Parent Council Meeting – Thursday 8 November 2012
Present: Donna Jolly, Caroline Yarrien, Paul Dunne, June Humphreys, Lisa Riley, Naomi Gibbons, Rachel James,
Carol Cawdell, Emma Southcombe, Trevor Baldwin
Apologies: No apologies
Donna welcomed all members and explained the role of the Parent Council in school. There is a need for parent’s views and opinions to be reflected in school policies and that regular meetings provide a forum to raise any questions or concerns.
Sex and Relationship Policy
Donna explained the need for Middleton to have a Sex and Relationships Policy. This is a new policy for the school and has been written by Debbie Howsen using National Guidance.
All agreed that this was an essential policy and very comprehensive in its detail. There was a general discussion about the need for Protective Behaviours to be taught in school. Donna confirmed that differentiation in teaching and ability groups in the Upper School would allow all pupils to access the information at a level appropriate for them. It was suggested that resources and teaching materials used in school could be sent home so that parents could ‘match’ vocabulary and explanations. A Protective Behaviours Overview presentation for parents would be organized.
Behaviour Policy
The Behaviour Policy is central to the work in the school. In Middleton the focus is on positive behaviour management - giving praise and encouragement and modelling good behaviour. A request was made that
Home / School Books contained information about why a pupil had received a ‘positive’ sticker. There was agreement that parents should be informed if physical management was used with their child. Donna asked if parents understood the reasons for and the use of the Blue Room.
Intimate Care
It was decided that the wording of a sentence in the Intimate Care Agreement should be changed from ‘I have discussed with my child’s teacher the approach that I would like them to take for this’ to ‘I will contact the
Class Teacher if there are any issues I would like to discuss’. It was agreed that no other information was required.
AOB
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Concerns were raised about Secondary Transfer and the possibility of pupils not getting the provision requested. Donna explained that each LEA set their own guidelines. Donna advised parents to look at a range of provision to be able to give an informed statement.
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Parents asked if they could receive information about the Topics that their children would be studying. Donna said that Curriculum Outlines were available on the website.