Present
Anne Forsyth,  Gillian Boyle, Charles Jamieson, Veronica Dowling, Mary O’Reilly, Cllr Jim Fletcher, Lesley Garety, Clare Bowes, Josephine McGrotty, Catriona James, Christine McCudden, Cllr Vincent Waters, Cllr Gordon Wallace, Judy Taggart, Roger Spooner, Gerry Devenney, Joe McLachlan, Mary Moore, Callum Houston, Angela Friel, Jackie Devlin, Paula Rogers, Gary Bhatti, Amir Hussain, Peter Hessett, Cllr Ralph Robertson, Cllr Gordon McCaskill, Maureen McAlpine, Jo Heraghty, Karen Kelly, Marie-Claire Darroch, Nadia Salim

Apologies

Cllr Mary Montague

Approval of the Minutes for the June PC Meeting

Proposed- G. Boyle

Seconded- C. McCudden

Update on Communications Sub-group

G. Boyle spoke about the transition to e-mail as a means of communication and about the plan to set up a Facebook page for the Parent Council. It is planned also to establish a protocol for communication between the school and the parent forum.

Update on the Robslee Campus

Representatives from the school and from the PC recently met with the architect who has drawn up the plans for the link between OLM and the new campus at Robslee. Drawings detailing what would be presented to planning were revealed at that meeting and a copy of the drawings was left in the school. It was emphasised that this will need to be in place by next August. C. Houston was present at that meeting and was able to examine and question the plans.

C. Jamieson said that staff had had the opportunity to look at the plans and there was widespread approval of them. He confirmed that the brief had been to produce a fully enclosed link that would be DDA-compliant. C. Jamieson then presented the drawings and a fly-over diagram of the proposed link to the PC.

The enclosed link will gradually ascend the hill, starting from the Mensa, up towards a tower with a lift and a staircase. It is intended that the lift will be operable by staff only. There will then be a stair-climber for wheelchair-users. The tower will be a focal point, perhaps with the name of the school on it, and the grounds will be made secure either through fencing or landscaping. There will be some heating in the corridor and it will be wide enough to accommodate two classes moving between the two campuses. The plans will go out to tender and it is hoped that the work will be carried out for less than the one million pound budget. That would mean that there would be money left in the budget for some landscaping. C. Jamieson stated that the Robslee building was in good condition and that money would not need to be spent in that respect. He also noted that the additional space would be immediately filled by our existing roll. He explained that after the transition, it is envisaged that there will be a change in the allocation of PE time, as the extra space will allow for two indoor PE sessions per week and one outdoor, rather than one indoor and two outdoor.

C. McCudden asked whether the huts would be staying. C. Jamieson replied that one hut could be kept and that there were various options for how it might be used but no decisions have been made.

M. Moore asked what classes would be in the new building. C. Jamieson answered that that had not yet been decided, and that it might change from year to year.

P. Rogers asked about the public right of way. C. Jamieson replied that that was still under consideration, but that possibly the campus would be enclosed and the right of way moved to the far end of Robslee.

R. Spooner asked about what material would be used for the building work. C. Jamieson replied that that would not be known until the plans had been put out to tender, but that the work would be done to harmonise the two buildings if possible.

J. Taggart brought up the issue of emergency access to the school. C. Jamieson explained that there would be an exit from the Mensa and from the play areas and the tower and that a fire engine would be able to access the whole campus through multiple fire hydrants.

C. McCudden asked about the temperature in the current OLM building if the Mensa doors are open. C. Jamieson said that the doors into the corridor would be closed and would have to be activated by a member of staff and that there would be an area to gather pupils together before proceeding through the corridor.

J. Taggart asked whether the plans would allow the pupils free movement through the school. C. Jamieson replied that the doors would be operated by staff only.

A. Hussain asked whether parents would be given the opportunity to comment on the plans. C. Jamieson explained that the plans had been looked at and had now been agreed. A. Forsyth added that the priorities for the link had been discussed and decided last session.

J. Heraghty asked whether it was likely that there would be an increase in the school roll following the transition. C. Jamieson said that he had been assured that OLM would remain a four-stream school. A. Friel added that it was useful to have that included in the minutes.

C. Jamieson went on to say that the drawings will progress to the planning stage the following week and that information regarding this would be included in the next newsletter. It is hoped that work will begin in February 2014, though assurances have been given to Robslee that that building will not be touched until all pupils have left next summer.

R. Spooner asked about school capacity this year. C. Jamieson replied that there had been an increase in numbers but that it was spread across the school. He added that there had also been an increase in teaching and clerical staff.

M. Moore asked whether there would be an area available for children with additional needs. C. Jamieson answered that the mezzanine area and the pavilion were both currently used for reading groups and that there was an additional teacher available to provide that extra teaching.

C. Houston brought up the issue of access within the Robslee building, the concern being that money was being spent to ensure that the link between OLM and Robslee would be DDA-compliant, but that the stairs within the Robslee building would make certain areas there inaccessible. He noted that he had challenged the architect on this point and that the architect replied that it had not been part of his remit to draw up plans for the interior of the Robslee building. C. Jamieson stated that there would two sets of stairs in Robslee and that chairlifts would need to be put in. C. Houston argued that the access provided for wheelchairs was convoluted and suggested asking the opinion of East Renfrewshire Council’s Disability Forum. C. Jamieson said that he would investigate that and would raise the matter with Diane Leask.  A. Forsyth said that the plans would be required to go before the Disability Forum.

A. Friel asked whether parents would be given the opportunity to see the plans. C. Jamieson replied that he had a copy and that he would email parents to inform them. C. Houston said the structural changes would not be significant enough to require an advert, but that they would be available on ERC’s planning portal.

M. McAlpine asked whether parents could be informed before reading about the plans in the paper. C. Jamieson said he would invite parents in to view the plans one evening after school.

Priorities for the Forthcoming Session

C. Jamieson asked for suggestions on what might be looked at this session, representing matters of interest or concern to the parent forum.

M. McAlpine asked whether nutrition within the school, in particular the tuck shop, could be looked at.

R. Spooner suggested that the way in which the school reports back to parents on attainment could be clarified, particularly the way in which reports are prepared. C. Jamieson said that a sub-group had previously looked at that, but that the issue could be put onto a future agenda and he could prepare a presentation.

A. Friel asked whether the clarity of the PC constitution might be looked at, at the process of self-nomination, perhaps with a view to revising the wording.

G. Boyle said that they would be looking for volunteers to help to revise the school handbook in order to make it a good, working document. C. Jamieson noted that the object would be to slim it down and make it more user-friendly. G. Bhatti suggested making it available online. C. Jamieson confirmed that it was already available on the school website but that it was useful to provide a hard copy for new P1 parents.

A. Forsyth commented that the document that had been produced for new parents last session had been very well received.

A. Hussain asked whether some guidance could be given to parents on the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence, perhaps through a workshop or a presentation. C. Jamieson agreed that this could be done either generally or for each stage and could be done in conjunction with St Ninian’s.

G. Boyle noted that issues can be brought up throughout the year and that smaller points could be brought directly to her or to A. Forsyth.

Headteacher’s Report

C. Jamieson began by saying that staff and pupils were well settled into the new school year. He said that extra teaching staff had been made available for the more able readers. There were also visiting specialists from St Ninian’s.

The P6 pupils had taken part in relaxation workshops, looking at the benefits of mindfulness.

The P7 pupils had taken part in the Provost’s debate on the topic of social media. They had also been on a bus tour to tie in with their work on Divided City, and will also be going on a trip to Ardentinny. In addition, the P7 children had taken up roles as mentors for the new P1 pupils.

The Meet the Teacher evening had been a success and had been well-attended.

Joe Shaw had been elected chair of the PSA again and preparations were under way for the Halloween disco.

The Vocations Mass had taken place at St Mirin’s cathedral. The school will also be participating in other religious celebrations throughout this session, such as feast days and First Fridays. In addition, B. Docherty would be preparing the choir for the Cantata.

There is a new campus police officer this session. She has put out traffic cones along the access road into the school and will be aiming to educate parents regarding safe parking practices.

AOCB

C. McCudden volunteered to take the lead in addressing the dangerous parking around the school grounds. C. Jamieson suggested putting up large banners to inform parents that the front car park is only for dropping off in the mornings. He noted that there would be one bus less this session so that the area at the top of the car park could also be used for dropping off.

A. Friel commented that children are struggling to cross the road that leads out of the school due to the high volume of traffic and parents failing to stop to allow children to cross.

C. James asked about anticipated changes to traffic next session. C. Jamieson said that that was being considered.

G. Bhatti referred to the dangerous situation in the Woodfarm pavilion car park. C. Jamieson said that this would be added to the agenda.

G. Boyle agreed that signs would be a good idea, perhaps written in the style of children, as had been done outside Giffnock primary school. P. Rogers said that those posters had been designed as part of a road safety competition.

Date of next meeting: Thursday 7th November 2013