Minutes of the Parent Council Meeting
held on the 19th June 2014 in the
Principal’s Office at 6.00pm
1.
Present:
Katrina Smith (Chair)
Sheila Paton (Principal)
Dawn Doran (Treasurer)
Amanda Campbell
John Doran
Bill Smith
Kristyna MacSween
Ken Campbell
Anne-Marie Mooney (Minutes)
Apologies:
Ollie Clegg, Stuart Sinclair
Minutes of the last meeting
The minute of the meeting held on 6th March 2014 was approved.
Matters Arising:
Parent Meetings – Sheila advised that our Parent Meetings initiative is being put
forward for a Children & Families Achievement Award. Thanks to Amanda and her
daughter for coming into school to have photographs taken to accompany our
submission.
Barkly West – Staff from Barkly West are visiting the school this week and have taken
part in lots of activities including school assemblies.
The Art Room – Sheila advised that the new Art Room is now open, we held a ‘soft’
launch earlier this month which received coverage in the Evening News.
Refurbishment - Sheila reported that the renovation work to E Block has now been
finished, with Music moving back in over the next week. Work on D Block Art/Drama/CDT Departments starts 30th June to complete in October. Art have been
decanted to the TU huts and the Science Room, Drama have moved into the Music
Block. CDT have also moved into a TU hut with adapted flooring to support their
equipment.
All agreed that the refurbished Music Block has been transformed. Thanks to Angie
Hendry for organising decants and works.
CEC Budget – Sheila advised that we have sustained our capitation budget.
Staff are continuing to purchase essential items only. Sheila thanked the Parent Council
for supporting our vision.
Amanda advised that Staples have confirmed they will be making a donation of art
materials to the school at the start of the new term. Amanda will be in touch with a
journalist and photographer to arrange for publicity.
Community Access to Schools (CATS) - organisational review
Sheila advised that the review of community access is going forward. A paper has been
passed by the Council, it has been recognised that Wester Hailes is different from other
Community Schools. Our Community Learning Manager will be managed by
Community Learning Department from September with a phased approach for
implementation.
2.
Principal’s Report
Refurbishment & Building Works
We have started a 3 year phased renovation – A Block containing Admin/Recreation
will be the last to be refurbished. It is hoped that the changing rooms will be included in
the final phase.
Staffing
Sheila reported that we have Andrew Stanley as a full time appointment in CDT and
Neil Morrison has joined us in PE. We have two probationers - Katie Simpson in Art
and Gary Laidlaw in Maths. Katie McLeod is returning from maternity leave in RME.
We have a vacancy in Music – interviews will be held next week and a maternity leave
cover will also be interviewed for next week.
Ministerial Visit
Mike Russell the Education Minister visited the school this month to congratulate staff
and students on their achievements.
The Art Room
The Evening News featured a very positive article as a double page spread on the Art
Room.
Web Site – sharing success
The school website design is now completed and a lot of content in place. Development
work continues as an ongoing process.
Improvement Plan
Sheila advised that we continue to maintain our focus on improving attendance,
attainment and achievement. We have incorporated additional focus on including
parents/carers in the life of the school into our Improvement Plan. Sheila is aware that
the way we meet with parents has changed and we need to find new ways to engage
with parents. Sheila has included a number of suggestions as to how we might
encourage new representatives and encourage parents to be involved in school life.
New Representatives
Katrina is keen to attract new members. Sheila has spoken to new S1 parents at a
meeting this week about the Parent Council and a parent of a new S1 student has
volunteered to join. We advertised a poster and distributed flyers to parents at the
meeting. Amanda suggested that a Parent Forum meeting is held. Katrina to check the
Council constitution on the number of Parent Forum meetings to be held each year,
agreed ideally one per year as a minimum. It was agreed that the next Parent Council
meeting should plan for this.
3.
Treasurers Report
Dawn gave an update on the current balance of the account from the last meeting of
£20.63. This years’ payment has not yet been received. Dawn has contacted the Council
(Angie Arthur) and payments have been delayed due to staff secondment, however, they
should be processed in the next few weeks.
4.
Resignation of Treasurer & Handover
Dawn handed over bank details and paperwork to Ken Campbell who has agreed to take
on the Treasurer role. Ken will need to be added as a signatory, once forms has been
completed and visit the bank with Katrina and Ollie. The Parent Council thanked Dawn
and John for all their support.
5.
Responsible Retailing of Energy Drinks
Katrina welcomed Councillor Norma Austin Hart to the meeting. Councillor Hart has
spearheaded a campaign aimed at shops and retailers to stop sales of energy drinks to
anyone under 16yrs old – Responsible Retailing of Energy Drinks (RRED)
Councillor Hart became aware of the effect that energy drinks can have on behaviour
about 8/9 months ago after speaking to parents and staff at Gracemount HS. After
investigating shops in her ward, she discovered that most shops do not have a policy and
children were refused only on an ad-hoc basis. Councillor Hart wrote to all major
supermarkets to request that they adopt a ‘no sales to under 16yrs’ policy; all refused as
there is no legislation in place. Morrisons are the only major supermarket currently to
offer support and are trialling this in 6 shops across the UK. She also investigated a
possible route for legislation but this involves a lengthy process.
RRED aims to encourage the retail industry to show their commitment and make a
positive contribution for their local community by choosing not to sell energy drinks to
children under 16 on a voluntary basis. Shops and retailers sign a pledge and are given a
promotional material to display. RRED has gained momentum in recent weeks with
support from local retailers, coverage in the Sunday Herald and support from the EIS
and Scottish Grocers’ Federation.
Sheila confirmed that the campaign fits in with what we have been trying do through
our Parent and Student Council and if they are brought into school energy drinks are
confiscated right away from students. Kristyna MacSween, Curriculum Leader, Health
& Well Being has recently approached outlets in the Plaza, following on from the last
Parent Council meeting, with a mixed response. Kristyna reported that Lidl are
considering supporting the policy as part of their Health drive.
Katrina carried out research on the availability, prices and content of energy drinks that
can be bought at the Plaza. It was agreed that students are buying the cheapest brands
which have a worryingly high caffeine content as they are mainly available as 500ml
can/bottle.
Councillor Hart advised that new labelling legislation from December 2014 will require
additional caffeine labelling for high caffeine drinks, this is voluntary at the
moment, which will make it easier to identify these products. Councillor Hart asked if
Wester Hailes would like to be included with 3/4 Edinburgh schools in a pilot to support
the RRED campaign.
It was agreed that the school would encourage students to take the campaign forward as
a project as pupil voice will have the most impact. Kristyna and Councillor Hart to meet
and agree on how best to move this forward. The school will also display the RRED
campaign poster on the digital display screen at the main entrance.
6.
Revised Aims & Web Page
The Parent Council agreed to update the ‘Aims of the Parent Council’ and ‘How we do
this’ in light of the Parent Meetings initiative and incorporate being involved in school
events and activities. Anne-Marie proposed changes to the web page to raise awareness
of the work of the Parent Council and include details on help with completing
applications for Free School Meals, it was agreed to make the changes.
7.
AOCB
Katrina thanked Ken Campbell for attending the meeting and for agreeing to take on the
Treasurers role.
Sheila will approach teaching staff regarding representation on the Parent Council.
Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Parent Council is Tuesday 26th August 2014.