PEEBLES HIGH SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL/PTA

Parent Council Meeting –Thursday, 13th June 20132 at 7.00pm

in the Learning Resource Centre

MINUTES

Present:

Campbell Wilson (Rector), Michael Pryor (Chairperson), Mirren McLeod (Minute Taker), Sandra Grieve (PTA), Claire Ketley (PTA), Lucy MacLennan (PHS 200 Club), Kate Forman (Parent representative on SBC Education Committee and parent) Donna Moretta (Depute Head Teacher Personal Support) and several parents.

Apologies:

Apologies were received from Gillian Steele and Paula Edmiston.

  1. Introduction

Michael Pryor (MP) welcomed everyone to the PTA/Parent Council combined AGM.

2. Rector’s Report to Parents - Highlights of the Year

Ethos and life of our school

We are aiming to create a safe, happy and healthy environment for everyone in our community to thrive.

This year, to support this aim, we have made several improvements:

  • Not Alone and the Respect Policy

Developed over the previous session and now fully implemented. The new S6's have been engaged with this and a large number have shown an interest in helping in the next academic year.

  • MVP

Introduced at the last Parent Council meeting – formal training starts after the holidays.

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  • New SMT structure and clearer remits

Appointment of Jeremy Lee and Donna Moretta to DHT positions with responsibility for Assertive Discipline and Personal Support respectively.

  • Uniform Consultation

The uniform policy has been completed and analysed and a clearer description of the dress code and changes will be communicated through the Parent Council. This is discussed more fully later in the minutes.

  • 200 Gallery

PHS 200 development of Learning Heroes posters to raise aspiration and ambitions.

None of the improvements above would have been possible without the input of parents and the on-going support is highly valued.

Next Steps:

  • New behaviour policy

Mr Lee will implement a new Behaviour Policy, developed over the last few months, in August. He requests parental input on this policy before the end of term. The dates he is looking at meeting with parents are Tuesday 18th, Thursday 20th, Tuesday 25th. If any parents are interested, please contact Mr Lee.

Teaching and Learning

We are aiming to create a learning culture of the highest aspirations and motivation, where all young people are fully engaged and challenged.

This year, to support this aim, we have made the following improvements:

  • TLC

The Tapestry Learning Communities are having a significant impact on our school. Teachers regularly meet in peer support groups to share best practice and introduce new Assessment is for Learning Strategies. There have been eight formal meetings this year and many more informal meetings. All teachers involved in the programme are participating in several peer observations as part of the programme. This is a regional initiative. The launch day with Dylan Williams (who developed the programme) was very inspirational.

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  • Observation Policy

Mr Lee has introduced a new management observation policy for all members of staff to be formally observed twice every session: once by line manager; once by a peer.

  • Learning conversations

Learning conversations, led by parents, indicated that our new elective courses in S2 and S3 are very popular with students and that learning is focussed and fun in these courses. This evaluation assisted the school in making the decision to reduce the core experience in S2 and S3.

Next Steps:

  • TLC moves into the second year of a three year programme incorporating new members of staff
  • Observation policy reviewed and refined.
  • Curriculum structures reviewed and Broad General Education (BGE) issues addressed.

Opportunities for Personal Achievement

We are aiming to ensure that all of our young people are offered an informed range of choices, a wide range of extra-curricular activities and appropriate courses and pathways to achievement. We aim to record, celebrate and reward all achievement

This year, to support these aims, we have developed some key aspects of school life:

  • Hall of Heroes.
  • Extra-curricular activities – a great year for sport! CW especially mentioned the success pupils have had in Netball, Rugby and mountain biking.
  • School Trips –some school trips are now bi-annual.
  • S6 opportunities
  • Newswall and website development – CW thanked Simon Fraser for all his work on the website and news wall.
  • Newsletter – one parent suggested some items were missed from the last newsletter ie; music results and a departmental achievement. This will be looked into.
  • S3 Profile – this is nearly ready to go out.
  • P7 profile – all new S1's are starting with a profile they will bring with them.
  • Awards evenings
  • Exchanges
  • S1 Residential –this a great success and enjoyed by all pupils (except one due to injury).

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Next Steps:

  • New facilities – the new sports facility is now underway and is looking to being completed on time (Christmas).
  • Extension of Hall of Heroes – moving beyond sport to include academic heroes. The parameters to be included are being decided by the departments.
  • Football – 3 teams are interested into the Scottish cup.
  • Careers Evening – a parent/staff initiative to raise aspirations and provide invaluable information to inform learning choices. Any parents interested in talking about their Careers are welcome.

Personal Support – report by Donna Moretta

We are aiming to know each individual’s learning, social and emotional needs and put in place coherent support that allows them to thrive and achieve within our school.

The Pastoral team considered the School Improvement Plan and identified the following tasks for session 2012/13:

  • To continue to develop PSE courses in line with CfE.
  • To make success criteria explicit in PSE lessons and to make sure that these are shared with students
  • To work closely with staff in The Store in a consultative capacity regarding referrals
  • To include Profiling in the S3 PSE programme and to ensure that every student has a profile by the end of S3. This will go out with the next report card.
  • To identify S4 students at risk of leaving school with less than 5 qualifications and carry out robust T&M of these students
  • To carry out robust T&M of S6 students in order to improve exit qualifications

Tracking and monitoring will remain on the department plan for next year as Pastoral staff have a key role in raising attainment.

Pastoral staff will have a greater input to whole staff meetings/in-set days by providing information on high profile students, information on inter-agency procedures etc. Where possible, time will be set aside during in-set days for discussing Pastoral matters or for input from external partners.

The Additional Needs Department considered the School Improvement Plan and identified a number of tasks for the Department Improvement Plan for session 2012/13.

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Some of the whole school tasks are listed below:

  • Develop criteria for Key & Co Workers and issue to all staff.
  • Develop closer working practice with Pastoral Team.
  • Improved communication with mainstream. Raising awareness of pupils’ needs via SEEMIS. Teachers can see via the register who has or needs any special attention or has health issues.
  • Referral procedures to Additional Needs Department simplified and established.
  • Website updated with information regarding department.
  • Develop mainstream groups within Additional Needs Department.
  • Develop The Store (this is for students with social and emotional needs).
  • Input to whole-school behaviour management policy.
  • A greater input to whole-staff meetings/in-set days.

CW advised that this Department has improved greatly in the last few years.

Attainment

We are aiming to establish Peebles High School as one of the highest attaining schools in the country. CW would like to see Peebles High School in the top 20 group.

Last year we enjoyed good results:

Number of students who attained 5 Highers in S5: Best ever at 22%

Number of students who attained 5 Highers by end of S6: Best ever at 38%

Number of students who attained 5 Credit awards by end of S4: Second best ever at 58%.

Number of students to attain minimum of 5 Foundation awards by the end of S4: 93% - poorer than the last two years. The aim is to get this up to 98%.

This year we have focussed our attention on mentoring as a method of raising attainment in S5 and S4. Our focus areas for attainment were our lowest ability S4 and our highest ability S5.

Next Steps:

We are extending our mentoring programme and training a group of parents, adding to the team of staff, to act as mentors to students.

Increasing our tracking and monitoring of students to ensure earlier interventions for struggling students.

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Introducing cohort assessment in English at P4, P6 and S2 across the Learning Community.

External Evaluation – Inspection follow up

In November we were inspected by the authority to judge our progress against targets set out in the HMIe report of 2011:

SBC reported very positively on all four areas of required improvement:

  • Meeting Learners’ Needs
  • Communication with parents
  • Active Learning
  • Building on prior learning from Primary Schools

We now probably have around 4-5 years without external inspection. In this time frame we want to ensure that the school becomes excellent in all areas.

CW thanked the Parent Council for being much more involved, the PHS 200 Club for their time and for earning £5,000. CW also thanked Sandra Grieve and the PTA for working so hard.

Michael Pryor (MP) thanked CW for all his hard work.

3. Parent Council

a. Chair’s Report

MP has had an enjoyable year with a lot of input and work with the school. Highlights are as follows:

  • Parents are finding the school more approachable than in the past with the most lively discussions over the past year being regarding the S3's/S4 choice point's.
  • The Parent Council meeting which discussed the new curriculum dealt with parents concerns in a very positive way, which was particularly pleasing to CW, and now is accepted and supported by most parents.
  • MP thinks parents PHS has the full support of most parents. It is good to see the Sports Centre underway after a great deal of campaigning by the Parent Council.
  • MP also mentioned the Uniform Survey – the outcome of which isare further on in the minutes.
  • The Parent Council were involved in the interview panel for the two PT Deputy Head Teacher positions and is pleased to see the school now hasmoving forward with a strong Senior Management Team.
  • The website is looking good and will be a good resource.
  • Kate Forman???? is our representative on the Education Committee and Eileen Prior is on the Parent Council Executive. These are both good links to have.
  • MP says it isfeels it will be stimulating to be involved in the next steps for the school and is encouraged to see it is now a school with ambition.

MP thanked the parents who have supported the Parent Council during the year, to the parents who have worked very hard to make the PTA and 200 Club a success and to the many parents who had done such a great job in supporting the huge range of initiatives that PHS200 have delivered. Also a big thanks to the parents who have supported the PHS 200 Club. MP thanked all staff and the Senior Management Team for taking this school forward.

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CW – Appreciated the way parents have been approaching the school with their concerns, they have been courteous and polite. CW also assured everyone that he is committed to creating a 5 year vision and to be here to see it implemented.

b. Appointment of Post Holders 2012/2013

MP will continue as Chair. Mirren McLeod will continue as Minute Taker.

4. PTA

a. Treasurers Report

Claire Ketley tabled the PTA accounts. CK advised £2,400 had been paid into the PHS account and a meeting with the student council and parents on 19th June will discuss how this money is spent. Since the accounts were finalised another £340 was raised at the Spring Concert. CK thanked Margaret Hogg for ratifying their accounts.

b. PHS 200 Club

Lucy MacLennan advised they had raised £5,000 committed per year via the 200 Club.00. The pamphlets being handed out to parents has not worked. They targeted specific school departments (Maths and English) and this bought 28 new members. This approach will be tried again. If every parent belonged to the PHS 200 Club and paid £1 per child per month they would raise £15,000.00 per year.

c. Chair’s Report

Sandra Grieve has been disheartened by the lack of interest in fundraising by parents for wider school initiatives, with most effort being reserved for specific . Parents seem only to be keen to fundraising events whereeif the money is being used for a particular event in which that parent’s child is involvedtheir child. The car boot sale and quiz night were very good events and a good chance for parents and teachers to socialise. However, tThere were only 6 parents involved in organising these events.

It was suggested that the PHS 200 Club should perhaps do more of the fundraising and the PTA focus on organising events for parents and teachers.

MP thanked Sandra very much on behalf of all parents for her last 2 years as Chair and assured her that she had done an excellent job during her time as Chair.

d. Fundraising

CW advised that he will be organising an "Auction of Promises" and a raffle for anything donated. CW is looking at this being on an on-line site similar to e-bayto begin with, then having an event where the starting bids will be what was achieved on-line. Parents will be told before the event what the money will be spent on.

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e. Appointment of Post Holders 2013/2014

There is a vacancy in the PTA for a Chair. If anybody has any names of people they think would be interested or good at this role, please pass them on to CW by Monday, 24th June 2013 and he will contact them personally. Claire Ketley will stay on as Treasurer and Lucy MacLennan will continue with the 200 Club.

f. Next Academic Years Meeting Dates

The combined meetings of PC/PTA will continue. The meeting dates for the next academic year are:

Tuesday, 3rd September 2013

Tuesday, 12th November 2013

Tuesday, 14th January 2014

Tuesday, 25th March 2014

Tuesday, 10th June 2014 (AGM)

5.School Uniform Consultation

They had a very good response from parents and staff. Pupils completed a survey monkey questionnaire which had slightly different questions. There were a lot of varied views but the initiatives the School will take forward are:

Outerwear – There will be no specific policy on outer wear. However, there will be a ban on hoodies (including zipped fleece hoodies) with the exception of a PHS zipped hoodie or an official PHS hoodie.

Blazers – blazers will be offered to all pupils from August. any pupils can now wear a blazer and it isBlazers will be compulsory for prefects, senior student council members and house/vice-house captains. Whether or not blazers will become compulsory for other pupils will be kept under review.not compulsory unless you are a school representative.

School Ties – there will be a "ties tight" policy which means ties will be done up to the shirt collar. Students will be asked to design three ties which feature the school house colourss.

Shirts – junior phase can still wear poloshirts but senior phase (S4 and upwards) are to wear shirts and ties.

Skirts/Shorts – there will be no enforcement on skirt length, but black opaque tights are to be worn under skirts/shorts with no patterns.

Sweaters – plain black v neck sweater – shirt and tie are to be visible. Lower school pupils may wear the official school round neck sweatshirt with crest.

Shoes – plain black shoes.

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Parents will be informed of the new Uniform Policy by end of June with the launch being in August and enforcement of the new Policy in October.

It was suggest a school thrift shop could be started for used uniforms.

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6.Any Other Business

Margaret Hogg commented on the issue of after school activities not taking into account service bus timetables. This was especially difficult when her son was taking part in the recent school production and had numerous rehearsals to get to. CW to pass on these concerns. CW also commented that the production was great.

The meeting finished at 9.30pm