Anne Forsyth welcomed everyone and Gillian Boyle proposed the Approval of the Minutes from Council Meeting on 29^th October 2015. This was seconded by [ ].

Playground Developments

Boyle advised that some initial plans had just arrived but were yet to be fully reviewed. It was emphasised these were simply to provide food for thought in order to establish what the priorities should be.

Discussion ensued re the purpose of the space and how best it should be utilised. C. Jamieson said there was no significant issue in terms of water lying in the area and that there were a range of ideas to be looked at in terms of what could be put in the area. Suggestions include a Muga, open learning space, tangle tree, rubber surfaced covered area, etc and ideally space for the whole school to assemble. Costs will vary significantly depending on what is chosen but to deliver a whole project similar to that described could cost £80 – 100, 000 (ex VAT).

Houston asked whether given the weather it was wise to build on the hill area which could become very muddy and slippery. C Jamieson advised that these were initial thoughts and the priorities were still to be agreed. He explained that it was likely that the development would take a phased approach as it was also dependent on adequate fundraising.
Stewart said that maximising the space should be a priority especially in terms of PE. C Jamieson advised that if there was to be an area for all school children to be able to access for play, consideration would have to be given re the flow of children out to the grass area and that this would need supervision. J Devlin confirmed that children are taken outside for PE when the weather permits but the grass does take time to dry out.
Forsyth raised that there was a need to consider both short term and long term plans for the area. It was agreed that the sub group for playground developments would look at how best to prioritise the options and would perhaps canvas opinion from parents. C.McLaughlin felt that priority should be given to prioritising facilities that were currently unavailable such as the proposed amphitheatre.
Houston asked what the plans were to raise the funding required and how long it was expected to take. C Jamieson advised that during a previous fund raising venture a few years ago for the charity LEPRA, fundraising had raised £7,000 in one day, the highest to date, and that the PSA had around £10,000 funds – although much of that is already committed.

G Boyle raised that it was likely that there would be grants available but it was important to understand what the planned approach was as this would influence what grants could be applied for.

Devenney asked why parents should be funding this when there is an alleged £980m Scottish Government under-spend which should be available to all.

C Jamieson advised that a bid had been submitted to Whitelees but that all fundraising avenues had to be explored. A Forsyth advised that ERC would be asked if there was any under-spend funding available.

G Boyle noted that accessibility was important and may also help leverage funding. C Houston suggested contact was made with Grounds for Learning who have innovative ideas for outdoor spaces. D Heraghty felt the approach should be to clarify priorities, cost those priorities and then plan their delivery. J Stewart raised concern re the raised step in the Junior playground being a health and safety risk with one accident already. C.Jamieson noted that there had only been one incident and at this time it would not be planned to change the step though incidents will of course be monitored.

Boyle noted that an application had been submitted to Tesco for a grant to build a trim trail in the Junior department playground.

C Houston asked for clarification re how the development was to be taken forwards. G Boyle confirmed that a sub group consisting of herself, J Harkins and 2 others from the PSA would be leading on this. C Houston agreed to assist the group.

Year of Mercy

Jamieson advised that the Year of Mercy had been launched in the school and that SCIAF had invited the school to formulate a plan for parents, the parish and the school. Mrs Baker er has created a calendar of events and there are many Catholic Education Week activities on offer. The school celebrated the Year of Mercy with a procession and a visit to the Cathedral.
Forsyth volunteered to be involved in progressing plans for the year. G Devenney asked how often a school priest comes in to offer confession. C. Jamieson confirmed that the priest did come in to offer confession to those preparing for sacraments but acknowledged that it was less often than in previous years.

J Devlin underlined the need for both parents and school to put an emphasis on confession, as did J Stewart who suggested that during the Year of Mercy, year groups could be taken to the all day confession .

C Jamieson agreed to consider this and said he would feedback to Mrs Baker. However the logistics of 400 children and very busy priests were challenging.

St Ninians Cluster

Jamieson advised that at the end of February there would be a visit from the East Renfrewshire Education Thematic Review regarding transitions from age 3 to age 18. It will take over 3 weeks to complete, it is likely that PC and PSA chairs will be involved and he will report back on it.

Achievements and Successes

Positive feedback was given on the following areas:

The successful trip to Locherbie Manor – J Devlin highlighted that on every trip the children are praised for their behaviour and manners and they are a credit to both the school and the parents.
The increase in the use of twitter was well received
The new format information evening, though further options are to be explored to improve attendance
The cooking classes have been well received
The Christmas fete was recognised as a success
8. Headteacher’s Report

Advent and nativity planning underway
Parties and the P7 disco are being planned pre Christmas
Glenwood nursery will be utilising the Junior department for their nativity
The kitchens in the Junior department are being renovated and will take 12 weeks and be ready in Spring 2016, along with a new street area.
The Choir has had a busy and successful few months
St Mirin won the house trophy

AOCB

G Boyle raised that PE appears to take a back seat while Christmas rehearsals are underway
C Jamieson agreed but said if the weather allowed they did try and get outside
M. Cumming said that when weather was bad the children often did fitness in the classroom using the white board.
P McCann advised that netball and basketball do still take place even when the weather is poor.
C Houston raised that the school should provide 2 hours of quality indoor PE each week and that it should be monitored how often they are missing this.
Both C Jamieson and G Boyle agreed that monitoring was a good idea.
J Stewart mentioned that given the above, perhaps a sheltered PE area should be prioritised in the play ground development plans
Next meeting – 28^th January 2016

Present:

Jamieson, G. Devenney, Gillian Boyle, Anne Forsyth, Jacqueline Stewart, Callum Houston, Denis Heraghty, Jo Heraghty, Christine McCudden, Joe McLachlan, Chris McLaughlin,

Apologies:

Michael Harvey, Mary Moore, Marie-Claire Darroch, Michelle Hynes Fiona Bryant, Pauline Hessett, John-Paul Sheridan, Ishrat Bashir, Afzal Shaikh, Clare Bowes

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Parent Council Minutes 11.12.14

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Our Lady of the Missions Primary School Parent Council

Minutes of Parent Council Meeting

11th December 2014

Present

Boyle, A. Forsyth, C. Jamieson, M-C. Darroch, M. O’Reilly, J. Heraghty, L. Garety, P. Hessett, J. Taggart, C. James, S. Morrison, R. Spooner, E. Holland, G. Devenney, Cllr Robertson, Cllr Montague

Apologies

Cllr Waters, Cllr Fletcher, Cllr Wallace, J. Harkins, C. McCudden, C. Bowes, J. McLachlan, M. Hynes, F. McKean

Approval of the Minutes for the October 2014 Meeting

Proposed- G. Boyle

Seconded- M-C. Darroch

Parental Involvement

Jamieson spoke about the National Parent Forum which involves representatives from schools within and outwith East Renfrewshire. Our Lady of the Missions is keen to find new ways to engage parents to create a real partnership with them. A questionnaire had been sent out earlier in the year to learn how satisfied parents are with their children’s education. This survey is carried out every four years within the authority and the council feeds back the results to the school. 130 of 200 questionnaires were returned to the school, which was a good return. C. Jamieson showed a table with the results of the questionnaire.

The lower percentages came in questions about asking parents’ views and taking the views of parents into account. The same dip occurs in these questions in schools throughout the authority. A lower percentage also occurred in questions about the transition of pupils from nursery to primary, from primary to secondary and from one year to another.

Spooner asked whether, when a child moves from one teacher to another, the new teacher has read a report on each child or whether it’s a blank slate. C. Jamieson said that information is transferred about every pupil and that work is carried out during In Service days to transfer information about pupils.

M-C. Darroch said that sometimes teachers have not known information about a child at a Parents Evening that should have been known. C. Jamieson replied that it would be valuable to generate ideas as to how to improve the teachers’ knowledge about the children. He said that the new teacher spends an afternoon with the class before the new school year to make sure the children are comfortable and has a written file which they will be expected to have read.

James suggested putting the school’s policy document regarding the handover of information between teachers onto the website.
Boyle asked whether the information passed on to teachers is a summarised report or a fuller account and she suggested that it might be helpful for parents to have the opportunity to bullet-point some information that they think the teacher should know about their child. She also said that producing an overview of the main events of each year group at the start of the year could prove useful. This is done in St Joseph’s primary school.
Hessett suggested each child writing a letter about themselves for the new teacher could be helpful. C. Jamieson replied that the upper school pupils maintain an e-portfolio with personal information that the teacher can access. S. Morrison said that perhaps the pupils could write a transition memo for the pupils in the year below, describing the year ahead.
Jamieson said that the recent Support and Protection Review looked at how well the P7 teachers knew their pupils and looked at how teachers build a relationship with the pupils.
Spooner said that the transition programme for the P7s progressing to St Ninian’s was great. C. Jamieson gave credit to G. O’Neil in St Ninian’s who also works on this programme.
Garety referred to the interaction between OLM and Glenwood and asked about the level of contact with other nurseries in the area. C. Jamieson said that there was a close liasion with Glenwood, Glen Family Centre, Netherlee and Thornliebank. There is also contact with nurseries in other areas and information about children is acquired from them. The school now requires to liaise with [22?] nurseries feeding children into the school. A baseline assessment is carried out early in Primary 1.
Holland noted that in some schools the children write self-reports on their report cards. C. Jamieson said that this was done in P6 and 7 and that feedback is received from the children after their report cards have been issued.
Holland asked whether there were any special arrangements for the transition of children with additional needs into St Ninian’s, such as a settling-in course during the summer break. C. Jamieson replied that there is a course that takes place during the last week of the summer term but that some children do not wish to make use of it.
Taggart suggested that part of the difficulty of children moving from nursery to primary school was that parents lose the face-to-face contact with teachers that they are used to in nursery. She said that some of the Glasgow schools involve parents in paired reading in the classroom. C. Jamieson said that the school had run something similar before and that it would be worth looking at that again.
Boyle said that it might be useful if class teachers were to bring children out at the end of the day at the beginning of term to allow parents to see teachers as sometimes parents know nothing about the teachers until the Meet the Teacher evening later in the first term. C. Jamieson said that all staff are used in different capacities at the end of the school day. E. Holland said that the Meet the Teacher evening was a good idea as many working parents are not at the school during the day.
Spooner raised the issue of phoning the school to speak to a classroom teacher and those calls being answered by deputes. C. Jamieson said it was not the usual practice for parents to be able to speak to classroom teachers in the first instance but that an appointment for a phone call could be made. R. Spooner said that this might be a factor in parents feeling that their views are not taken into account.
Hessett said that it is sometimes possible to speak to teachers after school but that there might be privacy issues surrounding that type of discussion.
Boyle proposed that an openness to arranging parent-teacher phone calls could be welcomed by working parents who are not at the school. C. James suggested that if parents were encouraged to phone with any concerns at all rather than simply with a more serious concern, this might encourage parents to feel more involved. She also said that other teachers could be present at the Headteacher’s Drop-In meetings. C. Jamieson said that perhaps principal teachers or depute heads could have similar drop in meetings on a semi-regular basis. A. Forsyth noted that one of the pastoral care staff from St Ninian’s phones parents to discuss how children are settling in.
Spooner suggested e-mail contact with teachers. E. Holland said that in some schools parents can contact staff via an enquiries e-mail address which is then passed on to the relevant member of staff.
O’Reilly said that perhaps some form of interim report could be sent out to parents earlier in the first term to flag up any potential concerns.
Taggart drew attention to the National Parent Forum document where it is indicated that interaction between staff and parents is as important as between staff and children.
Spooner said that the extra-curricular clubs run by P. McCann were a big contribution to the school.
Boyle suggested that perhaps parents could be issued with a form in advance of Parents Evenings asking about anything they would like to discuss with teachers so that discussions can be more focussed.

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Parent Council Minutes 23.10.14

January 5, 2015 User deactivated

Our Lady of the Missions Primary School Parent Council

Minutes of Parent Council Meeting

23rd October 2014

Present

G. Boyle, A. Forsyth, C. Jamieson, M- C. Darroch, M. O’Reilly, K. Kelly, C. Bowes, Cllr Waters, J. Heraghty, C. McCudden, G. Bhatti, J. McLachlan, Cllr Fletcher, J. Devlin, L. Garety, M. Cluckie, J. Harkins, P. Hessett, M. Hynes, F. McKean, C. McLaughlin, M. Moore, B. Docherty, G. Devenney, Cllr Robertson, C. Houston

Apologies

J. Taggart, Cllr McAskill, S. Morrison, C. James, E. Holland, R. Spooner

Approval of the Minutes for the AGM (September 2014)

Proposed- J. Heraghty

Seconded- J. McLachlan

Update on Transition

C. Jamieson said that work was continuing within the Junior Department building, with changes continuing to be made, such as the music room being moved downstairs and new carpets being put down. Further work will be required following the knock-through, including internal work for wheelchair access. Father Hill had blessed the building.

The tower is beginning to take shape and D. Leask has given a date of 21st December for the completion of the corridor which links in to the medical room. No date was yet known for when Clark Contracts will leave the site. C. Houston suggested that the work is unlikely to be completed on time and said that this would have an impact on the budget. C. Jamieson said that he had contacted D. Leask to arrange a meeting to discuss the budget. Cllr Waters said that overruns would cost extra money and that things had been added since the original tender. He added that other money had been provided towards the costs of making the work DDA-compliant. Currently there was £70,000 left of the budget, but by the time the work is completed, the figure will likely be closer to £40,000.

A. Forsyth noted that the school’s wishes regarding the use of any underspend should be made known. C. Houston said that an opportunity had been missed now that the weather was changing.

P. Hessett asked about how icy conditions on the stairs between the buildings would be handled. C. Jamieson replied that the upper building has always been made accessible by the janitors so that he did not anticipate any problems. The path that runs up to Glenwood nursery is not cleared by the janitors. C. McCudden said it might be useful to advise parents to use the steps in icy weather.

C. Jamieson noted that the changing weather will affect the movement of children between the buildings

Consultation on Joint-Faith Campus

G. Boyle said that the ERC proposal is to reduce St Cadoc’s primary by one stream (becoming 2 streams) and building a new school in Newton Mearns which would also be 2 streams (one moved from St Cadcos and one completely new stream to reflect housebuilding in the area). This would mean St Ninian’s would have 10 streams feeding directly into the school from cluster schools. The concern is the long-term impact on numbers for St Ninian’s, though it is difficult to judge / dispute the projected figures without more detailed information. St Ninian’s is already a ten-stream school but not all pupils are from the catchment area and there is a proportion of placing requests.

J. Heraghty asked about a contingency plan if the numbers are not right. Cllr Fletcher replied that the numbers have been looked at carefully and that new housing on the Glasgow side has not been included in the calculations. He added that St Ninian’s is big enough on the current model but that migration cannot be predicted. A. Forsyth suggested the numbers would be close to the wire. Cllr Robertson said that the number of placing requests would be reduced to accommodate catchment pupils.

M. Moore referred to the new house-building within the catchment. C. Houston noted that in East Dumbartonshire the predictions were out by over one hundred pupils. Cllr Waters replied that the ERC model is different and that the numbers have always hit close to the predicted figures but that there will always be factors that cannot be predicted.

G. Bhatti referred to the new housing in Newton Mearns and whether St Cadoc’s could accommodate the numbers.

C. McLaughlin said that the council would have a responsibility to provide a denominational education so that if St Ninian’s were to reach its capacity, another school would need to be provided. A. Forsyth asked whether rezoning would be considered. Cllr Robertson replied that the schools are full because they are so successful and that there are currently hundreds of placing requests. G. Boyle said that it was likely that placing requests would become more difficult to secure and that parents should be advised that a second application would need to be made at the end of primary school. C. Jamieson said that it is made clear to parents that a second placing request would require to be made in P7. He added that these second placing requests are usually successful but that there will be fewer successful requests in the future.

M-C. Darroch asked about the percentage of placing requests. G. Boyle said that about 400 of the pupils at St Ninian’s are there through placing requests.

C. Houston asked whether there was any commitment to upgrade the primary schools in line with Section 75 commitments, where money is being spent on additional secondary school places. Cllr Waters said that any money would come from the Education Department budget. Cllr Fletcher referred to the substantial number of placing requests and to the pressure points in denominational schools. He said that if additional places were required, the Catholic Church would need to ask for a new school.

M. O’Reilly asked whether a plan was in place to deal with any over-subscription to St Ninian’s from catchment pupils. Cllr Waters said that a new school would not be built unless there were statistics to prove that it was necessary. Cllr Fletcher said that the decision to build a new school lies with government ministers but that there is a legal responsibility to provide denominational education.

G. Boyle drew attention to the £13.6 million budget for the joint-faith school when no money was available for a new building for OLM. Cllr Robertson said that there had to be a new school where it was needed. Cllr Waters said that the new school will require a large amount of money from ERC’s capital reserves. He added that when a new primary is requested, the condition of the existing building is taken into account. He explained that some of the funding for the new joint-faith school has come from contributions from developers and from the sale of Calderwood Lodge. St Cadoc’s had twelve more catchment pupils than there were places for and additional pupils are anticipated from new housing.

C. Jamieson said that there was only one placing-request for a sibling of pupils in the current P1 but that there are some in the upper school.

G. Boyle referred to the public meeting to be held at Mearns Primary on 29th October. There is also an online survey for residents.

National Parent Forum Report

J. McLachlan spoke about the National Parent Forum which seeks to provide a link between the Government and Parent Councils. A report had recently been produced by the Parent Forum regarding assessing and reporting. The report had been presented at the Scottish Learning Festival. It is available on the Parent Forum website.

A survey had been carried out asking parents’ opinions on what assessment is. C. Jamieson added that discussion on these issues had taken place at headteacher level within the authority. A great deal of positive suggestions had come from East Renfrewshire schools. It is hoped to improve communication with parents regarding pupil progress by using methods other than just the end-of-year report.

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Minutes of Parent Council Meeting – 29 May 2014

November 11, 2014 User deactivated

Present

Gillian Boyle, Anne Forsyth, Charlie Jamieson, Marie-Claire Darroch, Mary O’Reilly, Callum Houston, Karen Kelly, Clare Bowes, Cllr Waters, Cllr McCaskill, J. Taggart, C. James, J. Heraghty, R. Spooner, M, McAlpine, C. McCudden, G. Bhatti, J. McLachlan, Cllr Fletcher, N. Salim, J. Devlin, P. Hessett, L. Garety, R. O’Kane Continue reading Minutes of Parent Council Meeting – 29 May 2014 →

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Minutes for the OLM Parent Council Meeting – 13th March 2014

November 11, 2014 User deactivated

Present

Gillian Boyle, Anne Forsyth, Michelle Hynes, Charlie Jamieson, Gerry Devenney, Marie-Claire Darroch, Mary O’Reilly, Callum Houston, Karen Kelly, Clare Bowes, Cllr Waters, Cllr Robertson, Cllr McCaskill, J. Taggart, C. James, J. Heraghty, A. Friel, R. Spooner, M, McAlpine Continue reading Minutes for the OLM Parent Council Meeting – 13th March 2014 →

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Minutes of Parent Council Meeting 30th January 2014

November 11, 2014 User deactivated

Present

Gillian Boyle, Anne Forsyth, Michelle Hynes, Charlie Jamieson, Mary Moore, Gerry Devenney, Marie-Claire Darroch, Brendan Docherty, Jackie Devlin, Mary O’Reilly, Lesley Garety, Callum Houston, Karen Kelly, Gary Bhatti, Joe McLachlan, Peter Hesset, Christine McCudden, Clare Bowes, Josephine McGrotty, Nadia Salim, Cllr Waters, Cllr Fletcher, Cllr Montague, Cllr Robertson, Cllr McAskill, Cllr Wallace Continue reading Minutes of Parent Council Meeting 30th January 2014 →

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Minutes of Parent Council Meeting 30th January 2014

November 10, 2014 User deactivated

Present
Gillian Boyle, Anne Forsyth, Michelle Hynes, Charlie Jamieson, Mary Moore, Gerry Devenney, Marie-Claire Darroch, Brendan Docherty, Jackie Devlin, Mary O’Reilly, Lesley Garety, Callum Houston, Karen Kelly, Gary Bhatti, Joe McLachlan, Peter Hesset, Christine McCudden, Clare Bowes, Josephine McGrotty, Nadia Salim, Cllr Waters, Cllr Fletcher, Cllr Montague, Cllr Robertson, Cllr McAskill, Cllr Wallace Continue reading Minutes of Parent Council Meeting 30th January 2014 →

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Minutes for the OLM Parent Council Meeting – 12th December 2013

November 10, 2014 User deactivated

Present
Gillian Boyle, Anne Forsyth, Michelle Hynes, Judy Taggart, Catriona James, Veronica Dowling, Charlie Jamieson, Mary Moore, Gerry Devenney, Marie-Claire Darroch, Roger Spooner, Brendan Docherty, Jackie Devlin, Mary O’Reilly, Lesley Garety, Maureen McAlpine, Callum Houston, Karen Kelly, Gary Bhatti, Amir Hussain, Angela Friel, Cllr Mary Montague, Cllr Ralph Robertson Continue reading Minutes for the OLM Parent Council Meeting – 12th December 2013 →