Parent Council Essentials Training

SPTC Logo

We are running a Parent Council Essentials training session at Cortachy Primary on 22 October. Please click on the link below to get more details of the event:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parent-council-essentials-cortachy-primary-school-angus-tickets-18866584462

You can register by getting in touch with us.

Thanks,

 

Lydia House, Communications Officer, SPTC
Mansfield Traquair Centre
15 Mansfield Place
Edinburgh
EH3 6BB
Enquiries: 0131 474 6199
Direct Number: 0131 474 6184
Web: http://www.sptc.info/
Twitter: @parents_sptc
Facebook: SPTC – Scottish Parent Teacher Council
Company No SC151086; Charity No SC019168

The NPFS Annual Conference

Scottish National Parent Forum

The NPFS annual conference is taking place in Glasgow on Saturday 14th November. The conference is completely free, open to all and will be of interest to parents as well as practitioners. We hope to see you there! The conference will provide an excellent opportunity for parents to find out more about attainment and how to support their children’s learning. The keynote speech will be delivered by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Angela Constance MSP, and there will also be a panel discussion for parents to put their questions to a range of experts. Delegates can choose from a range of exciting workshops delivered by SQA, Education Scotland, SDS, Scottish Government, Enquire, CALL Scotland, Glasgow City Council, Dumbarton Academy and St Bride’s Primary. Children are welcome to attend – there will be a free creche for under 5s and activities for 5-14 year olds. To book a place, please visit http://www.npfs.org.uk/conference/ or contact NPFS on conference@npfs.org.uk or 0131 313 8842.

Please click on the link below to view the flyer:

NPFS 2015 SMALL1

SPTC Update – October 2015

Welcome to our October newsletter! We’re back in full swing working on new training sessions and resources to share with you. Read on to find out what we’re up to.

We’re hiring!

Would you like to join the busy SPTC office team? Or know someone who might? Do you have experience in Sage and strong admin skills? There’s a vacancy in the office in Edinburgh for the right person to take on this vital role, helping to manage our finances and keep the office ticking along smoothly. The hours are part time (21 per week) and can be worked flexibly. Starting salary £19,000 pro rata.

Download the application materials on our website.

What’s on at SPTC?

We’re rolling out some new training sessions for you to try – this time online!

We know that not everybody can physically be there for our training sessions and we want to make sure that our work is as accessible as possible.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups Legislation for PCs/PTAs

This session has been designed to give PCs and PTAs straightforward information on how the PVG system works and what you need to know. Click on the links below to register for your free place.

Monday 5 October: 12:00 – 13:30

Monday 5 October: 19:00 – 20:30

Social Media Surgery

This online forum will help you build your confidence around using social media effectively for your parent group.

Tuesday 27 October: 12:00 – 13:00

Thursday 29 October: 18:30 – 19:30

New resources from SPTC

We’ve been busy over the summer updating our services and producing new resources that will be useful for parents:

You may have also noticed that we’ve started the Eventbrite online booking system for our training sessions. This is so we can streamline our booking process and you’ll get a clear confirmation of your place and a reminder. Take a look at all our scheduled training sessions here.

‘Representing Parents in Europe: The First 30 Years’

The European Parents’ Association is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and is holding its Jubilee Conference ‘Representing Parents in Europe: The First 30 Years’ in Luxembourg. SPTC director Laszlo Novak is attending and we’ll post a report on the website. You can register for the event here.

Draft National Improvement Framework

First things first – don’t be put off by the dull name! The Draft National Improvement Framework is very important for parents. It’s about measuring and evaluating performance in schools and puts specific responsibilities on parents and carers as part of the process. Importantly the draft framework reintroduces standardised testing – read here for the key points.

It is really important that you make your feelings known about the framework and how this will impact on your child. Free tickets are going quickly for the consultation events so book now!

Digital engagement in education

We’ve sent out our latest Parents’ Voice on the topic of technology in the classroom. With increasing numbers of schools in Scotland using tablets, laptops and mobiles in the classroom we want to know how schools are engaging with parents so that they are not left behind.

You can take part in the survey by following this link. Or why not sign up to Parents’ Voice, our online survey group and take part in a variety of different surveys?

Become an SPTC Director!

SPTC directors are a mix of parents and teachers (though the chair must always be a parent). Any parent from an SPTC member group can stand for nomination to the board and you would have the opportunity to influence policy development for the good of all Scotland’s children.

Find out more about becoming a director and download the nomination forms on our website.

Safer Internet Day 2016 

Safer Internet Day 2016 takes place on 9 February with the theme Play your part for a better internet!

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the celebration sees hundreds of organisations get involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

You can download resources to help your parent group or school get involved on the website.

Would your community cope well during a crisis?

The British Red Cross is looking to have contact with local groups, to find out how communities feel about resilience and to try and raise awareness of how best communities can bounce back from disruption.  If you would like to find out more please visit our website or contact David Karikas, Project Manager on 01463 79 66 15 or DKarikas@Redcross.org.uk

Consultations to get involved in

  • The General Teaching Council for Scotland is taking comments on its Registration and Standard rules – the proposed changes involve teachers qualified outside of Scotland. You can find out more about this consultation which closes on 2 November here.
  • The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on complaints relating to the Named Person and Child’s Plan – find out more here. This closes on 9 October.

The Scottish Government is intending to lodge further amendments at Stage 2 of the Education (Scotland) Bill – this includes the draft National Improvement Framework. To have your say write to ec.committee@scottish.parliament.uk by 3 November.

Child Internet Safety Conference

Child Internet Safety conference

Wednesday 28 October 2015, Central Edinburgh

“Setting the scene – what children are doing online”

We are delighted to announce our latest confirmed speaker is Alison Preston, Head of Media Literacy Research at Ofcom. Alison will lead a session focusing on children’s online behaviours. The session will…

  • Include an overview of children’s media use, including which devices they prefer for which types of activities
  • Explore how children use social media and games, and how has this changed over time
  • Examine ‘what are the risks that children identify online?’
  • Examine ‘what strategies do parents employ to try to keep their children safe?’

The session will use data from Ofcom’s surveys of c.2,000 children and their parents, as well as video clips from Ofcom’s new qualitative work looking at 18 children and how their media use changes over time.

Other speakers confirmed so far include:

Brian Donnelly, Director, respectme

Ron Richards, E-Safety Consultant, South West Grid for Learning

Professor Andy Phippen, Professor of Social Responsibility in IT, Plymouth University

Heather Smith, Principal Officer – Child Care & Protection Training and   Development, City of Edinburgh Council

 Plus, representatives from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council

The event will be held at the John McIntyre Conference Centre at Pollock Halls in central Edinburgh.

Visit the event webpage for more details – www.policyhubscotland.co.uk/events/child-internet-safety-conference

E-News Update – Autumn 2015

National Parent Forum

Autumn 2015 newsletter | the National Parent Forum of Scotland

The autumn edition of our newsletter is out now, featuring lots of information for parents on the latest education developments, as well as links to new publications and details of upcoming events. A pdf version is below, but to get the e-newsletter delivered straight to your inbox, sign up or contact us at office@npfs.org.uk

 

 

 

 

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