Minutes of School Board Meetings

Present: Keith Howell (Acting Chair), Margot Porter (Secretary),
  Lesley MacDavid (PTA Chair), Theresa Reville, Michael Prior, Barbara
                        Anderson, Donna Allen, Deborah Millan, Clare McCulloch, Gerry
                        O’Fee, Janet Dutch

Attending:  John Brown (Rector),  Campbell Hornell (Depute Rector),
  Declan Wilson (Head Boy), Eddie Haldane (Senior Student Council),
  Callum Tait (Senior Student Council)
          
1.   Apologies, welcome, introductions     

1.1  Apologies were received from Lesley Morrison, Amanda Kubie, Mary-Jane Parker, Brian Mahler (PT Enterprise), Jeanette Conalty (English teacher), Shelia MacKay and Emily Service.

1.2 Keith welcomed all to the meeting and reviewed the background for those who had not previously been involved. He commented that with those present and hoping to be involved in future, good coverage across the school year groups seemed likely to be achieved. Continuing interest from some prior School Board members would also allow a degree of continuity with previous School Board activities.  Those round the table then introduced themselves. 
   
2.   Feedback on first Parent Forum meeting 11th September  

2.1 The meeting on the 11th was briefly reviewed. It was good to see many of those present attending this first Parent Council meeting.
 
3. Membership of new Parent Council and post holders  

3.1 After discussion, it was agreed that Keith would take on the role of Chairman for this session, stepping down when his youngest daughter finished this her final year at the School. A Deputy Chair, to be chosen in due course, ideally from new members after a settling in period, with a view to becoming Chair in turn and enabling some longer term continuity. Anyone with an interest in this should feel free to raise this with Keith meanwhile.

Margot would take on the role of Secretary and Lesley McDavid would continue as PTA Chairman, both providing valuable continuity for the new Council.   The previous Board did not have a fund raising role so had no need of a Treasurer. As fund raising activities are likely to remain largely with the PTA, its current treasurer, Sheila MacKay will effectively cover the role for the new Council. Her attendance would not be required at all Council meetings if she provides account balance details through Lesley McDavid . 

As the new Parent Councils at schools across the Borders settle in, further guidance is likely to be forthcoming from SBC.

4. Future operation of Parent Council      

4.1 A suggested programme of meetings was circulated and agreed.  The next Parent Forum will be on Wednesday 24th October with a focus on S1 issues, followed by a Parent Council on Tuesday 13th November to follow up.        

4.2   Priorities for the 2007-8 session were discussed.  Topics brought forward from previous Board activities included PE facilities and various transport issues.

Conflicting messages have been received over possible improvements to the school's PE facilities and Keith agreed to contact Jackie Swanston, Head of Schools at SBC. 

As regards transport, topics included pressing for further improvements to the school buses and the Bus D. Although major steps forward have been taken as regards the quality of buses, a number of routes are still a cause for concern.  The plan for improvements to the Bus D is now with SBC planning department, the original plan having been put on hold because of concerns about changes to the visual environment.  The alternative proposals would mean children having to use a narrow walkway between parked buses which is not ideal.  Although the matter is now with the planning department, the Parent Council should maintain an interest in order to ensure the safety of pupils is maximised in whatever overall scheme is adopted. 

Local residents had objected to changes to the junction at the bottom of Springhill Road by the Coronation Tree, which had been put in place temporarily over the summer.  This is one of the main danger spots identified by the pupils, with traffic approaching from four different directions having to be negotiated.  Keith will write to SBC planning to emphasise the problems it causes and asking for the matter to be looked at again. 

Litter was identified as another priority area where parents can help by supporting the school in its anti-litter efforts.
 
4.3 Two standing committees had already been agreed, the PTA and a new Communication Group – see below.

4.4  A list of the other school working groups for 2007-8 was circulated at the meeting. The PTA will continue as before and the Communications group will be held in the evening to allow parents to attend.  Other groups, based on the School Improvement Plan, have already begun to meet during the school day to facilitate staff and pupil contributions.  However, parents are welcome to attend or be included in the correspondence if they wish. Keith asked if Parent Council members who would like to contribute to these working groups could indicate their preferences to him as soon as possible, ideally within the next week.

5. Rector’s update on key issues 

5.1 The Rector gave a brief update on key issues affecting the school.  In particular, he outlined staff changes which took place over the summer.   John asked the group if it would be helpful to have a written report such as he had previously provided for School Board meetings. It was agreed that brief notes covering just key highlights would be helpful in future.

6 Communication Group

6.1 Keith circulated a list of points (attached) that could be used as a starting point for discussions by the Communication Group.      

7 PTA

7.1 The PTA will continue its ongoing programme of events with its first meeting to follow the initial Student Council meeting at which funding requests would be prioritised.  Funds raised by the PTA will then be allocated to projects within the school taking into account the pupil preferences.  Other events and fund raising initiatives planned include 200 Club, Xmas raffle, a Quiz night, School Idol, car boot sale and coffee morning.  Lesley reported that last year's fund raising had been very successful with £6700 provided to various school projects.

8. Student Council   

8.1 Although the first meeting has still to take place, Keith reported that elections to the Student Council have taken place and year group representatives from each House and Senior Student Council elected.  At its first meeting the Student Council will decide its priorities which are likely to include litter, on which the school is planning a focus in the near future.     

9.    Meetings & correspondence             

9.1 Correspondence received included a Newsletter from the Scottish Parent Council Association, formed from the old Scottish School Boards Association.  A letter was also received from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council (a different body) stating that SBC had paid for insurance through them to give the Parent Councils insurance required to operate for the 2007/8 session.  An email from SBC recommended no further action on joining of national bodies until it became clear which was to be the prime representative body.

10.  Any other business

10.1 The shortage of lockers was mentioned –there are some difficulties in finding space for sufficient lockers for all pupils to have one each.  Concern was also expressed that bus pupils may be being given priority when they often have far less distance to walk that those living in the town.  John reassured that this was not the case.

10.2  Callum asked the Council if they had any ideas on refurbishment of the front hall of the school.  Several ideas were forthcoming, including signs to emphasise, office location and more photographs of pupils taking part in school activities. 

11.  Next meeting

1. Apologies

1.1 Apologies were received from Lesley Morrison, and Councillors Bhatia, Calvert, Norman, and Purves.  

2. Minutes of Last Meeting

2.1 The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.

3. Matters Arising

3.1 Parental Involvement: the current version of the Parent Council constitution is due to be sent to SBC soon.  When agreed- and indications are that SBC is content with the PHS approach - it will be circulated to all parents for approval.  Parents will be given 21 days to respond taking matters into the summer break.  It is therefore anticipated that a hand over meeting to the new council will take place early in the in the 2007-8 session.  The next school newsletter will bring parents up to date and the constitution will be placed on the school website.  Keith was thanked for all his efforts in putting it together.

4. Rector's Report 

4.1 The Board noted the Rector's report (copy attached). 

5. Parent Forum  7th March

5.1 Attendance at this forum (which addressed the Parental Involvement process) was again poor.   This does not bode well for the effective functioning of the new Parent Council and consideration will need to be given early on to how to increase interest from the parent body.

6.  Working Groups

6.1 Discussion concentrated on imaginative ways to involve parents in the work of the school.  Formal meetings might not be the best way to maximise their input, especially as these tend to take place during the day when many interested parents cannot attend. This will be discussed again at the next meeting.

7. Student Council

7.1  The last Student Council of the year will be held on Monday 30th April, with elections for next year's S2-6 taking place before the end of term. 

8. PTA

8.1 The next event of the year will be a car book sale in Kingsmeadows car park Saturday 5th May, followed by a coffee morning at the end of May. 

8.2 Lesley reported that the PTA had funded an electronic drum kit, sports equipment and transport for school events. Also the 200 Club continues to be a good money-spinner but more volunteers are needed for parents' evenings. It was agreed that the PTA should be advertised more widely through Parent Forum/Council evenings and at the P7 induction evening.  

9. Meetings and Correspondence

9.1 Correspondence included

- Various primary school board minutes
.
- Letter from Hawick High school relating to communications problems within SBC networks.

10.   Any other business/date of future meetings

13.1 Iona advertised the school production, The Little Shop of Horrors, to take place on 12th, 13th and 14th of June.  Tickets can be bought through her.

13.2 The Board discussed the school page in the Peeblesshire.  Those that had appeared were well received but have recently not been included.  John reported that it was hoped to put in an S3/4 pupil who would work under the supervision of a teacher who would help ensure deadlines were met.
 
13.2 The final Board meeting will be held on Monday 4th June, with the Parent Council taking over next session.  Suggested topics include the School Improvement Plan, how best to use parental expertise and plans for handover to the Parent Forum and Council, especially the setting up of a prototype Communications Sub-group.
 
 Peebles High School
School Board Meeting
Monday 23 April 2007
Rector’s Report

Curriculum Developments
 The timetable construction is almost complete with the vast majority of students being offered their courses.
 The Skills for Work courses continue to expand both in number and uptake.  216 students in S3 and S4 will be taking courses in Construction, Hairdressing and Engineering. Other vocational courses offered are horticulture and land-based studies.
 The project between the Physics department and the Department of Engineering at Heriot Watt is going well.  The science staff are also involved in a project with our associated primary schools - focussing on thinking skills.
 Senior students are continuing to work closely with EBS in Cavalry Park as part of the Virtual Technology Academy. They are doing the groundwork to develop a farmers’ market in Peebles.

SQA Examinations
 Large numbers of students took part in the Easter Revision classes which were held in the school.
 S4 study leave starts on Monday 30 April and will last for five weeks.
 S5/S6 study leave starts on Friday 4 May and will last for four weeks.
 A large team of invigilators, scribes and readers are now required to meet the needs of the individual students.  Major problems are being experienced in recruiting adult helpers.

School Improvement Plan
 The School Improvement Plan is in draft form and contains the priorities for next session.  
 Certain of these priorities have been based on the results of the surveys carried out with students, parents and staff earlier in the session.

Staff Changes
At the end of this term many long-standing members of the teaching staff will be retiring:
Jim Lyle, Principal Teacher of Art for 28 years.
Ken Simpson, Principal Teacher of Mathematics for 31 years.
Sandy Wood, Principal Teacher of Chemistry for 26 years
Liz Boag, Mathematics teacher for 27 years
Anne Derrick, Mathematics, Guidance teacher for 35 years
Meg McMillan, Mathematics teacher for 18 years.
Alan Morrison, English teacher for 27 years

Interviews will take place over the summer term for the above teaching posts as well as additional posts for teachers of English, Craft, Design & Technology, Business Studies and RME (Religious & Moral Education).

Iain Stewart, RME teacher has accepted a post as an Interfaith Officer, based in Glasgow for three days per week but he will remain in our RME Department for two days per week.

Also, there have been retirals from our support staff:
Sheila Horsburgh, Finance Officer for 17 years
Anne Parry, Reprographics Assistant for 31 years.

We wish the retiring members of staff all the best in the future.

Diane Brown has replaced Anne Parry as Reprographics Assistant.

Enterprise Activities
 Preparation for the third International Cultural Conference starts with the visit of 256 second year students to the Cardrona Hotel.   The hotel staff will choose around forty students to prepare and execute the conference.
 The Peebles High Street traders will be involved in the first year art project to design and produce a carrier bag which will be issued at the Beltane Festival.
 The S1 enterprise students have prepared packs for the primary pupils when they make their visit to the High School in June.
 We have been short listed for the Scottish Education Awards - for the most enterprising secondary school - and a panel of judges will visit the school on Tuesday 25 April.

International Developments
 A Canadian rugby team visited the school and played our U16 rugby team as part of their Scottish Tour.
 Students from our link schools in Sweden, Italy and France have all visited the school over the last four weeks.
 We hope to establish a school exchange with a school in Hendaye, Peebles twin town.

Other Activities
 Manor Church welcomed the sixth year students for the annual Easter service and all PHS students participated in a church service at the end of the Easter term where the theme was the abolition of slavery.
 The PTA School Idol was a great success.
 The Music Department Spring Concert takes place on Thursday 26 April.
 Prefects for next session are being chosen in the next few weeks.
 Nine sixth year students are taking a gap year to do voluntary work in Third World countries – India, Peru, Malawi, Fiji, Guyana, Peru and Zambia.
 The Eco-group has been informed that the adjudication panel will visit the school to judge whether we can be awarded the Green Flag.
 Litter continues to be a problem in the school – and the High Street and tennis courts! – despite the valiant effort of the Litter Squads.   As a result there will be two focus weeks in the summer term to highlight the need for our students to respect their school and town environments.
 Spotlight on Success – Edition 2 – will be published in the next few weeks.