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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Present: Mike Battcock, Ian Gibson, Sarah Thomson, Euan Foster, Susan Crawford, Jan Wilson,
Mohammed Shahid, Gordon Reid, Graham McFarlane, Alison Anderson, Richard Phelan,
Allan Hogarth, Russell Newham, Fowzia Naeem, Jabeen Muhammad, Irene McNeilage,
Lorraine Allan, Fiona Beattie, Oonagh Robin, Carol Shields
Megan Sangster (Minute Secretary)
Apologies: Councillor Jim Fletcher, Liz Shaw, Lorraine Kirk, Colin Grant, Alison O’Hara
1. Welcome
Mike B opened the meeting and welcomed all members of the Parent Council and Parent Forum.
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes required no amendments and were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
This was proposed by Gordon Reid and seconded by Lorraine Allan.
3. Matters Arising
The PC Communication Event which was scheduled for Thursday 3 September 2009 was postponed to
later in the school year due to a lack of response from flyers issued to parents. A suitable date for the
event will be discussed at the next PC meeting. Gordon R requested, if possible, to be notified by email of
any future cancellations of such events. Mike B agreed for this to be done.
4. Chairperson Report
Mike B distributed the Woodfarm Parent Council Annual Report for all members to view (attached as
Annex 1). He reflected on the success of this year’s Parent Council, which has met 6 times, twice a term,
with good attendance, including that from local councillors.
Mike B explained that prior to the February 2009 meeting, Roddy Mungall resigned as Chairperson of the
Parent Council and as a result Mike B took up the position. Mike B has thanked Roddy on behalf of all
members for his hard work as Chairperson of the PC.
He briefly explained the main areas the Parent Council were involved in during the year. The
Communications Sub Group organised a Parents Information Evening to be held in September this year
but due to a poor response from parents, this was postponed to later in the year. It was confirmed that PC
Andy Davis, PC Mike Greville, Fiona Johnston (staff) and John Kelly (staff) were to present talks on Drug
Awareness and the Implications of Modern Information and Communication Technologies.
External speakers from Positive Coaching Scotland (PCS) attended the March 2009 meeting, to provide
Parent Council members with information regarding PCS’s aim and how parents can help them to achieve
these aims.
The Parent Council were invited to and attended a school in-service day in February 2009 to allow the
implications of Curriculum for Excellence to be further clarified. The Parent Council were also involved in
the recruitment process for the appointment of a new Deputy Head Teacher to replace Robert Smith.
At every meeting Ian G would provide a Head Teacher Report explaining progress, achievements and
performance in the school for parental information.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
The Constitutional Sub Group had been formed to develop the Parent Council Constitution.
Throughout the year suggested amendments to the Constitution were discussed and agreed upon at PC
meetings. Mike B distributed the amended Constitution for ratification. It was highlighted that the Sub-
Heading “Giffnock Primary Parent Council Constitution” should be changed to “Woodfarm High School
Parent Council Constitution.” Apart from this, the Constitution required no additional amendments.
This was proposed by Graham McFarlane and seconded by Allan Hogarth.
5. Treasurer Report
As Liz S, Treasurer, was unable to attend the meeting, Mike B reported on her behalf. He explained there
was little to report on the budget. The Burns Supper held in January this year neither made a profit or a
loss. There is currently £300 in the account in addition to the amount managed directly by the school.
Ian G stated that the balance has remained constant for the 3 years the PC has been running.
6. PTA Chairperson Report
As Colin G, PTA Chairperson, was unable to attend the meeting, Mike B reported on his behalf. Mike B
highlighted the success of the Burns Supper held on Friday 30 January 2009 and as a result, another Burns
Supper has been scheduled for Friday 29 January 2010. Mike B stated that Colin G should be contacted if
any PC members wished to volunteer to help on the night. Mike B also highlighted the opportunity for
two speakers on the night, one for “the Address to the Haggis” and another for the “Immortal Memory.”
If interested, Colin G should be contacted.
7. Resignation of Office Bearers and Subsequent Nominations
Mike B explained that anyone in the Parent Forum can become a member of the Parent Council. The
Parent Council has gained 5 new members: Mohammed Shahid, Allan Hogarth, Irene McNeilage, Fowzia
Naeem and Jabeen Muhammad. Mike B welcomed the new members to the PC.
Mike B is the current Chairperson of the PC and this was unchanged. Similarly, Colin G is the Vice
Chairperson and he to, remained in office. However, Liz S wished to resign as Treasurer but to remain as
a member of the PC. Mike B explained the role of the Treasurer, and consequently Lorraine A accepted
the position. This was proposed by Oonagh Robin and seconded by Graham McFarlane.
Mike B also reported that the PC Accounts have to be audited by the end of October. It was explained
that no PC members can audit these. Ian G requested members to suggest someone who would be willing
to audit the accounts. He explained if this was not possible, the maths department may be assigned the
task as they have engaged in this role in the past. Mohammed S agreed to contact a potential auditor and
will report back at the next PC meeting if the contact would be willing to take on this role.
8. Head Teacher Report
Ian G reported that the Government has requested all Head Teachers to consider the implications of how
the school would respond to a potential outbreak of Swine Flu. On Thursday 17 September and Friday 18
September from 11.30am to 12.30pm, a sub-section of staff and trade union representation will meet to
discuss the government document sent to Ian G regarding Swine Flu. Ian G invited any PC member to
attend the discussion to provide a parental perspective on the issues raised. Ian G expressed the
importance of gaining parents email addresses and mobile numbers as this would allow quick
communication in emergencies regarding their child. If a pandemic struck which resulted in school
closure, the school needs to be prepared to ensure education continues. Ian G has considered the use of
electronic education through email and the school website or for those who do not have access to the
internet, a drop off service could be provided. Ian G stated he would be grateful if PC members could
consider how this information be distributed without raising unnecessary alarm and discuss suggestions at
the next PC meeting.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Ian G displayed a list of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT). He explained that this year, the school
currently has 859 young people, however it was estimated that intake would be 833 pupils. Ian G stated
this was partly due to the increased number of 5th and 6th year pupils staying on in school to further their
education. As a result, there is a total of 68 staff, 17 of which are NQTs. This year the school have sadly
lost valuable staff expertise due to retirement.
Ian G explained that staff member Fiona Clyne has been promoted to DHT for Development. This role
involves examining the government idea of introducing a baccalaureate based unit for pupils in the upper
school (6th Year) – combining two subjects such as Maths and Physics into a small project. The position
also involves considering the needs of young people who may have difficulty with the set school
curriculum.
Ian G explained steps have been taken in the recruitment process for the appointment of the new DHT to
replace Robert Smith. Jan W, Ian G and a DHT from St Ninians were involved in this process. There
were 31 applicants for the post, 6 of which were leated. From this, a further 3 withdrew for personal
reasons. The remaining 3 were interviewed; however they did not meet the quality of candidate required
for the post. As a result the position will be re-advertised on 18 September 2009 and interviews will be
held on 4 November 2009. In the meantime, Ian G reported that there is an acting DHT in place.
Ian G explained that for this year, a management saving of £42,000 has to be made.
Ian G displayed a table of Former Pupils who attended Strathclyde University, illustrating their success in
degree programmes. Ian G stated that it would be of interest to find out how other former pupils progress
in other Universities also.
Next, Ian G displayed graphs detailing departmental results for 4th and 5th year pupils. Ian G explained
that last years 5th Year pupils who sat Highers were the smallest year group in Woodfarm in the last 15 years
with only 136 pupils. Last year, Woodfarm was the 9th best school in Scotland. However this year,
Woodfarm was not as successful but would still gain a good position.
Jabeen W asked the procedure followed if a child in 4th year does not meet the requirements to be able to
sit an Intermediate 2 exam. Ian G explained the curriculum is split into 3 levels (Access, Intermediate 1
and Intermediate 2) so the child would be encouraged to sit a less demanding level rather than not
participate in any exam at all. Ian G then displayed a graph showing Woodfarms position in relation to
other ERC schools. Mike B reflected that last year there were graphs showing Woodfarm in relation to
other schools sharing a similar socio economic position. Ian G agreed to share these graphs with the
Parent Council if he received them from the local authority.
Ian G then provided an extensive table of achievements of Woodfarm pupils which are recognised under
the government’s RARA (Recognising Achievement and Raising Attainment) initiative. He highlighted
that citizenship is becoming a main aspect in the education of young people.
9. AOCB
Irene M, who is also a member of Giffnock Primary PC, suggested it might be useful for a cluster meeting
to be held with associated primary school PCs. Ian G agreed to this proposal and Mike B agreed to
contact the Chairpersons of each school to arrange this.
Allan H expressed concern that 1st Year pupils have limited access, if at all, to lockers. Ian G explained
that lockers were allocated to the top of the school first and are gradually becoming available to the lower
school. Ian G explained that the issue is more to do with space than a lack of funding.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Fiona B raised the issue of limited seating at lunchtime in the street area. Ian G suggested when the area
was initially built, its capacity was estimated for approximately 750 pupils. However, Woodfarm has
approximately 100 more pupils than this. Ian G also stated attempts are being made to address the issue
by opening the assembly hall to accommodate more pupils during the peak times e.g. lunch.
Oonagh R requested future ERC interview training opportunities (these are used to assist with the recruitment of
DHT and HT posts.) Ian G asked who would be interested in attending these training sessions. 5 PC
members highlighted interest. Jan W stated that she personally knew one of the trainers and agreed to
speak with them regarding the possibility of future training. Oonagh R also highlighted that a local
location for the training would be preferable.
10. Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 8 October 2009 at 7pm in the Conference Room.
The next AGM will be held on Thursday 9 September 2010 at 7pm in the Conference Room.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Woodfarm High School Parent Council
Annual Report
10 September 2009
Parent Council Meetings
1. There has been a good attendance (including local councillors) at the regular Parent
Council meetings on:
28 August 2008
9 October 2008
13 November 2008
11 December 2008
19 March 2009
14 May 2009
Constitutional Sub Group
2. The Parent Council set up a working group to develop the constitution. The working group
circulated suggested changes to the Constitution which were discussed and agreed by the
Parent Council in December. This final draft of the Constitution (attached as Annex 1) is
now ready for ratification at this AGM.
3. Prior to the February meeting, Roddy Mungall resigned as Chair which resulted in Mike
Battcock becoming the Chair and Colin Grant, Vice Chair. The Parent Council expressed
and sent their thanks to Roddy for all of his work establishing the Parent Council.
PTA Sub Group
4. The PTA held a Burns Supper on Friday 30 January 2009. The night was a great success
and another Burns Supper is planned for next year on Friday January 29, 2010. The PTA
would like as many people as possible to help on the day/night. Colin has most of the
speakers in place but still missing speakers for the “Address to the haggis” and the
“Immortal memory”. So if anyone fancies having a go, please contact Colin.
Communication Sub Group
5. The Communications sub group worked on parent information evenings. In 2007-08, an
Internet Safety Evening was held and although poorly attended, proved to be a success
with those who did attend. The Committee has planned an information evening on drug
awareness (to be presented by PC Andy Davis, Campus Officer at Mearns Castle High
School) and the implications of modern information and communication technologies (to
be presented by PC Mike Greville, Campus Officer at Woodfarm High School, Fiona
Johnston, Woodfarm School and John Kelly, Woodfarm School. This was planned for
September but has been postponed to later in the school year.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Head Teacher Report
6. At every Parent Council meeting Ian Gibson, the Head Teacher (or a representative)
would inform the Parent Council of the progress, achievements and performance of the
school. This included
The Curriculum for Excellence scheme. With the imminent introduction of the new
“Curriculum for Excellence”, Ian Gibson has used the opportunity of his regular
presentation to keep the Parent Council fully informed of the changes and implications
of the introduction of the new curriculum. The curriculum will not just be about
teaching and informing, instead it will be focused on encouraging children to learn.
Woodfarm has always been very keen to use modern information technology to its full
effect. Fiona Johnston and John Kelly explained how the school‟s effective use of IT
as a whole as well as individual departmental usage. This included exciting areas
such as the impact on pastoral care, website analysis and the use of Activote for
interactive learning.
School exam results: Ian presented detailed analysis of the very impressive school
exam results.
School enrolment: for the first time ever, 190 potential First Year pupils have applied
despite the school only being able to accommodate 160.
Ian highlighted the new Recognising Achievement and Attainment scheme and the
results of the pupil survey highlighted
The draft School Improvement Plan for 2009 -2010 was presented at the last
meeting.
External Speakers
7. Tommy Boyle and Ian Pye delivered a short presentation on Positive Coaching Scotland
(PCS). They explained the PCS‟s aim to change the culture of sport to ensure all children
enjoy sport and feel like „winners.‟
In-service Day
8. Parent Council members were invited and attended an In-service day on 13th February
2009 to gather additional information on Curriculum for Excellence with presentations on
“literacy”, “numeracy”, “expressive arts”, “health and wellbeing”.
Mike Battcock, Chair, Parents Council
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Annex 1
t Co
r en u nc
Pa il
Woodfarm High School
Parent Council
Constitution
The name of the constituted body will be the Woodfarm High School Parent Council,
hereinafter called the Parent Council. The Parent Council is representative of the Parent
Forum which is, for the avoidance of doubt, defined in the Scottish Schools (Parental
Involvement) Act 2006 in this way: “All parents who have a child attending a public school, in
this case Woodfarm High School, are automatically members of the Parent Forum.”
Functions
The Parent Council is established in accordance with the Scottish Schools (Parental
Involvement) 2005 Act, hereinafter called the Act. Its functions are as described in the Act
and are, in brief, to:
support school management to improve the quality of education which the school
provides, and develop to their fullest potential the personality, talents and mental and
physical abilities of the pupils attending the school;
develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of pupils;
promote contact between the school, the Parent Forum, prospective parents and the
community;
report on the Parent Council activities to the Parent Forum at least annually;
identify and represent the views of the Parent Forum;
comply with any reasonable request made to it by the Head Teacher or by the Education
Authority for information relating to its exercising of those functions.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
Membership
Full membership of the Parent Council will be open to:
Members of the Parent Forum who attend the AGM or who indicate their interest prior to
the AGM;
Insert here information about the numbers of members referring to an addendum defining
maximum membership numbers which are related to the school roll;
members co-opted by the current members of the council.
In multi-denominational schools, co-opted members may represent denominational groups,
however, the Council will have due regard to the cultural and religious diversity of the school
population in co-opting such members. Membership will terminate four years from
appointment, or when a parent‟s youngest child leaves the school, or when a member gives
notice of resigning position. In the event of a vacancy arising during a full member‟s term, the
Parent Council may co-opt the required number of members until the next AGM.
Officers
a) Only a person who is a member of the school‟s Parent Forum may chair the Parent
Council.
b) The Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and any other honorary officers will be elected at the
Annual General Meeting and when elected should hold office until the next Annual
General Meeting.
Committees
The Parent Council may appoint such special or standing committees as it deems necessary
and will determine their terms of reference, powers, duration and composition. All
proceedings of such special committees will be reported to the Parent Council.
Meetings of the Council
a) All meetings of the Parent Council are open to all members of the Parent Forum and to
the public, however, the Parent Council (including the Head Teacher), has the right to
meet in private during discussion of any matter which the Parent Council considers
should be dealt with on a confidential basis.
b) Individual cases relating to pupils, teachers or parents at the school are not matters for
direct Parent Council involvement.
c) The Head Teacher has both a right and a duty to attend Parent Council meetings or to be
represented at a Council meeting.
d) There will be an Annual General Meeting of the Parent Council in September.
e) Notice of all meetings should be made at least two weeks in advance of the meeting to
all members and to the Parent Forum and should be notified in as many different formats
as possible. As a general rule, subject to circumstances, these meetings will be held
during the school year at 7pm on the second Thursday of each month at Woodfarm High
School.
f) The quorum will be one quarter of the membership, providing that the number of co-
opted members in the quorum does not exceed the number of parent members who are
present.
g) Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each full member at the meeting will
have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie.
h) Minutes of all Parent Council meetings will be published on the school web-site once
they have been approved by the Parent Council.
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Minutes of Woodfarm High School Parent Council AGM
10 September 2009
i) The Parent Council may, by giving appropriate notice, hold an Extraordinary General
Meeting (EGM) if important matters requiring Parent Forum consent require ratification
by the Parent Forum in advance of the AGM. Consent may also be obtained through
other voting system (e.g. postal) on important matters.
Finance
The Council may raise funds by any legal means, other than borrowing, and may expend
these sums to carry out its functions at its discretion and in line with appropriate legislation.
a) The Council may receive gifts.
b) The treasurer will ensure that proper accounts are kept.
c) An auditor, who should not be a member of the Parent Council, shall be appointed at the
Inaugural General Meeting and thereafter at the Annual General Meeting.
d) An audited annual statement of accounts shall be presented to the Annual General
Meeting and circulated to the Parents Forum.
Review of the Constitution
The Council may review and amend its constitution at the Annual General Meeting, but only
with the agreement of majority of the Parent Forum members present at an AGM or EGM.
Dissolution of the Council
Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining funds will be passed to the Education
Authority to be used for the benefit of the school.
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