Author: Chairperson

November 2022 agenda

Breadalbane Academy Parent Council Meeting

Tuesday 29 November

6:30pm – 8:30pm

Agenda

The meeting will take place in the school. 

We’ll also provide online access for those who want it, using the Microsoft Teams platform. Here’s the Teams link:

Click here to join the meeting

  1. Welcome, introductions & apologies
  2. Matters arising from the October 2022 meeting
  3. Headteacher’s report
  4. Update on planned Validated Self-Evaluation (VSE)
  5. Participation in sports and sporting events
  6. Changes to the parent-council constitution
  7. Time & date of next meeting

Please note: the time and date of the next meeting after this one is 6:30pm, Wednesday 25 January, 2023. There is no meeting in December.

Thank you from P7 and Mrs Grant

Mrs Grant, the class teacher for Primary 7, has sent us this message:

“Could you please pass my thanks onto the parent council and all parents and carers who baked for our charity event today. We were overwhelmed by the assortment of cakes and the quality of bakes. The kids were thrilled and everyone got at least one cake. There were gluten and dairy free options too.”

A big thank you to all the parents who helped out with the P7 charity bake sale.

And don’t forget, the P7 pupils are also selling reusable, eco-friendly hessian shopping bags printed with their own Aberfeldy-related art work. What a great Christmas present they would make! You can buy the bags from the following locations:

  • Davidson’s Chemist
  • Dewar’s Distillery
  • Aberfeldy Gallery
  • Window’s Gift Shop
  • Breadalbane Library
  • Glenlyon Coffee
  • The Doctors’ Surgery

Or you can scan the QR code below. Buy some now before they sell out!

October 2022 agenda

Breadalbane Academy Parent Council Meeting

Wednesday 26 October

6:30pm – 8:30pm

Agenda

The meeting will take place in the school. 

We’ll also provide online access for those who want it, using the Microsoft Teams platform. Please enter the URL below into your browser:

Click here to join the meeting

You don’t need a password.

  1. Welcome, introductions & apologies
  2. Matters arising from the September 2022 meeting
  3. Approve the minutes of the September 2022 meeting
  4. Headteacher’s report
  5. Funding for CERN trip
  6. Proposed operating manual and amends to the constitution
  7. Update from the anti-bullying group
  8. Update on therapy dog access to school
  9. Promotion of participation in sports and sporting events
  10. Update on BAPC discussions about a more frequent school newsletter
  11. Parent concerns about vaping on campus
  12. Time & date of next meeting (6:30pm, Tuesday 29 November)

The ‘dogs on campus’ puzzle

Some parents feel really strongly that the blanket ban forbidding dogs from the campus at school drop-off and pick-up times is too strict. They have asked the school to reconsider. The school has replied saying it has to put the interests of pupils first. But if parents can come up with a workable solution, it’s willing to listen.

Here are the elements of the problem:

  • Some kids are very frightened of dogs.
  • The fear of coming into contact with dogs makes these kids not want to come to school.
  • Any solution we propose cannot involve the risk of kids who don’t like dogs meeting dogs.
  • We can’t ask kids to limit their movements, so dogs and their owners would have to be out of the way somewhere
  • The solution can’t increase the number of kids crossing the road (i.e dog owners waiting for their kids on the grassy area behind the cars).
  • The school cannot release kids in P3 or younger unless there is a parent or authorised adult at the school exit to meet them.

The final point means that you couldn’t for instance, have a P1 parent waiting with their dog off campus on Alma Avenue and expect their child to leave school and meet them. The teacher simply isn’t allowed to let that child leave school, unless they can see the parent or carer who is there to collect them and observe that collection happening.

There’s a map of the campus above, to help you as you mull this over. If you have any helpful suggestions, please let us know. Our email address is chairperson@breadalbaneparents.com.

Proposed changes to how the parent council works

At the next meeting we’re going to propose some changes to the parent council constitution and that the parent council adopt an operating manual. You can see the draft forms of the amended constitution here and the operating manual here.

In brief, the main proposed changes to the constitution are:

  • it explicitly allows the chair role to be divided up in a number of different ways
  • we’ve clarified some of the roles and duties of the chair and other office holders
  • there’s a section on how to deal with conflicts of interest, real and perceived.

We hope that by introducing a bit of extra clarity and flexibility, we can help smooth the process of finding new members and make the chair’s role, which can seem daunting, more attractive to a wider range of people.

The operating manual contains sections on:

  1. What the parent council is (and isn’t) for.
  2. How the parent council carries out its role.
  3. The office holders and their roles.
  4. The communications channels (email, social media etc) and how to manage them.
  5. How the parent council should communicate with the school.
  6. Joint parent-council and school working groups: what they’re for and how they operate.
  7. Handling parent requests and questions.
  8. Conflicts of interest and how to deal with them.
  9. What to do about complaints.

As you can see, the operating manual expands on what’s in the constitution. It’s meant to give us some rules and guidelines, to help us to do our job well. But because it’s not the constitution, it’s easier to amend, if that’s necessary.

Both documents are intended as starting points for discussion. The plan is that we’ll debate them at the meeting on Wednesday 26 October. If the meeting wants any changes, we’ll make these. Hopefully we’ll then adopt both documents.

If you have questions or suggestions about either document, or both, please drop us a line at chair@breadalbaneparents.com. We’d very much like to hear your thoughts.

Agenda for the September 2022 meeting

Breadalbane Academy Parent Council Meeting

Wednesday 28 September

7pm – 9pm

Agenda

The meeting will take place in the school. 

We’ll also provide online access for those who want it, using the Microsoft Teams platform. Please enter the URL below into your browser:

Click here to join the meeting

You don’t need a password.

  1. Welcome, introductions & apologies
  2. Matters arising from the August 2022 meeting
  3. Approve the minutes of the August 2022 meeting
  4. Update on finances
  5. Headteacher’s report
  6. Update on SQA exams
  7. School communications
  8. Playground update
  9. Update from the anti-bullying group
  10. School lunches — Jane
  11. Question about the ban on dogs on school grounds
  12. How are pupils without devices supposed to use Teams?
  13. AOB
  14. Time & date of next meeting — 6:30pm, Wednesday 26 October


August 2022 meeting

The next meeting of the parent council will take place at the school on Tuesday 30 August at 6:30pm. Items on the agenda so far are:

  1. Welcome, introductions & apologies
  2. Matters arising from the May 2022 meeting
  3. Approve the minutes of the May 2022 meetings
  4. Headteacher’s report
  5. Discussion of the anti-bullying survey and strategy
  6. Update from the health & wellbeing group:
    • Question about the safety of girls at school
  7. Reviving the role of parent-council reps as trusted neutral parties
  8. Restarting co-operation with Pitlochry Parent Council
  9. Update on status of accounts
  10. Parental concerns about calorie counts on school menus
  11. AOB
  12. Time & date of next meeting (6:30pm, Wednesday 28 September, 2022)

If there’s anything else you’d like to discuss, email us at hello@breadalbaneparents.com and we’ll add it to the agenda.

If you can’t make it to the school, we will also be hosting the meeting on Microsoft Teams. We’ll post the Teams link closer to the date.

The parent council values

At its January 2022 meeting, the parent council adopted these values. We discussed them again at the AGM last night. They will continue to guide and shape our work over the 2022-23 session.

BA Parent Council 2021/2

It is the obligation of all members and office holders to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.

Ways of working

The BA Parent Council want to agree a code of conduct or set of values to help us work most effectively and constructively for all.

The code should help us ensure we deliver our role effectively and do so in the best possible way. And it should help ensure we act in the most collaborative and positive way we can and everyone’s voice is heard. The code of conduct is an assurance, that members will be acting in an appropriate manner and with the best intentions.

The key principles of the code will build on and reflect the school values:

Belonging, Believing…  Aspiring, Achieving

Belonging

  • Everyone attending the BA Parent Council will be respected.
  • We have a strong voice in our school and all views are listened to. Members and office holders all have an obligation to ensure everyone’s voice is heard.

Believing

  • We believe in our school, and its learners, everything we do has them at its heart
  • We want to help build resilience for our school and pupils and support the school and pupils in developing
  • We take pride in our school community, our parent council and want members of the BA parent council, pupils and staff to be happy

Aspiring

  • We work in partnership with the school and other bodies to challenge and stretch ourselves and others.
  • We know that success requires hard work and we persevere when the going gets tough, but do this by working together.
  • We challenge and support in a positive manner

Achieving

  • We are proud of our school’s history of achievement and want to be part of this as a parent council, supporting all pupils to achieve, especially those most in need

Parent Council members and post holders obligations

  • Always act in a way which maintains and protects the ethos of the school
  • Ensure all voices are heard and given representation
  • Behave appropriately at meetings and events towards other members or members of the public.
  • Listen to one another, and respect different opinions. Don’t interrupt, or seek to undermine one another
  • Respect and adhere to the decisions taken by BA Parent Council
  • Respect the decisions taken by the school

Restrictions

1. Not to abuse their position for personal advantage or gain
2. Personal issues relating to individual pupils, or staff at school, will not be discussed at meetings
3. Confidential issues will not be discussed out with the Parent Council meetings
4. Not to accept bribes for the influencing of any decisions.
5. Use of social media to post content that is negative, defamatory or abusive towards the school and its members.
6. Not to discuss issues with the press without prior agreement.

  • This code will help the Parent Council fulfil the aims and objectives of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006.
  • The Parent Council will ensure that new members has access to a copy of the Code of Conduct and Constitution.
  • The Parent Council chair will reference the code of conduct at the start of each meeting as a reminder to all attendees.

Chair’s report 2021-22

At the parent council AGM June 15, 2022, our chair of the last two years, Jason O’Flynn, ended his term of office. We thank Jason for all his hard work, particularly during lockdown, when the parent council had to adapt very rapidly to operating remotely. Here is Jason’s chair’s report for the school year just past.

Chair Report Breadalbane Academy June 2022 – Jason O’Flynn

As we approach the end of the academic year, on behalf of the parent council I want to express thanks to all the staff at the school. We sincerely appreciate your hard work during this challenging year of transition. From unimaginable restrictions to relative normality at Breadalbane Academy – the journey has been a difficult one. We should never forget those who worked on the front line during the pandemic in such difficult circumstances. I’d like to give special mention to our head teacher John Devine and depute Karen Gatehouse who worked to engage and support the parent council and lead the school.

Secondly, I wish to thank the parent council team: Karl Wright, Vice Chair; Gill Steele, Secretary; El Laurie, Social Media and comms; Jane Carmichael, ASN; Shannon Mulholland, treasurer, and the many parents who regularly share perspectives on school matters. You have all helped to create a space which is a pleasure to work in.

We meet every month and do our best to address and represent parental concerns. The issues arising are many and varied – the primary school playground; behaviour on school buses; transgender guidance; smoking, vaping and energy drinks; school meals; exams post pandemic; the welcome of Ukraninian families and their children.

The team take time out to discuss all these issues and more. It’s worth reviewing the minutes of meetings throughout the year to see the good work of our volunteer parents – http://www.breadalbaneparents.com/meeting-minutes/ For all our differences, we strive to the same goal – namely,  a school environment where our children can meet their potential academically but also study in a place that is sensitive to their wellbeing.

To this end the parent council has worked with the school to give an enhanced spotlight on mental health, wellbeing and bullying with parent sub-groups addressing these areas. These are perennial issues at all schools but we should never be complacent.  Perhaps one of our greatest priorities is to safeguard our children’s wellbeing, especially given the levels of disruption they have experienced in recent years.

The parent council’s finances are in great shape and the PC has been successful in fundraising and supporting projects in many areas, for example:

  • £2500 raised for the school biodiversity project
  • £80,000 raised for the primary school playground
  • £3000 raised for the school hardship/travel fund
  • £250 paid to support from the PC’s ‘fundraising and opportunities group’ to the English Dept for ‘Room2Dream’ cross school work producing spoken work pieces around the theme of home
  • ASN £1000 grant received from Arnold Clark

I wish the new team all the best and encourage all parents to get involved. Any parent wanting to join the team please get in touch by email – chairperson@breadalbaneparents.com