MINUTES OF MEETING ON TUESDAY 5 OCTOBER 1999 AT STOCKBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL, AT 7.00PM. 

Present:            Graham Bodenham (Chair), Alison Blamire, John Burton, Kate Jones, Gregor Henderson, Pat Langridge-Smith, Fiona Fraser,                                                              

Apologies:                     Maggie Darling, Helen Cox, Rev Anne Logan                 

In Attendance:            Jacqui Horsburgh (Head Teacher), Elizabeth Duncan (Clerk), Julie Martin (PTA)                                

1.0        WELCOME and apologies: Graham Bodenham (Chair) thanked all those present for attending and welcomed Julie Martin as the representative of the PTA.

1.1     Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of 24 August 1999 were approved, subject to an amendment of item 4.3 which should read Kate Jones agreed to attend the PTA meeting of 8/9/99 and not as stated.                                     top 

2.0          MATTERS ARISING

2.1        After School Care: Alison Blamire circulated the results of the After School Care Questionnaire (see copy attached). Further discussions of the Communications Sub-Committee have now identified the need for a steering group to be set up involving people who are interested in this issue. Anyone who is willing to join the steering group should contact the Communication Sub-Committee via Alison Blamire or Belinda Dewar. Kate Jones expressed an interest in joining the steering group. It was suggested that additional members might be sought by sending a flyer home with all pupils. Alison Blamire has agreed to continue on the steering group for the time being but pointed out that her term of office on the School Board would end in November and that her status as a parent of a pupil attending the school was also nearing its end. 

It is recognised that although 93.3% of parents who responded to the questionnaire stated that they would use After School Care either now or in the future, in reality the take up rate would be nearer 30%. Half of the respondents expressed an interest in an early morning club and the split between full time and part-time after school care was 50/50. 

Various options for After School Care have been suggested in a document entitled Kidzone but it must be stressed that these are only at the early stages of discussion. The document proposes an umbrella organisation to co-ordinate After School Care with a view to supplementing the existing provision. Proposals include a Breakfast Club from 8-8.55am, a flexible club meeting after school hours providing snacks and a series of activities which would be organised in age bands - similar to or tied in with the PTA activities currently on offer, and lastly a regular club providing full time after school care. The intention would be for any such clubs to operate during school holidays and In-service days.                        top 

The need to find staffing, premises with suitable access and sufficient funding would be explored by the steering group. Funding applications will be considered by the National Lottery if the content of an After School Club is educational but if the primary role of an After School Club is purely child care, an application to the strategy fund of Edinburgh District Council would be considered. P.A.C.E, who already provide support and guidance to Play groups and after school clubs, have confirmed their willingness to assist in an advisory capacity and  provide a registration service. 

A further meeting between the Communications Sub-Committee and the representatives of the After School Club would now be possible as the results of the questionnaire have been collated and some ideas formulated. Mrs Horsburgh agreed to find out what the current level of take up was like for After School Care including the St Stephen's A.S.C. and the Gingerbread organisation.   

Pat Langridge-Smith referred to the Government's pledge to make After School Care available and to the lack of P.E. in the formal curriculum. He suggested that the use of the School Library, the top floor of the annexe and the TV room be considered for suitable after school activities. The use of classrooms for a homework club was suggested but Mrs Horsburgh confirmed this would not be ideal as many staff continue to use classrooms after school hours and the use of classrooms for a club would have implications for the cleaning of the rooms.  Mrs Horsburgh advised that generally the biggest demand for child care was in the area of wrap round care for pre-school children around the midday period and this demand could not be meet by the use of classrooms. Graham Bodenham (Chair) noted that as After School Care becomes generally more widely available, the ability of the School to offer suitable facilities could have a direct impact on the school roll.        top  

3.0     HEAD TEACHER’S ANNUAL REPORT 1998/99

Mrs Horsburgh circulated copies of the Annual Report which covered the following areas:  Devolved School Management, Staffing, School Roll, School Buildings/Grounds, Levels of Attainment, School Development Plan, Staff Development, Excursions, Curricular & Extra Curricular Activities, After School Activities, School Services and Partnership with Parents. (See copy attached).

Mrs Horsburgh noted that fluctuations in pupil absence levels were wider than in previous years and this was being monitored. She explained the use of  "Golden Time", a slot of time when pupils can choose from a list of activities as a means of reward for the work done during the week. Although no ICTO (Information & Communication Technology Officer) had been appointed, it was hoped this would be done with effect from 1st November. Staff Development courses  were mainly attended in twilight hours i.e. after 4.30pm.Mrs Horsburgh agreed to report to the School Board at the next Board meeting regarding two items which the Board felt should be incorporated in the Annual report. i.e. Communication with the School Board and the analysis of the Nursery provision for outdoor play as raised by Pat Langridge-Smith and Graham Bodenham respectively.                                                                                                                      top

Mrs Horsburgh spoke in detail about the levels of attainment and the procedures for tracking the levels achieved. She confirmed that the staff were working hard and the results reflected what was expected. With regard to the question raised by Pat Langridge-Smith of the need to develop ways of informing parents of the assessment reports, Mrs Horsburgh confirmed that eventually statistics will be produced which would be available to all parents. However, these statistics would only be relevant when comparing school on a like for like basis, and taking into account the school roll numbers. Despite taking a number of these relevant factors into account, the style of the report must still be accessible and the Education Authority will publish the figures in spreadsheet format. Mrs Horsburgh emphasised the need for parents to understand the factors involved in making comparisons, including the take up rate of free school meals and the recognition of the School cluster and size. Graham Bodenham (Chair) suggested that there would be a need to issue explanatory notes with the statistics. Pat Langridge-Smith will ask at the Consultative Committee meeting on 12 October when the figures are due to be published. 

4.0                    REPORTS                                                       

4.1        School Development Plan 3 Year Review

Mrs Horsburgh circulated the SDP Initiatives for 1999/2002. The Education Authority will review the plan by the end of October and their response would then be communicated with a simple overview by Mrs Horsburgh to the School Board. top

4.2                    Environment Sub-Committee Half Yearly Report

Gregor Henderson confirmed that at a recent meeting of the Environment Sub-Committee it had been agreed to split into two groups as previously suggested; Internal and External Environment. 3 people, Michael Marwick, Gregor Henderson and John Burton, have agreed to review the correspondence regarding a school crossing and to set a strategy to progress the matter further. There has been some suggestion that Scotmid would contribute to the costs involved in setting up Safer Routes to School. Mrs Horsburgh confirmed the Police Road Safety Officer had agreed to implement Traffic Trails around the locality to take the children out.

With regard to the playground surface problems, Mrs Horsburgh confirmed that the drains have been cleared and appear to be functioning well at present. However, the patchwork state of the playground surface is causing problems and the burden of cost for patching repairs falls to School unless the whole playground requires to be resurfaced, in which case the costs become the authorities responsibility. Mrs Horsburgh has asked the School Maintenance Office to assess the work necessary and to provide costings.  She did note there is a waiting list for schools requiring similar work to be carried out, but if necessary Mrs Horsburgh would try to have Stockbridge Primary added to the waiting list.

Fears that there were not enough parents to support the football teams activities are happily not well founded and there will be a fund raising disco in December. The possibility of out of school facilities is being explored and the use of Edinburgh Academy from 6-8pm on Friday nights is  being considered. 

4.3                    P1 parents' coffee morning 3 September 1999                                                                      top

This enjoyable event, run by the PTA, was well attended by P1 parents. 

4.4                    Open Evening 16 September 1999

Mrs Horsburgh has received good feedback from both staff and parents alike. It was noted that the number of parents attending has a tendency to tail off towards the top end of the school. 

4.5                    PTA Meeting of  8 September 1999

Julie Martin confirmed that a letter giving details of the After School Activities would be circulated later this week. A Family Fun Evening has been planned for 2 November, and the printing of a school tea-towel will go ahead as sufficient demand has been expressed. The PTA were happy to present the School with £2,000. A member of the School Board was welcome to attend the next PTA meeting on 13 October. Fiona Fraser or Maggie Darling may be available. All meeting dates and contact numbers are now displayed on the Notice Boards. 

4.6                    Kid Nation video diary project

Mrs Horsburgh has received a letter from a Researcher on behalf of Eric Brown Productions, who are looking for children to record snippets on a wide variety of topics for broadcasting - similar to the Video Nation snippets currently being shown. If selected, permission letters would be required from parents to allow children to film or to be filmed. Discussion groups would meet with a production team to select ideas and receive training with the camera.  Videoing would take place over a one week period. The Board agreed this would be a unique opportunity for pupils and confirmed they had no objection to the School participating should they be fortunate enough to be selected.                                                    top 

5.0             CORRESPONDENCE 

The following correspondence has been received since the last Board meeting: 

a)         CEC Education Committee 

1.         Minutes of meeting of Consultative Committee with parents (24 August 1999)

2.         Issue 7, Summary of items discussed at above meeting on 24 August 1999 

b)         CEC Education – Education Support Services

1.         Ward Members. List of Councillors for all Edinburgh schools’ catchment areas. 

c)         Scottish School Board Association

1.         Issue 25 (August 1999) Grapevine newsletter                                                                            top

2.         ICT 2000 notice of Information and Communications Technology in Education conference to be held on 18 September 1999 in Kilmarnock.

3.         Questionnaire on membership. It appears that our membership has not been renewed despite the Board agreeing to join as an individual organisation (see minutes of Board meeting 19 January 1999). Fiona chased up SBU who have not paid on our behalf. 

d)         Scottish Executive Education Department

1.         Issue 4 (August 1999) 5-14 Focus Newsletter. 

e)         Scottish Parent Teacher Council

1.        Issue 49 (August 1999) Backchat Newsletter 

6.0          ANY OTHER BUSINESS. 

6.1        Communication: Alison Blamire suggested a more regular newsletter from the School Board would be welcome - one per term would seem advisable. It was suggested that Maggie Darling might like to help with this and Alison can provide much of the template on computer disc. Mrs Horsburgh advised that the School PCs were not to be used by anyone other than the School.  There will be a School newsletter in October and these will be more frequent if necessary.                top 

6.2        Elections to the School Board: Gregor Henderson confirmed his wish to remain an Adjunct Member of the Board. Kate Jones and John Burton agreed to stand for election as full members at the Biennial elections on 15 November 1999. 

6.3        School Board Annual Report: Pat Langridge-Smith confirmed this would follow as soon as possible. 

6.4        Consultative Committee Representation: Pat Langridge-Smith advised that representation at the Consultative Committee meetings was highly desirable and Graham Bodenham agreed to do this as Chair of the School Board or if he was unavailable, to delegate this to John Burton. This involves 6-7 meetings per year with other members of the NW cluster group on Tuesday evenings at the City Chambers from 6.30-9pm approx. 

6.5          Meeting closed at 9.50pm 

7.0                    DATE OF NEXT MEETING:            (Tuesday 9 November 1999 at 7:00pm)