Parent Forum Meeting

Wed 23rd May 2012 6:30 – 7:30 pm

MINUTES

Attendees: Chris Kelly (Chair), Justin Hynd (Co-Chair), Andrew Agnew (Secretary), Simon Renwick (Clerk), Angie Thomson, Adeline Allan, Lorna Dick, Donna Francis, Debbie Beveridge, Mhairi Stratton, Iris Burns, Jacquiline Dow, Cllr Forrest, Cllr Currie, Colin Beattie MSP.

Apologies: Wendy Lockhart (Treasurer), Pamela Martin, Suzanne Laidlaw, Susan Ryan, Karen Grieve.

Previous Minutes:

 Justin was to contact Gwen Harkins  Andy Forrest confirmed that the bit of road at the school gates used as a lay-by is to be turned into pavement. This is being carried forward to future meetings for further clarification.  Community Walk – Jeff did crossing by himself and we provided food and maps.  HMIE – 12 parents met with the Inspectors.  Playpod – we will have a shed for the early years and a container for upper school. Debbie is getting costing for the container and any conversion and will pass these to Chris. We had got a shed but it was in too many pieces so was sent back. Another is being sourced. PF will fund shed and one third of cost for container.

Headteacher Update:

School Staff  Shona Bryce will be on a phased return before the end of term.  Carol Dalziel will also start a phased return.  Iris Burns was the successful candidate for the Acting Principal teacher position.  The staffing for next year and classroom make-up will be confirmed over the next couple of weeks. We will have a probationer.  Miss Kelly staying with P1 till end of term.

HMIE  Very positive experience. The inspectors validated the progress made and agreed with where the school thought it was. The inspectors have now disengaged with the school.  The P1 Parental Involvement initiative was highlighted as good practice.  Soft start will be every Friday for the entire school from next term.

1  School was commended for Inative Practice. Early Years program has been picked up by Education and staff will attend Scottish Learning Festival in September to highlight this. The school’s Maths & Numeracy has also been highlighted as very good practice. Due to this, Wallyford will host an Academy which will train people from other authorities on using our system.

Well done to all of the staff for their achievements.

School Life – Transition period now starting for incoming P1 and outgoing S1. We are expecting to have 55 new P1’s. Meet the teacher day will happen again this year and the school is hoping for a second day for the children with their new teacher. P7 will have an extended and enhanced transition. P4-7 preparing for their camps at York, Innerwick and Dounans in June.

Treasurer / Fundraising Update:

Account sitting at £2296.

Fundraising – Wendy has asked for help with organizing the Summer Fair which is to be held on Saturday 25th August.

Parent Council Meeting With Phil Denning

The PC held a meeting with Phil Denning to discuss our next steps in engaging with the parent/carer body. It has been decided to wait until after the inspection report has been released to set our focus. The PC will arrange a meeting.

Parking Outside School

Use of cones outside of the school seems to have made a difference. There are still the same couple of people still abusing parking restrictions. The PF felt there was a great improvement overall. Chris will speak to Jeff Low re CAPP Meeting.

Scrapstore Playpod – see previous minutes section

Place2Be Update

The lunchtime Place2Talk is very busy. The current 1 to 1 sessions will finish over the next couple of weeks and planning of sessions for August is under way to maximize time next term.

2 Jacqui has been working with P1 facilitating circle time to discuss emotions and P7 are doing circle time discussing their feeling about leaving the school.

Review of Place2Be – very positive and it delivers it’s promise of improved outcomes for learners. The staff feel it is great to have somewhere they can refer children to if they feel there is a problem.

Active Schools

 Angela is currently running a funky fun session with P1 and a couple of P2 (14 children). Cheerleading is being run again and is popular.  We currently have two parents trained in bikeability and Justin is getting trained.  It was felt that we should invite Gary Beardsworth to a future meeting to discuss other training options for parents. Chris will organize this.

Correspondance

Transfer of PC funds from school is done. Education Scotland Event – We would like parents to attend this event and we will resend the e-mail about the event asking for volunteers to attend. Mhairi Stratton kindly offered to drive volunteers to the event as she is attending. The PF will cover expenses. We would like volunteers that go to share what they learnt with the PF.

A.O.B.

Colin Beattie MSP – He is very experienced with Parent Councils and will always be happy to help us if he can. He can help promote the school and share the schools achievements by getting congratulations from the Parliament Chamber. We can contact him if we want tours of Parliament also. We will send him meeting dates and add him to our minutes list.

Cllr Currie – When the council discuss HMIE reports press are at the meeting so we can get good press about the school following the inspection. Councillors get 2 tickets for every meeting at Racecourse and some councillors give them away as raffle prizes. Wendy will contact our councillors to ask for raffle prizes for our Summer Fair.

Cllr Forrest – Can we close the path from Lytens? The tarmac area is school property but we need to check right of way status of the path before we can gate it off. Andy will update us on this at the next meeting.

Debbie – Colin Beattie in school on Friday for a visit. School choir selected to do part of choir singing at Olympic Torch procession through Musselburgh. A big honour for Wallyford.

Mhairi – on 6th & 7th June Linda McCann will be painting murals on the walls of the school. Volunteers are needed to help with preparation and painting. The flyer is on the PF Blog and facebook page.

3 Chris – Our last meeting for the current session is 20th June. We then have the August meeting before the AGM in September. Everyone is to start thinking of their current roles and any roles they might consider doing in the future.

Next Meeting: Wednesday 20th June 2012 at 6.30pm.

Minutes Approved

Signed ………………………………………. Chris Kelly Chair Date …………………..

4