West Primary School, Paisley – Parent Council
CONSTITUTION
The Council will be known as ‘Friends of the West’.
1. Parent Council Objectives:
• to work in partnership with the school to create a welcoming environment inclusive for all parents
• to promote partnership between the pupils, school staff and employees and the parents of all pupils
• to develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils
• to identify and represent the views of parents on the education provided by the school and other matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils
• to promote and support fund raising activities where funds raised are used to enhance the ‘learning’ environment or in support of local, regional or national charities and programmes selected by the pupils or by the Council on behalf of the Parent Forum
2. Parents of children attending West Primary School (P1 – P7) are automatically members of the parent Forum and may volunteer to be a member of the Parent Council.
3. The membership will be a minimum of four, three of whom will be parents of children attending West Primary School. As long as membership equals/exceeds six, two thirds of the members will be parents of children attending West Primary School, the remaining numbers being co-opted from the local community. Those co-opted may include school staff, pupils and others who can demonstrate support for the Parent Council and its objectives.
4. Parent Council members will join for a period not normally exceeding 3 years at the end of which retiring members may resubmit themselves for a further period(s). As far as can be reasonably achieved, approximately 1/3 of members will retire each year – this will apply to both parent and co-opted members.
5. The Parent Council may choose to set up a sub group or sub groups, each of which should be linked to the Parent Council, by co-opting a member of the Parent Council on to the sub group. Where an existing school group exists which is to be linked to the Parent Council, the link will be achieved by co-opting a member of the group to the Council or vice versa, as the Parent Council consider appropriate.
6. The existence of or requirement for sub groups will be reviewed by the Parent Council on an ongoing basis, but not less frequently than yearly.
7. The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for West Primary School, Paisley, and should make a report on its activities to the Parent Forum at least once each year.
8. The Chair and other office bearers will be chosen by Parent Council members immediately on formation. Thereafter, all office bearers will be reselected by the Parent Council annually. The Chair will be a Parent of a child currently attending West Primary School, Paisley.
9. The Annual General Meeting will take place during the autumn term each year and not later than 30 September. Notice of the meeting, which will include a general agenda, and details of the date, time and place of the meeting will be issued via the pupils, to Parent Members. A minimum of 2 weeks notice will be given with the notification. Topics for the meeting will include:
• routine changes to the Council
• a report from the Parent Council
• discussion on topics raised by Parent Members
• approval of the Parent Council accounts
• appointment of an auditor of the accounts
• any proposed changes to the Constitution
10. Parent Council members stepping down will normally do so on 30 June of the relevant year. Members should give notice of their intention to do so not later than 31 May of the same year.
11. Special General Meeting – where 30 Parent Members request in writing a meeting to discuss matters under the Parent Council’s remit, the Parent Council shall arrange such a meeting, giving a minimum of 2 weeks notice. Where there is a dispute over whether the matter is a Council remit or not, the Parent Council will seek guidance from the local authority Education Department.
12. At any Council meeting, should it be necessary to take a vote in making a decision, each member shall have one vote. In the event that The Chair is not present a stand in Chair will be selected for the duration of that meeting only. The Chair shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie. No vote can be taken where the membership present is such as to permit the ‘co-opts’ to outvote the ‘parents’ – in this event a decision on the matter will be held over till the next meeting.
13. Any 4 members (or 3 if the Council membership is less than 6, see 3 above) may request in writing that an additional Council meeting be held – in this case, all Council members will be invited to the meeting, having been given 2 weeks notice.
14. If a Parent Council member acts in a way that is considered by Council members to undermine the objectives of the Council, their membership of the Council may be terminated, or other action short of termination may be taken, subject to the decision of the parent members of the Council. The member will be advised of the decision in writing.
15. Copies of the notes of all meetings will be posted in the school and in the public domain – copies of the notes of the Annual General Meeting will be distributed to all families via the children. Copies of notes of other meetings and additional copies will be available from staff at the school office on request – they will not be posted to parents.
16. Meetings of the Parent Council shall be open to Members of the Parent Forum, unless the meeting is considering a matter which the Council considers to be a confidential matter – in these circumstances, only members of the Parent Council, the Headteacher and any person(s) specifically invited by The Chair are permitted to attend – such persons will have an obvious role to play in the specific discussion (example – director of education).
17. The Treasurer of the Parent Council will open bank/building society account(s) in the name of the Parent Council in order to keep secure and manage the funds of the Parent Council. Withdrawals will require 2 signatures, one of whom will be the Treasurer. In the event of prolonged absence of the Treasurer (illness), a ‘temporary’ treasurer may be appointed at a Parent Council meeting – the duration of any such temporary arrangement will be limited to the period till the Treasurer becomes available.
18. The Treasurer will keep an accurate record of all income and expenditure and will provide a short written summary at each Parent Council meeting. Written details of the full audited account will be provided at each Annual General Meeting.
19. The Parent Council will be responsible for ensuring that all monies used are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.
20. Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining administrative funds should be returned to the Education Authority. Any funds arising from fund raising events should be handed over to the Parent Teachers Association which will be reconstituted to coincide with the cessation of the Parent Council.
