Minutes from PFA meeting held 01 June 2022
Attendance
Present: Ashley Young (AY), Cally Philips (CP), Ellie Moriarty [Treasurer] (EM), Gill Be (GB), Gillian McGregor (GM), Joanna Stewart (JS), Katherine Lymer [Chair] (KL), Louise Buglass (LB), Mandi Wright (MW), Rachel Davidson (RD), Rachel Hendry (RH), Tracey Dick (TD)
Apologies: Melanie Knox [Head Teacher] (MK), Andrea Thacker (AT), Trevor Smith (TS), Adele Richardson (AR)
Meeting
Welcome, apologies and introductions
KL explained that due to ill health, MK was unable to make this meeting, so unfortunately there was no school representative.
Letter to SBC: Update from JS
Following JS’s letter to SBC concerning the physical condition of the school, the three-school leadership model and use of temporary contracts, Michelle Strong and Gillian Mackenzie (from SBC), met with MK and parents JS, TS, TD and EM in school on 23 May 2022.
Prior to this meeting, MK was able to confirm that the teachers for the new session would all be permanent, except for the temporary maternity cover.
The poor state of the school was acknowledged by all, and plans for a complete refurbishment of the school (including new paint, carpets, tiles and blinds) were made for the summer holidays. There was also discussion about the general cleanliness of the school.
SBC confirmed that they are reviewing the management structure for three school model, and PTs in each school are being reviewed across all SBC schools.
JS was thanked for leading this joint effort between school, SBC and the wider community (including local councillors). However, it was acknowledged that long-term plans for dealing with the continuing expansion of the school (e.g. due to new influx to the area) remained unclear.
Communication
MK was thanked for the monthly newsletters and advance calendars, both of which are helpful at keeping families informed of past, current and future plans. However, some families felt let down by the lack of responses to their individual emails and phone calls.
Action
Although the PFA is unable to represent individuals, this general concern was noted to be passed on to MK.
PFA meetings
The difficulties in finding a time to meet to suit all parties were acknowledged and various options – including evenings at 7pm and Friday mornings – were discussed, perhaps in rotation.
Action
It was agreed that the Minutes would be sent out by the school (email/Xpressions) and also put on the school website to ensure open communication with all families, regardless of their availability to attend in-person meetings.
Concerns
Individual concerns were raised regarding specific elements of the school day such as lining up to enter the school, noise levels in classrooms, loss of art work.
Action
It was agreed that these comments would be reported to MK and she would contact the families involved and feed back wider information to the whole school when relevant.
Handbook
The school handbook that was recently issued to parents had a lot of incorrect information which was confusing. Several members of the PFA offered to help support the production of the handbook in the future.
Action
KL to feed back to MK list of amendments.
PFA Secretary position
RH and AY volunteered to be co-secretaries.
Fundraising
There was widespread optimism about the new school year with PFA members developing a more structured fundraising plan. It was discussed that having two or three key events in the year for families to support may work best so that people knew when they would be happening each year i.e. Halloween, Christmas, spring, Sports Day. This was followed by plans to form a group to lead a bake sale and tombola event on sports day.
Action
To be discussed at next meeting.
Treasurer’s report
£508.92 in the bank. £31.88 currently ringfenced for library books. Hoodies will be about £18/child next year – there are c.20 next year. Excluding hoodies and library books, we have around £100.
P7 library book dedications
Action
KL to contact MK ASAP to discuss.
Sports Day Plans
Ice cream for children at 14:45, big thank you to JS and Giacopazzi’s! Bake sale on day 9:45–12:00 and 13:30 onwards.
School photos
Questions were raised about the school photos, specifically the format and photographers used. Could a local professional photographer be hired rather than a generic company?
Action
To discuss next meeting.
Next meeting
17:15, Wednesday 21 September 2022, Ayton PS
Agenda
- Head teacher’s school update and monthly calendar from school
- Handbook update
- Volunteering in school (after school activities?)
- School garden/outdoor learning update
- School photographer options
- Fundraising plans
- Wish list: Work with school staff and pupils to make list of items needed
- 50/50 draw: What is happening with this? A Fundraising Lead to take on?
- P7 hoodies and books dedication to be arranged in advance of the last term
- Ayton Resilience Group plans
- Treasurer’s update
- Time and date of next meeting (AGM)