BELMONT ACADEMY PARENT COUNCIL

Minutes of Meeting

Wednesday 30th March 2016

Present: Sue Beattie; Graeme McLean; Lindsay Pollock; Margo Cathcart; Julie McTaggart; Joanne Bishop (minutes); Jayne Stevenson; Elise Girvan; Janice Lindsay; Jill Ross;

1. Apologies : Russell Phillips; Lindsay Andersson; Emma Smart; Michelle Muir; Chris Rodden; Andrea Kirkhope; Pamela Gray; Penny Galloway; Kirsty Darwent

2. Minutes of Last Meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting were not reviewed but deferred to the next meeting.

  1. Treasurer’s Report
    Russell was absent but had advised there was no change to the accounts this month.
  1. Head Teacher Report
  • Sue stated that there was a level of anxiety about the recent under performance in the prelims. The 666 model is now bedded in and whilst there is one period less a week for Higher lessons this meets the SQA hours for teaching and the issues are perhaps just a case of getting used to the new model. Sue has spoken to a few Principal Teachers all of whom had finished course work and were up to date in advance of the forthcoming exams.
    One thing that had been highlighted when speaking to pupils is their attitude to Prelims and the fact that they do not necessarily take them seriously. Although Prelims occur two thirds of the way through the course, they are still good preparation for the exams and are used for benchmarking and tracking. Principal Teachers will use these results to sign off option choices. A page will be included in the Newsletter regarding the Prelims.
  • An Easter Revision school will take place during the break for S4/5/6 pupils.
  • The Ayrshire Post had this week published figures for the Top 50 schools putting Belmont at 31. However Sue felt that these figures were misleading as the Ayrshire Post was using a different set of statistics and only measuring the children leave school rather than using data as a cohort. This therefore did not look good for Belmont in comparison to other schools. Sue felt that this report gave no account to the size of the school or that 15% of pupils receive free school meals. Janice stated that she felt that treating children as individuals was more important than league tables.
  • Sue informed the meeting that efficiency savings are to be made which will essentially mean the loss of two members of staff as well as affecting the Developing Young Workforce and the smaller class sizes. Sue has kept a bit of capacity for English and Maths and hopes to keep class sizes smaller especially in S1 and S2.
    In total, savings of £168,000 must be made between South Ayrshire schools with one of the proposals that Belmont and Prestwick each lose a Depute and the rest of the savings made between the remaining schools. All schools were invited to submit alternative proposals to ensure meeting the savings. The final decision regarding which areas are to be cut has not yet been made and teachers and the Union are involved in a working group which are currently looking at this. Sue feels that Belmont are vulnerable given that John Dunlop has retired. Not replacing this post would be detrimental to House Teams, Assemblies, attainment, tracking, praise and reward, etc which would have to be dismantled. The office administration is already down to the bone with overtime being paid, the librarian is reduced to 3 days and half a technician has been lost. Further reductions in the Technicians service is being discussed. The current IT Technician has a heavy workload and carries out all the upgrading, refreshing etc during the school holidays.
    Janice asked if all of the above was public knowledge and what could be done about it. For instance should parents be going to the Councillors to voice their concerns. Margo asked if it was appropriate for the Parent Council to raise their concerns through an official note.
  • Sue advised that options had been chosen for the new timetable and that this too may be affected by the savings which have to be made as teacher reductions may mean Guidance Teachers having to take classes. Jill asked about the restriction on the timetable with regard to pupil’s who don’t wish to take any of the subjects offered in a column. Sue spoke about the difficulties of giving all 240 pupils their first choice and took on board that there can be restrictions although Belmont being a large school does offer more flexibility. However, she advised that pupils should speak to staff as there should be opportunities to cross over or swap.
  1. Any Other Business
  • Fundraising - A discussion took place over whether it would be possible to hold a summer fete. It was agreed that this would not be possible in May or June due to exams, etc. It was felt that perhaps October or November would be a better time to hold an event and a fashion show, race night or quiz night were suggested as alternatives. The recent Sport Relief cycle had been a huge success raising £4,200 for Sport Relief with relatively little effort. More ideas to be discussed at a future date.

Meeting ended.