Welcome to the Burnside Parent Council – follow us on Facebook.
Burnside Parent Council is for parents and carers of children who attend Burnside Primary School in Carnoustie. We have been in operation since 2007 when the school opened and represent the Parent Forum within the school – with the main aim of helping the school operate successfully.
What are the main duties of the Parent Council?
The first duty is to represent the views of the parents at the school. The duties of a Parent Council are not laid down in legislation so it is up to each Parent Forum to decide what they want their Parent Council to do. This should be detailed in the constitution.
There are many things a Parent Council can get involved in including:
Supporting the work of the school e.g. by advising the school on its policies
Being involved in the appointment of senior staff
Organising social and fundraising events
Promoting contact between all parents and the rest of the school community
Discussing anything that’s of interest to parents
Ensuring all parents from different backgrounds are listened to and understand what the Parent Council does
What happens to the money raised from these events?
The money goes back into the school. In recent years we have provided funding for:
- an Outdoor Classroom – a 4 year project costing £7000
- golden time play equipment for all classes – £1000
- annual subscriptions to Education City and French First for which the whole school benefits – £670
- Mud Kitchen and other toys for the nursery – £450
- Cyber Hopscotch Theatre Production Workshop – £405
- Play and Toy equipment for the school Nurture Room- £200
- Gifts for P7 leavers each year
Can anyone become a member of the Parent Council?
Any parent with a child at the school may become a member of the Parent Council. Parents must always be in the majority and the Chair must always be a parent with a child at the school. The head teacher has a right and a duty to attend Parent Council meetings but is not automatically a member; they are there as an advisor. It is up to the Parent Forum to decide if there should be other members of the Parent Council and this should be detailed in the constitution, for example, co-opted members.
How to get involved
Joining the Parent Council doesn’t mean coming along to meetings every week. Helping out might be for a specific event such as the popular Christmas Fayre or the school disco, or auditing our accounts once a year.
It can be as much or as little as you choose.
If you can spare us some time then please feel free to get in contact or come along to our next meeting. If you are unable to attend but would like to share your comments, ideas or just to let us know how we are doing then please let us know on our Facebook page or email us at
burnsideparentcouncil@hotmail.co.uk
