Friends of Gilcomstoun - The Parents' Council

Blogg Revival ...!

2008-10-31T01:20:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I've been a bit remiss about keeping this up to date: I'm not sure how effective it's been as a communication strategy ... (?)

Comments on this would be appreciated!

'Friends of Gilcomstoun' (the Parents' Council) has been meeting throughout the year, and is beginning to develop a bit of 'corporate vision' from the various constraints, contingencies, opportunities and events of the period ...

The minutes of most of last year's meetings here:

02/10/2007
30/10/2007
20/11/2007
04/03/2008
22/04/2008

First Parents' Council Meeting

2007-10-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

This took place on Tuesday 2nd October.

Mostly housekeeping and election of officers - we're meeting again on the 30th to make some decisions about what our immediate priorities are.

The minutes can be seen here.

First Forum Meeting - Parents' Council Election

2007-10-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

The first meeting of the Parents' Forum took place on the 18th of September, and the first Parents' Council members were elected.

You can find the draft minutes here.

These will be confirmed at the next Parents' Forum meeting.

First Parents' Forum Meeting

2007-09-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

The first Parents' Forum meeting will be held in the school hall on Tuesday the 18th of September at 7:00 pm.

At this meeting the first parents council will be elected. After the formal business, there will be a cheese and wine reception.

A creche will be available.

Agenda items will include:

Approval of the constitution (following discussion)

Election procedures

Election of Parent Council members

Suggestions for co-opted members

Parents' meetings, final revisions ...

2007-07-05T14:54:00.001-07:00

The parents meetings this week were very lightly attended ... possibly an end of term effect!

Those of us who came to the Tuesday meeting took the opportunity to have a look at the Aberdeen City Council response to our draft constitution, and made a few proposed changes (they're shown in red in the document linked to here).

In addition to these amendments, possible arrangements for the election of the first Council and annual meetings of the forum were discussed:

It was proposed that two meetings of the forum should be held each session – one near the beginning of the session to arrange the election of new council members, and one near the end to report on the activities of the Council during the session, and to consider any changes to Council arrangements for the following session.

As there are funds available for the establishment and running of the Forum and Council, those present thought that it would be appropriate to provide refreshments and crèche facilities at the forum meetings.

Parents' Meetings

2007-06-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

As previously advertised!

There will be two parents' meetings next week, to discuss the arrangements for the parents' forum, and the constitution of the parent's council. Both are in the Gilcomstoun school assembly hall:

7.00 pm on Tuesday, 3^rd July 2007

3.30 pm on Wednesday, 4^th July 2007

The times have been arranged to make sure as many parents as possible have an opportunity to attend. Please come along and share your views!

ACC Approval

2007-06-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Aberdeen City Council have now reviewed and approved the draft constitution for the Parents' Council. The City representative also made some suggestions about possible modifications, but these can be discussed at the proposed parents' meetings which we're hoping to organise before the end of this session (next week!).

Agreed Minutes - meeting of 15th May 2007

2007-05-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Click here to see the minutes of the working party meeting at which the proposed constitution was finalised.

Draft Constitution

2007-05-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, the group of parents working on a School Council proposal for Gilcomstoun met and drafted a constitution for the Council. The wording of the constitution is based on advice from the Scottish Executive and model constitutions from other similar bodies, such as the PTA, the After School Club, and the present School Board.

This constitution will be presented at the forthcoming parents' meetings, and brought to the first meeting of the Parents' Forum for final approval or further amendment.

It will also be reviewed by the Education Authority.

Click here to see the draft.

Replacing School Boards ...

2007-04-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

The 'Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006' gives parents an opportunity to replace their school board with a representative body matched to their local requirements - a Parents' Council.

The new body needs to be established at the beginning of the 2007/8 school session.

The act also establishes a school Parents' Forum, and every parent at the school is automatically a member of this. The Parents' Forum must approve the plans for the Parents' Council, and the Council must report back to the Forum on its activities.

Recently, all parents at the school were invited to participate in the process of developing the aims and constitution of the Parents' Council.

Tonight (26th April) a group of parents who responded to this invitation met. We have started (tentatively) with the following:

(1) Establishing a possible constitution for the new body, based on guidance offered by the Scottish Executive and the consititutions of other bodies such as the PTA and the After School Club.

(2) Planning a series of meetings with all parents at the school to discuss this proposal.

(3) Setting up this Blog, to keep everyone aware of what we're doing, provide links to relevant resources, and give an opportunity for feedback. Please comment freely!