Coldingham Primary School, Coldingham, Berwickshire, TD14 5NS
Headteacher :- Mrs L Sanders tel 01890 771241
Email:- LSanders@scotborders.gsx.gov.uk
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The PTA and School Board are now to be amalgamated and known
as The Coldingham Friends & Parents Association. All parents and staff are
automatic members and any interested parties are welcome to attend meetings as
"Friends of Coldingham Primary School". February 2010 Issue 1
Parent
Council News
Gillian Simmons, Parental Involvement Officer Email: Gillian.simmons@scotborders.gov.uk Tel: 01835 824000 ext 5541 Mobile: 077853 05888
Funding Opportunity
GBT say that they have made grants to PTAs in the area,
including the award of £1,000 towards the purchase cost of a Smart Board.
Whilst this may be more than the normal level of grant which The Borders
Change Foundation can provide, it may be a source of small-scale funding to
help support Parent Council events. Parent Council
Conference we will also be
exploring how parents can be involved in developing the Curriculum for
Excellence into the future.
Guidance Can a Parent Council have
charitable status? The Scottish Parent Teacher Council have produced a leaflet on this topic which is available at:
http://www.sptc.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7075381:charities-constitution&catid=10:leaflets&Itemid=18
Information
Involving
Parents However, we feel
it is important to ensure that parents are able to influence the development of
new initiatives and policies which will impact on schools and on education. Cllr Bhatia has suggested that there could be a parent representative on the Council’s Education Executive. This raises some questions such as: · How would a parent representative be selected? · How long would they serve on the Education Executive for? · How would they ensure that they were representing the views of Borders’ parents generally? · How would they feedback from meetings they had attended? I suggest that
this is added to the agenda for the May meeting of the Parent Council Chairs’
Forum, and would welcome any input on discussion points which should be added to
those above. Together with Literacy and Numeracy, Health and Well-Being is one of three cross-cutting themes which underpin the Curriculum for Excellence. A network has been set up to support schools in developing this theme, and to help monitor consistency across the Borders. We have a volunteer parent from the primary sector, but it would be very helpful to have a secondary parent rep on this group. The group will meet quarterly, probably at 4.00pm in Galashiels. If you are interested, please contact Gillian Simmons for further information. Travel expenses will be paid.
Minutes of Parents and Friends of Coldingham School Association Meeting held at Coldingham Primary School on 18th January 2010 at 6.15pm Present: L. Sanders, E. Bewsey, Mrs. Trafford, J. Rutherford, R. Crowe, A. Bird, J. Worrall, J. Mahon, L. Bogle, G. Young, R. Lloyd-Jones, R. McDonald, J. Mole Apologies: K. Evans, A. Aitchison, A. Black
Headmistress Update: · L.S. handed out Head teachers report. · Healthy Tuck Shop – To be 1 day a week and must be self sustaining. Mrs. Sanders has a list of recipes and suggestions and is looking for parental involvement/interest. Food can be made on a rota basis or occasionally within the school by the children under supervision. There will be a sub-group meeting held on 29th January at 9.00am with Mrs. Sanders if anyone is interested. Treasurer Report: At present there is £3325.87 with £700 to be paid out. Therefore there is £2600 approx. in the bank. Waterproof Clothing: This has been sourced by Mrs. Dalgleish from nursery and ordered for nursery children, with a potential to order for P1/P2 as well. At present this will be paid for by school/PTA but we are hoping that this will be funded by a grant from the Natural History Festival Group. Duck Race: This has now been postponed to the summer term. E.B to source the ducks. Action by L.B. & E.B. Spring Ceilidh: The date for this is 27th February 7.30-12am and will be held in the village hall. The band has been booked but there will be no bar and shall be a B.Y.O.B basis. The tickets will be £10 a ticket and this includes a supper, they will be available from Rachel Crowe tel. No 71945. Action by R.C. Teachers RICCT Time: This is class teacher time away from the class, when PE or Music/Drama teachers come to the school. L.B. had spoken to Mrs. Henry who had previously taught at the school and would be interested to do so again. L.S. stated that at the moment RICCT time was already organised but would look into it in the future. Action by L.S Quiz Night: At present this has to be organised. E.B. to ask Graham Dolan if he would able to do it. &nbp; Action by L.S. Parents Forum: Following the discussion re: religion, R.L-J suggested that some sort of parents’ forum might be of use, either web based i.e. a chat room/notice board or a separate meeting where parents can air their views and concerns. Both L.S. and G.Y felt that it would need to a Solution Focused group rather than a platform for parents to have a moan as this would become non productive. It was also felt more appropriate if the group was chaired by someone independent of the school such as a local councillor. It was agreed to have an initial parents’ forum on 8th March at 6.30pm. Topics for discussion: School security/gate and what PTA money to be spent on. There will be a crèche available for those parents who require child care to be able to attend. L.S. to ask Mrs. Blatchley if it possible to set up a chat room/ forum on the school’s website. Action by L.S School Gate: L.S. informed the group that the region will not fund a new school gate. She has had an initial quote for £2,000 for securing the school, however it was suggested that this be tendered out to source the lowest quote. R.L-J has drafted a letter to send to Glen Rodgers, Head of Education at the SBC and the gate situation to be discussed further at the parents’ forum. Action by R.L-J & G.Y Library: A.B. suggested that the labels in the library should be re-done and could be re-done by her. Action by A.B. Parent Questionnaires: It has been suggested previously that a parent satisfaction questionnaire be distribute amongst parents to identify what parents like and dislike about the school. Questions to be included should be discussed and created by both parents and teachers. Action by J.M & L.S. Minutes of Meetings: J.M. requested that minutes of the meetings are action pointed to ensure everyone knows what they are to do. Action by GY (temp) The Wormery: R.McD wondered if the worms were being fed, upon checking they were all still alive and being fed. Thank you to those who have continued to feed the worms
Next Meeting: Monday 26th April 2010 at 6.15pm at the school. There will be a crèche provided. Minutes of Coldingham Parents and Friends Association Held at Coldingham Primary School Monday 21st September 2009 Present :
L Sanders, E Neidzweidz, R Crowe, N Trafford, G Young, J Rutherford, J Mahon, R
Lloyd-Jones, L Bogle, A Worrall, E Bewsey, R MacDonald, L Renton, A Aitchison.
Financial
Report: The report was
presented by Lynne Bogle and the accounts were audited by Pauline Hood. Election of
Office Bearers: National Parent Forum: Sat 21st November 2009 Stirling Management Centre. Parents from whole of Scotland coming together. Representative from our area needed. If you wish to attend please speak to Genevieve Young who has further information. Parent Questionnaire Proposal: It was felt that parents may wish to have more of a say on school/education issues and a questionnaire is to be put together to get feedback/ideas etc. School Newsletter: Following on from the success of the newsletter a new layout was suggested. This will be seen shortly. Dog Poo/New Gate: A meeting with the Property Services Department has been held. The bottom line is that we will NOT be getting a new gate as the council claims not to have the money to provide for our children’s safety. The PFA felt that a gate at the rear of the school is a security issue and will take this further with the council. Approaches to our local councillor will also be made. The lack of a gate also creates the problem of dog poo. The council have told us to report any seen cases of dog fouling to Lawrie Wood, who is the dog poo person in SBC. School Improvement Plan: Details of the strategic plans for the school this year have been taken directly from the HMIe report. Action points are to improve attainment and achievement across the school and nursery; develop Curriculum for Excellence both in Nursery and the school; involve pupils, parents and carers in the pupils’ learning; and the teachers further develop self-evaluation. Further details can be obtained from L Sanders. There is to be a joint Co’Path/Coldingham staff meeting this week. They plan to observe each others classes and have follow up meetings to discuss/develop/implement Curriculum for Excellence. Curriculum For Excellence: It is thought that a parents evening will be held to explain more about CFE. A great deal is mentioned about this but do we understand what it means. A DVD is available to any parent who wishes to find out more (it’s quite short!) Parent Council Newsletter: This is available now and copies are available in school. *****************************************************************************
New Dates for your Diary **************************************************************************** Next
Meeting Monday 11th January 6.15pm. All welcome. COLDINGHAM PARENT COUNCIL BALANCE SHEET FOR YEAR ENDED 30/6/09 INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Treasurer……………………………………………Lynne
Bogle Auditor……………………………….Pauline Hood
COLDINGHAM PARENT COUNCIL
EXPENDITURE FOR YEAR ENDED 30/6/09 Treasurer …………………………………….. Lynne Bogle Auditor …………………………………….. Pauline Hood
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