Knox Academy

Parent Council

APPROVEDMINUTES

DATE:WEDNESDAY5 OCTOBER 2016

PRESENT:Caroline McKinnelVice-chairPSP member

Derek SimpsonParentPSP member

Kay BoylanParentPSP member

Andy McBainParentPSP member

Janette MiddlemassParentPSP member

Amanda HerriottParentPSP member

Calum BlairTeacherPSP member

Steve WandsSports Co-ordinatorPSP member

IN ATTENDANCE:Sarah InghamHead Teacher

Fiona DewarParent

Janette FairgrieveParent

Julie FlockhartParent

Colin HendersonParent

Caroline TaylorParent

Mandy HockeyParent

William McKayParent

Scott SutherlandParent

Tom TrotterLocal Councillor

John McMillanLocal Councillor

CalumLearmonthHead Pupil

Emma De CostaDepute Head Pupil

Georgia HerriottDepute Head Pupil

Liz SymeClerk

  1. Welcome and Apologies

Caroline McKinnel(Vice-chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were received from Louise Elder, Colin Dempster, Jon Hunton, Katrina Booth, Linda Bowen, Kim White and Provost Ludovic Broun-Lindsay.

  1. Minutes of Meeting of 31 August 2016

The Minutes of the last meeting were approved without change.

  1. Matters Arising from the Minutes & Action Points

Meeting areas

Mr Simpson spoke to pupils and the consensus is that they do not want allocated meeting areas. Pupils do not want to be secluded in rooms, preferring the freedom to roam. Georgia Herriott is setting up a committee to discuss using the social area.

Rugby hoodies

Steve Wands has spoken to parents and carers and different branded sportswear is being considered.

School budget

Ongoing.

  1. Chairperson’s Report

Parent Council meeting, Wednesday 2 November

The Parent Council has been invited to host its next meeting, on Wednesday 2 November, at Knox Academy, Meadowpark. This will give everyone a chance to visit the school.

John McMillan entered the meeting.

Recruitment

Parents have been involved in the recruitment of staff for Chemistry, English and Guidance. Some pupils were selected to take part in theinterviews for a Guidance teacher, and Louise Elder had commended theirinvolvement.

  1. Pupils’ matters

Community hub

CalumLearmonth is creating links with the community hub. He will be looking for volunteers for future events.

Dress Down day and bake sale

Emma De Costa is organising a Dress Down day on 28 October to raise funds for Knox Academy, Meadowpark. A bake sale is also being planned. Contributions for the bake sale would be very welcome, including a list of all ingredientsin case of allergies.

Leavers’ dance

Georgia Herriott has organised the venue for the Leavers’ dance, to be held at the Glasshouse at Eskmills. Deposits are due next Monday.

  1. Head Teacher’s Report

Staffing

Mrs Ingham spoke about staffing, includingstaff appointments in Biology and English.

News/updates

Head Teacher’s updates are posted on the school website.

Fire alarms

Parents enquired about the recent incidents of fire alarms being deliberately activated. Mrs Ingham said that this has been dealt with and emphasised the impact on the whole school having to evacuate the building, and the needless disruption to emergency services.

Assessment changes

The Scottish Government has announced changes to the mandatory unit assessments for National 5 and Higher exams. These unit assessments are to be removed and pupils’ grades will be determined by final exams,with coursework being marked externally. Once the format is agreed, the reforms will be introduced on a phased basis, with changes to National 5 implemented in 2017/18, changes to Higher in 2018/19, and for Advanced Higher in 2019/20. Mrs Ingham said the SQAhas started to plan and assess these changes, and will keep teachers informed.

Improvement Plan

The cluster schools are working together on Improvement Plans, looking at vision, value and aims. It is a concerted approach, looking to provide consistent value and aims for each school community. Mrs Ingham would like input from parents and carers.

Activities week 2017

It is not sustainable to provide more than three foreign trips next year for S2 and S3 pupils. Pupils have been asked to express interest in trips to PGL, Italy and Paris. Mrs Ingham is hoping there will be more battlefield trips next year.

  1. Curriculum

Mr Simpson said the Curriculum Group did not function well last year, so this year senior management will construct ideas and bring a group together to work on these. He will create a diagram demonstrating how this will work to show to the Parent Council.

  1. PTA Report

Caroline McKinnel reported that Louise Elder had attended the last PTA meeting and said the group is in need of new members.

Christmas dance

Caroline asked for volunteers to help at the school Christmas dance on Thursday, 15 December. Georgia Herriott said the Events Committee are also going to ask for parent help.

Burns Supper

The Burns Supper is to be held on Thursday, 26 January. There will be a Parent Council table, the same as last year.

Funds

The PTA has £6,500 in funds. Caroline asked for ideas on how this can be used to benefit the whole school.

  1. Staff Members’ Report

Dalguise trip

Mr Blair reported that the S6 Dalguise trip was a success, and he had received good feedback.

Google Expeditions

The computing department organised Google Expeditions in the school, which pupils thoroughly enjoyed.

Tracking and monitoring

Staff will be reviewing the format of tracking and monitoring reports during In Service day.

  1. Parents’ Matters

S1 classes

Andy McBain asked how classes are arranged in S1. Mr Simpson explained that there is a gender balance across all classes and P7 teachers and primary head teachers are involved in the planning. Children with additional support needs are placed across groups and, where possible, siblings are put in the same House. Friendship groups are no longer a factor in planning as this does not always work and sets up expectations for pupils and parents. If there is a need to move a pupil to a different class, this will be accommodated where possible.

S3 mock exams

Mrs Ingham said S3 pupils will be given the opportunity to sit mock exams.

S6 UCAS evening

Georgia Herriott felt it would be beneficial to S5 pupils to be invited to the S6 UCAS evening. Mrs Ingham said the UCAS evening concentrates on personal statements and SAAS, and there is concern that if S5 pupils attend this meeting too early, they may not attend the evening when they move in to S6. Consideration will be given for staff to flag up more information to S5 pupils.

  1. Any Other Business

Tracking and monitoring reports

Kay Boylan asked about tracking and monitoring reports and the consistency in working grades. In some cases, higher grades are given in subjects where pupils have already taken tests, meaning grades given in subjects where a pupil has not been tested is not a true gauge on how a pupil is performing. Mr Simpson explained that the SEMIS database system usedis quite rigid and it is sometimes difficult to monitor information effectively. Also, some courses are skills based. Mr Blair said he would welcome feedback from parents and carers and this will be looked at during the next In Service day to help refine the system.

  1. Date of Next Meeting

2 November 2016–Please note this meeting is to be held at Knox Academy, Meadowpark, at 6.15pm.

Future meeting dates:

7 December 2016

18 January 2017

1 March 2017

26 April 2017

31 May 2017

All meetings are held in the School Library at 6.15pm. All parents and carers are welcome to attend.

Action Points / Who / When
School Business Manager update on budget / BS / 7 December