Parent Council Constitution

1.	This is the constitution for Blackford Primary School Parent Council, hereafter referred to as ‘the Parent Council’.

2.	The OBJECTIVES of the Parent Council are:
•	To work in partnership with the school to create a welcoming school, which is inclusive of all parents and carers.
•	To promote partnership between the school, its pupils, all its parents and carers, and the wider community.
•	To develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils. 
•	To identify and represent the parents’ and carers’ views on the education provided by the school and other matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils.

3. The Parent Council will consist of a minimum of five and a maximum of twenty parents or carers of children attending the school.  If a member leaves mid- term and there are less than 5 members left, a replacement will be appointed from any previous candidates.

4.   Any parents/carers of a child at the school can volunteer to be a member of the Parent Council. Ideally there will be representatives from all year groups. In the event that the number of volunteers exceeds the number of places set out in the constitution, members will be selected randomly. Anyone not selected to be a member of the Parent Council may be offered the opportunity to be part of any sub-groups set up by the Council. There is no limit to the number of times a person may put themselves forward for reselection.

5. The Parent Council will co-opt a school staff representative and may decide to invite people with particular expertise to attend meetings as and when necessary. The Head teacher has a right to attend all meetings.

6. The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer of the Parent Council will be appointed by the Parent Council members immediately following its formation and office bearers will be re-selected by the Parent Council on an annual basis at the Annual General Meeting of the Parent Forum. A Parent Council office bearer will be a parent/carer of a child attending Blackford Primary School. If the child ceases to be a pupil, a new office bearer will be selected at the next meeting.

7. The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for Blackford Primary School and will make a report to the Parent Forum at least once each year on its activities on behalf of all the parents. If any members of the Parent Forum request a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Parent Council’s remit, the Parent Council shall arrange this. The Parent Council shall give all members of the Forum at least two weeks notice of the special general meeting and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matter, or matters, to be discussed at that meeting.

8. The Annual General Meeting will be held in November of each year. A notice of the meeting including date, time, and place will be sent to all members of the Parent Forum at least two weeks in advance. The meeting will include:
•	A report on the work of the Parent Council and its committee(s)
•	Selection of the new Parent Council
•	Discussion of issues that members of the Parent Forum may wish to raise
•	Approval of the accounts and appointment of the auditor.

9. The Parent Council will meet at least once in every school term. Meetings must be attended by a quorum of three.  Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each parent member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie.
Any two members of the Parent Council can request that an additional meeting be held, and all members of the Parent Council will be given at least two weeks’ notice of date, time and place of the meeting.
The Parent Council may make any decision regarding the use of Parent Council funds, or other matters outside the normal scheduled meetings by email, however a minimum of 75% of the members of the Parent Council must respond, and a majority must vote in favour of the issue at hand.  If the voting is hung, a deciding vote may be cast by the chair.
If a Parent Council member acts in a way that is considered by other members to undermine the objectives of the Parent Council, their membership of the Parent Council shall be terminated if the majority of parent members agree. Termination of membership would be confirmed in writing to the member. The member can put themselves forward for reselection at the subsequent AGM. Any complaints received by members of the Parent Council regarding the conduct of members or the workings of the council will be dealt with initially by the Office Bearers who will decide whether the matter needs to be discussed at a Parent Council meeting or can be resolved within that forum.

10. Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to all parents/ carers of children at
Blackford Primary School and to all teachers at the school. Copies will be available from the Secretary of the Parent Council and it will be posted on the school notice board and website.

11. All Meetings of the Parent Council shall be open to the parent forum, unless the Parent Council is discussing an issue which it considers should be dealt with on a confidential basis. In such circumstances, a Special meeting would be called and only members of the Parent Council and the head teacher, or his or her representative, may attend.

12. The Treasurer will open a bank or building society account in the name of the Parent Council for all Parent Council funds. Withdrawals will require the signature of the Treasurer and one other Parent Council member.
The Treasurer will keep an accurate record of all income and expenditure, and will provide a summary of this for each Parent Council meeting and a full account for the
Annual General Meeting. The Parent Council accounts will be audited by the auditor appointed at the previous Annual Meeting. The Parent Council shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.

13. The Parent council will be responsible for Fundraising but can also accept donations and apply for other appropriate grants and funds.

14. The Parent Council may change its constitution after obtaining majority consent from members of the Parent Forum. Members of the Parent Forum will be sent a copy of any proposed amendment and given reasonable time to respond to the proposal. An email should come from the Chair specifically outlining that this is a formal decision being made by the PC with the options clearly outlined (or a "yes" or "no" question framed), along with a time frame for responses to be received by. Only votes received by the deadline will be counted. Open lobbying should not be done by member for their "side."

15. Should the Parent Council cease to exist, (e.g.The School is permanently closed, failure to select 5 council members or a motion to dissolve the Council) any remaining funds will be passed to the Blackford Primary School fund to be used for the benefit of the school, where this continues.