Minutes of the AGM of the Buckstone Parent Council
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Present:Andrew McLeod (AMcL)Diane Palmer (DP)Kay Lane (KL)
Christine Maitland-Francis (CMF)Elaine Aitken (EA)Fiona Thomas (FT)
Kenny Welsh (KW)Keith Hyde (KH)Maria Davie (MD)
Nicky Pay (NP)Gill Smith (GS)Marion Stobie (MS)
Pauline Cowan (PCo)
Attending:Tanya ForrestCharis HoggRhod Nicol
Alison WilkieKevin WilkieMelissa Humphreys
Lesley-Anne PorterColin MansonScott Arthur
- Welcome and Introduction
AMcL (Chairman) welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced members and co-opted members. DPadvised attendees that two members of the teaching staff have joined the Parent Council and went on tointroduce Mr Hyde,representative for the upper primary and Mrs Blackadder,representative for the lower primary.
AMcL ran through the agenda and added that as three members are stepping down from the council the positions of Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer are now vacant.
- Chairman’s Report
Parent Council’s activities of the previous school year were described. Nine meetings took place, involving parents, the Head Teacher, local councillor and others from the community.
Key issues from this period included:
- class organisation
- the introduction of a P5 residential trip
- continuity of modern language in high school
- discussions regarding the possibility of a walking bus
- the setting up of a playground sub-committee
- budget cuts and responding to the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the Janitorial Services Review
- CEOP initiative – the safety of children when using the internet
- supporting school and pupil initiatives where requested (e.g. water bottles)
AMcL added that the Parent Council has also participated in the recruitment process for teaching staff.
- Treasurer’s Report
Kay Lane, Treasurer, presented the end of year accounts:
Income and Expenditure Account for Buckstone Primary School Parent Council, Period Ending 5th April 2011
B/fwd£537.78
Income
12-05-10City of Edinburgh£442.00
Total Income including b/fwd£979.78
Expenditure
26-04-10Refreshments£12.53
20-05-10Communication with parent forum£96.00
01-06-10Raised Beds£249.74
11-06-10Soil£87.00
11-10-10Refreshments£4.50
01-03-11City of Edinburgh Council – clerk funding£120.00
Total Expenditure£569.77
Balance to be carried forward£410.01
Kay will now step down from her role as Treasurer.
- School Report
DP stated that the school had enjoyed a successful year and reported on the following points:
- findings from the questionnaire issued to parents (stars and a wish) have been extremely useful
- PLP’s – positive feedback from parents and key tool within school
- Homelink letter very successful
- parents enjoyed the Literacy drop-in day and meet the teacher opportunity
A staffing update followed:
Principal Teacher – Mrs Diane Donnelly has been appointed to this post. Mrs Donnelly will take on the role of the new Learning Support teacher, replacing Mrs Gibson, as she has experience in this area.
P4C Teacher – Mrs Nancy Clark has been appointed. Mrs Clark has been working with the P7’s during the year, covering for Mr Hyde on a Wednesday.
DP informed the meeting that Mrs Sheila Lamb will be returning to school following her maternity leave. She will work as a job share partner with Mrs Haigh in the nursery.
Nursery staffing will be as follows:
Teacher – Mrs Lamb (Mondays and Tuesdays) / Mrs Haigh (Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays)
Early years Worker – Miss McBrierty
Nursery Nurse – Miss Campbell
Nursery Nurse – Mrs Shaw
Mrs Wilson will continue as PE specialist.
DP went on to explain her commitment towards having an open door policy and wished to express her thanks to the Parent Council which provides a forum for parents to express their views. She also expressed her thanks to the Fundraising Committee for their contribution towards the new Literacy and Maths resources which are providing pupils with opportunities to further their learning. Parents were also thanked for supporting the various fundraising events.
- Fundraising Update
FT reported a successful year in fundraising and thanked her key helpers Suzanneand Yvonne. A summary of fundraising for the year was given:
Fundraising Committee Update
Profit from Fundraising Activities
Summer Fair£2,172.46
Christmas Fair£2,021.57
Buckstone Birthday£743.33
Bags 2 School (2 collections)£731.00
Christmas Cards£647.50
Jute Bags£447.35
2nd Hand Uniform£112.00
BT Community Champion£110.00
Yellow Moon£54.86
Easy Fundraising£22.23
Net income/Profit£7,062.30
FT then summarised the expenditure for the year:
Spend on Buckstone Primary school
Educational
Literacy Evolve Programme£2,635.28
Active Maths Programme£3,942.52
£6,577.80
Other
Christmas costumes£281.57
SD cards, P7 T-shirts£461.97
Acrylic sheets for toilets£68.06
High visibility jackets£7.98
Fundraising Committee shed locks, etc£722.39
Total Spent £8, 119.77
B/fwd
C/fwd£5983.14
FT added that as the Quiz night had to be cancelled due to lack of numbers £20.00 was lost on the deposit for the licence. AMcL expressed his thanks to the fundraising team for all their efforts.
- Playground Update
NPacknowledged the improvements that have already been made to the playgroundand added that the playground sub-committee would like to do more. NP added that the school is in an ideal location for outdoor learning opportunities. She advised attendees of Grounds for Learning, an organisation that provides resources and advice on how to further improve outdoor space for educational purposes. For an annual membership fee of £65 plus £100 per course for one member of staff, the organisation will provide training in association with the national curriculum. Jane Mather added that she has recently attended Forest Schools training and explained that learning outdoors needn’t be expensive as waterproofs for pupils can be borrowed from the Ranger service at Hermitage of Braid.
NP requested that any other parents who are interested in taking outdoor learning forward could also become involved. DP added that through the school questionnaire a number of parents expressed an interest in further developing outdoor learning. NP advised that the next training course commences on 14 September and would have to be booked in advance. During discussion DP pointed out that staff cover would be required which would be costly. DP will discuss with staff to gauge interest and NP will forward all relevant information.
- Constitutional Changes
AMcL advised the meeting of the introduction of a discretionary fund which has been discussed during the past year. The purpose of the fund will be to provide assistance where necessary for school trip costs, etc. The amount to be allocated for the fund will be decided at the first meeting of the new academic year.
- New PC Members
AMcL advised following the issue of a flier and emails requesting new members for the Parent Council, Nicola Pay and Wioleta Browarczyk have now joined the PC. The positions of Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasure have yet to be filled.
- Vote of thanks to outgoing Members
AMcL expressed his thanks to Kay Lane in her role as Treasurer and also to Susie Geer (who has stepped down) for her assistance in developing the playground.
On behalf of the council, GS expressed her thanks to AMcL in his role as Chairman.
- Meeting Dates 2011/2012
Tuesday 30 August 2011
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Tuesday 6 march 2012
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Tuesday 19 June 2012 – AGM
All Meetings will be held at 6.30 pm
- AOB
Walking Bus
CMF updated members and parents on the situation regarding the proposed walking bus. She advised that the level of interest does not support a walking bus at this stage. CMF added that a further communication will be included in the next Homelink letter. It is hoped the proposal will be looked at again in the future but in the meantime parents are encouraged to make their own informal arrangements.
Local Councillor – Elaine Aitken
EA updated members and parents on proposed parking regulations. The Traffic Regulation Order for double yellow lines on corners is currently out for consultation. EA added there is slight concern the new parking regulations could move the problem further down the estate but emphasised the importance of keeping the area around the school as car free as possible.
Community Police update – Kenny Welsh
KW gave a brief review of the main issues tackled during the year:
- Fireworks
- CEOP (safety on the internet)
- Vandalism prevention
- Bicycle marking
KW went on to discuss the main issue of parking and safer routes to school. He informed the meeting the School Link Officer for Firrhill had recently filmed video footage around the Oxgangs/Colinton area at approximately 8.30 am then 8.45 pm. The film showed a significant increase in traffic and parking chaos around school drop-off time. KW suggested Junior Road Safety Officers could get involved in something similar.
In addition to talks already given at school, KW plans to organise further talks on CEOP, vandalism prevention, drugs, smoking and racism.
Friends of Buckstone Primary (Facebook)
FT informed members and parents that a Facebook page has been set up entitled Friends of Buckstone Primary. Anyone who wishes to join may do so.
Inclement weather and snow clearing
A parent asked whether any specific arrangements will be in place for next winter following the severe weather
earlier this year. EA responded that both Buckstone and Pentland are now higher up the priority list regarding snow clearing. She added it is hoped Council departments will work closely together to provide a more rapid clearing process but did stress that bus routes will always take priority. During discussion a parent asked whether Council authorisation is required for parents to clear snow. EA responded no authorisation is required but parents are required to liaise with the Head Teacher. DP added that following last winter’s snow clearing by parents the Council carried out a risk assessment before agreeing to open the school.
Class Organisation
The issue of class organisation was raised and a parent requested whether it would be possible for a parent information evening to be arranged to explain the rationale of mixing classes. DP responded she will be happy to arrange an informal meeting if required. She added that positive feedback has been received from P6 parents regarding the new arrangements.
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