Find out who, on a cold October evening, were introduced as new members to the Parent Council and what had happened since the previous meeting in September.
It was noted that Mrs Barry continues to represent the School in Renfrewshire Council Quality Awards and that a film crew would be visiting the school to find out more about her inspiring work. On more mundane matters, but no less important, the meeting discussed the purchase of new furniture for the Assembly hall to add to the flexibility of the space and allow the hall to be used as sheltered milling area for the pupils.
Alastair Ewen, the Youth Service Manager from Renfrewshire Council explained the importance attached by the council to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. He explained how the School could access some additional funding for the scheme and members of the Parent Council discussed how pupils could be further encouraged to participate at all levels. It was noted the the school is particularly successful at recruiting pupils to the Bronze level.
Issues surrounding transport to and from the school were discussed. Unfortunately no member of transport companies were available to attend the meeting, but members of the SMT have agreed to tackle the company over the early departure of buses from Kilbarchan.
The Head Teacher, Mr Dewar presented the final version of his report to the Parent Council and a program of ‘Road Show’ Primary School visits were discussed, highlighting the balance between vocational skills and academic achievement. it was suggested that parents could play a valuable role in these events. Unfortunately, progress with the completion of the dance studio has been slow but it should be open soon and will prove a valuable resource once finished.
Mr Gilbert introduced ‘Insight’, a new data analysis tool for Secondary school and explained how it is used by departments to identify successes and areas for improvement in raising attainment to ever higher levels. He also explain how parents could access some of this information via the ‘parent zone’.
Finally Mrs Hollywood introduced a report on the ‘Senior Phase Curriculum’ that outlined some possible changes. It was emphasised that before any changes took place a full consultation would need to take place and the earliest any change could be introduced would be Aug 2017.
Further details on these and other points can be read in the attached document.
