Constitution
- Name: The name shall be "The British Association for Early Childhood Education – Aberdeen Branch.”
2.Aims:
To promote the aims and objects of the national Association.
3.Branch presidents and vice-presidents:
(a)There may be a president, who may be a director of education or another appropriate advocate for early childhood education and care.
(b)Vice-presidents of the branch may be appointed and drawn from those who it is deemed have made an outstanding contribution to early childhood education and/or the branch.
4.Officers and the branch committee:
(a)Will promote membership
(b)The branch will not operate any form of membership or subscription independently of that operated by Early Education at national level. National membership arrangements will allow members of the national organisation to designate the local branches with which they wish to be affiliated.
(c)Branch officers and committee members must be members of Early Education. Branch officers must either be individual members or the named member in a group membership.
(d)The officers of the branch shall be chairperson, secretary and treasurer, with either ex-chair or vice-chair as an executive officer. The officers shall be elected from members of the committee. Two branch representatives should be appointed.
(e)It is recommended that the chair shall hold office for a period of not more than five years.
(f)It is recommended that the secretary and treasurer shall hold office for a period of not more than five years.
(g)The committee shall consist of the officers and elected members. Every effort should be made to incorporate representatives of the local authorities, Early Years Partnerships, Health and Social Services, Early Years Scotland (EYS), FE tutors, Universities and other agencies as appropriate, all of whom shall have voting powers.
(h)The committee shall have the power to co-opt other persons, as and when required, for a specified purpose and period of time.
(i)Committee members shall normally serve for a period of between three to five years, but can be re-elected.
5.Annual General Meeting:
(a) It is recommended that the Annual General Meeting shall be held in months April –June in order that the accounts can be incorporated into the national audit.
(b) Members shall receive two weeks’ notice of the Aberdeen Branch Annual General Meeting.
(c) Resolutions and amendments for the Aberdeen Branch Annual General Meeting must be submitted, in writing, at least fourteen days before the meeting. A list of these must be distributed with notice of the Annual General Meeting to members. Amendments to these resolutions should then be forwarded to the secretary seven days before the Annual General Meeting.
(d) Every full member of the branch shall have the right to vote.
(e)Decisions shall be by a simple majority vote.
(f) Ten per cent of membership or twenty-five members, whichever is the smaller, shall constitute a quorum.
6.If 10 membersrequest a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Branch’s remit, the Branch shall arrange this, giving at least 2 weeks notice of such a meeting and providing a draft agenda of matters to be discussed.
7.The Aberdeen Branch will open a bank account in the name of the Branch for all its funds. Withdrawals will require the signature of the Treasurer.
8.The Branch will keep an accurate record of all income and expenditure, and will provide a summary of this for each meeting and a full account for the Annual General Meeting. The Branch accounts will be audited by the auditor appointed at the previous Annual General Meeting.
9.The Branch shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the British Association for Early Childhood Education.
10.If funds allow, suitable recompense will be provided to members attending National events.
11. In the event of the closure of the Aberdeen Branch any remaining funds should be sent to head office. The British Association for Early Childhood Education (Early Education) will hold all monies in trust.
June 2017