might welcome an overview of how the SDP, the
Annual Report and the proposed Standards & Quality Report would interact.
Mrs Horsburgh confirmed that the SDP is a staff working document and by
extending this into a Standards & Quality Report for all parents, this would
effectively replace the Annual Report. The benefit of a Standards & Quality
Report, apart from that mentioned above, would allow for the inclusion of a
forward projection and not simply reflect the past year, in the way that an
Annual Report does.
It
was agreed that an School Board Newsletter would be composed on one sheet of A4
from an edited version of the Minutes. Maggie Darling agreed to undertake the
production of this and it was agreed that once a term would be sufficient. A
news report style and jargon free newsletter is the intention. Full copies of
the Board Minutes will continue to be posted in the Parent's Room and on the
various noticeboards, as at present.
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2.2
Consultative Committee Meeting
Graham Bodenham
(Chair) having attended a cluster meeting at Broughton High, has been elected as
the cluster representative - on a two year cycle within the cluster.
It has been suggested that a specific deputy be appointed to attend
Consultative Committee meetings in the event of Graham's absences and this will
probably be someone from Flora Stevenson's Primary School.
Graham
advised that the main presentation at the December meeting of the Consultative
Committee related to an issue in which the Cleansing Department were asked to
respond to complaints from a member school.
Fuller details are contained in the digest of minutes which were
circulated along with the Agenda for this meeting.
2.3
Proposed Waiting/Loading Restriction.
Mrs
Horsburgh advised that the existing markings on the school side of the street
are to be upgraded between the hours of 8am and 4pm Monday to Fridays. This will
include a No Waiting or Loading restriction/ with the exception of buses
contracted for the use of the School. This is independent of any other
proposals.
2.4
Kids Nation Video
Mrs Horsburgh advised
that none of the children interviewed by the Researcher had been chosen to
participate. The children concerned
had been advised accordingly before the Christmas break.
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3.0
Review of the School Board Budget
This
item was deferred in view of Kate Jones's absence and will be heard at the next
Board meeting.
4.0
REPORTS
4.1
Links Sub-Committee half-yearly report
Presented by Helen
Cox. See attached report.
4.2
PTA Meeting of 24 November 1999
After
School Activities were discussed. These are well attended and just about
breaking even on budget. With effect from the end of this session, both Jane Garven
and Julie Martin will be giving up their respective PTA duties. The Quiz Night
was so successful that demands have been received for this to become an annual
event. The T-towel sales went very well and this enabled the PTA to pay for the
Christmas Disco without charging for tickets. In addition a Benevolent Fund has
been established. Please note the proposed date for the Ceilidh is 25th
February, a provisional booking at Stockbridge House has been made. The cost of
School outings was discussed and in particular it was agreed that the choice and
location of next year's Christmas show should be reviewed by the School. The PTA
have approved in principle the suggestion that the School Board should share the
use of the post box located inside the door of the School.
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4.3
School Board Annual Report
Pat
Langridge-Smith has encountered technical difficulties in producing the report,
due to IT problems. However, the
report will follow as soon as possible.
5.0
OTHER BUSINESS
5.1
Membership of the SSBA
It was agreed that in
view of recent statements from the SSBA regarding Section 28, no action would be
taken at this time to renew the Board's membership. It was agreed that the Clerk
would draft a letter for signature by the Chair, informing the SSBA of the
decision and advising the SSBA that their views did not reflected that of our
Board. In addition the point was to be made that the SSBA had failed to consult
with the membership on this important matter. John Burton advised the Board that
the SSBA website was available for those who wanted to make their own comments
known to the SSBA. It was agreed that the whole issue of Section 28 should be
included on the agenda of the next Board Meeting.
Mrs
Horsburgh reassured the Board that there were already adequate mechanisms and
structures in place to ensure the safety and protection of school children,
irrespective of the outcome of the debate on Section 28.
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5.2
Review effects of losing P2 Task Force teacher
Mrs
Horsburgh advise the Board that only 2 weeks notice had been given to the School
and this gave little time to manage the transition to only one teacher. However,
the staff and children have coped well and Mrs Cox is able to provide support
for learning. The class is currently 28 in size and the children receive a
double block of support for learning on 4 days of the week. There is also a
classroom support assistant. Gregor Henderson agreed to draft a letter to the
Education Authority expressing the Board's concern about the lack of transition
time allowed and acknowledging that the staff and children have coped well with
any related stress.
5.3
The McCrone Committee - Enquiry into teachers pay and conditions
Helen Cox advised that
at a recent staff meeting four main points had emerged which would form the core
of a report from the staff to the McCrone Committee.
The Board agreed with the staff and a letter in support of their points
is to be drafted by the Clerk for signature by the Chair, to be received by the
committee no later than 11th February. The 4 main points are as
follows:
1) A single
national pay forum with force of Law is wanted and not a decentralised system
2) Funding for absence cover and courses should be
centrally funded, as before
3)
All staff workloads continue to increase, both teaching and non-teaching
4) More specialist are needed and these should be
centrally funded
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5.4
PTA Meeting of 19 January 2000
Fiona
Fraser agreed to attend as a representative of the Board.
6.0
CORRESPONDENCE
The
following correspondence has been received since the last Board meeting:
a)
CEC Education
1.
Issue 20, School Boards Information Update newsletter November 1999.
2.
Minutes of Consultative Committee With Parents meeting 12 October 1999.
3.
Education News Issue 14 December 1999
7.0
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
7.1
No other business was raised
7.2
Meeting Closed 9.07pm
8.0
DATE OF NEXT MEETING Tuesday 29th February 2000 at 7pm, School Library
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