SSBA Annual Report 1998/99

Introduction - TOWARDS 2000

The new Scottish Parliament is about to begin its business and we wait to see how it will influence and take forward education in Scotland in the new Millennium. Education must move forward and I hope the new Parliament will take time to review and take stock of where we are at present and then set out a clear agenda for the future.

The role of parents in education and the part they can play in raising standards is now well recognised but we are still a long way away from realising the full potential of parents in this process. School Boards are now well established in Scottish Education and, when working in conjunction with the Headteacher and staff of a school, can be very effective. There are still many School Boards however who require training in the basic aspects of the workings of a Board and the SSBA will continue to offer its training courses both through Education Authorities and to School Boards direct.

It is pleasing to note that Higher Still is at last about to start. I have been involved with this initiative virtually since its inception; initially through the Higher Still Development Unit's Curriculum and Assessment Group and presently with the Higher Still Liaison Group. It is long overdue and it will provide our children with a greater range of more meaningful qualifications after Standard Grades.

I am delighted that the Furbie Foundation is now up and running. A great deal of work has been involved with this by all concerned and we are now getting refurbished computers with a three year warranty into schools for the benefit of the children. The scheme is being administered by the SSBA but is a separate legal entity in its own right.

We have had another busy year in the SSBA and I look forward to next year with confidence and optimism for education. There will be new challenges and we must look forward to playing a full part in raising standards and achievements to even greater heights.

David Hutchison President SSBA

1999 Annual Report by David Hutchison - President

1. Membership

Membership of SSBA has risen dramatically over the past year. Paid membership currently stands at 1358 compared with 986 last year. 263 outstanding invoices brings this years membership total to 1621.

2. Group Members

Education Authorities are offered group membership of the Association. They pay for all of their Boards to join at the same time thus saving money and administration time not only for themselves but for SSBA. Savings are approximately £10 per Board. Most Education Authorities write to their Boards indicating that they have decided to take out group membership for all the authorities School Boards. The option to 'opt-out' of this arrangement is also offered to the Boards.

The following Councils are currently group members of SSBA:

3. Executive Board Members

Executive Board members have met together on 5 occasions during the past year bringing your concerns to the attention of others and discussing and commenting on the various consultation documents. 20 Executive Board members will continue until the 2000 AGM but we have vacancies in 12 authorities due to members resigning mostly because their children have left school. The current situation is as follows:

Currently represented:

Vacancies exist in:

4. ICT - 2000 and Beyond

This exciting national conference on Information and Communications Technology in Education is being organised jointly by S SBA and East Ayrshire Council and will be held in Kilmarnock on Saturday 1^st September 1999.

Speakers at the conference will include Stewart Robertson of the SOEID Superhighways Unit and Russell Prue of Research Machines Ltd.

Stewart is "the" person to talk to about the National Grid for Learning and about what is happening and what is planned for schools in Scotland in the 21st century.

David Hutchison. President of SSBA met Russell in Stockholm at a conference on ICT. Russell will be presenting a piece entitled "Bringing Learning to Life". This exciting and highly entertaining presentation will focus on how ICT is influencing and will influence pupils, parents and teachers. This is a presentation not to be missed.

5. School Board Training

School Board training has been delivered throughout Scotland during the past year. Most of the Education Authorities have been supportive and we continue to provide training in partnership with the Authorities where they do not provide their own. A new round of training is planned for autumn 1999 and spring 2000 when the new School Boards will be up and running. We are delighted to say that during the past year we provided training in Aberdeenshire for the first time and it was particularly well received.

Courses on offer at present include:

• Powers, Responsibilities and Partnership
• Effective Meetings
• Effective Communications
• School Board Training for Councillors
• Appointment of Senior Staff

Courses being piloted at the moment include School Board training for Headteachers and Teacher Members of School Boards. There is very little take up on these courses and this is disappointing. We ran courses in partnership with COSLA and most of these were well received although we did have a problem with the course run for Headteachers when the tutor delivered the wrong material. We have apologised to the Headteachers in question and they will be offered a place at the next training course. However, where these have been run successfully we have had good feedback on the content of the courses. There is definitely no one better for giving constructive criticism than Headteachers and teachers!

6. Problem Solving Service

This service is now one of the main functions of the office and keeps the staff very busy. Enquiries range from questions about the legislation, how to get rid of Board members, school discipline, appointment of staff, complaints against staff, education authorities and even parents. However, the biggest problem we deal with at present is bullying. We have never had a call from a child but we hear regularly from parents who don't know where to go for advice. More often than not they have already approached the school and have been told by the Headteacher or teacher "We don't have a bullying problem in our school".

We approached the Scottish Office for funding for this service last year and unfortunately we were turned down. However, 1 am pleased to say that they seem to have recognised the problem and have set up a new unit under the leadership of Professor Pamela Munn. We have agreed to join the Advisory Committee.

7. SSBA Accommodation

The offices in Newall Terrace, Dumfries continue to be given free of charge by Dumfries and Galloway Council. We operate the school year (Dumfries and Galloway) and normal opening hours are 9 - 5. Visitors are always welcome.

8. SSBA Representation on National Bodies

a) Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum
- Ann Hill and Donald Urquhart

b) General Teaching Council
- David Hutchison

c) Scottish Qualifications Authority
- Ann Hill

d) Scottish Qualification for Headship
- David Hutchison

e) National Consumer Council Forum on Education
- Roger Ward

f) Higher Still Liaison Group
- David Hutchison

g) Scottish Schools Ethos Network Award Panel
- David Hutchison

h) Scottish Office Working Group on Refurbished Computers
- Ann Hill, David Hutchison and Fred Harrison

i) Scottish Office Friends Against Bullying
- Ann Hill

j) Furbie Foundation
- David Hutchison, Fred Harrison, Alan Smith

k) Education for Work and Enterprise Advisory Group - National Centre
- Joanne Beaumont

l) Scottish Office Transport Group
- Ann Hill

9. The Furbie Foundation

Three Executive Board members have become Board members of The Furbie Foundation, a charity set up in partnership between SSBA, ScottishPower, the Bank of Scotland, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, Headteachers Association of Scotland, Professional Association of Teachers, Scottish Consumer Council and which is administered by SSBA. The Board is chaired by David Jones of ScottishPower and Arm Hill has taken on the role of Chief Executive alongside her similar role in S SBA.

The sale of refurbished computers at very low prices is possible because the computers are donated by companies who are upgrading to larger computers. The computers are no more than three years old and meet the proposed specification from the Government Working Group of which SSBA is a member.

The "Furbie No. 1 " newsletter is now out in schools and plans for issue No. 2 are well under way. These were sent to all schools in Scotland.

10. "GRAPEVINE" - School Board / Parent / Teacher / Community Newsletter

The format of Grapevine has changed and it is now produced in colour. Comments have been favourable.

Grapevine has been produced four times this year with contributions from a variety of sources. The distribution has remained consistent at 20,000 copies. School Boards and PTAs continue to tell us that they would like to buy copies for all of their parents but can't afford to do so because of their small budget allowance. The four issues have covered subjects such as - Refurbished Computers in Schools, Special Educational Needs, Children's Traffic Club, Save the Children/SSBA 'Dunblane Ribbon Appeal', School Board Training, Meeting with Helen Liddell the Education Minister, Modern Languages, Crannog - assessment and support services for children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, Scottish Qualification for Headship, Bullying and the SSBA Problem Solving Service, Nursery Education, Absence due to school holidays, Ethos Network, PTA or School Board. (Back copies are still available on request).

182 schools currently buy Grapevine for their parents and teachers.

11. Sponsorship and Advertising

Advertising in Grapevine has been successful. To date we have kept it to the back page only. The Scottish Office continue to pay for copies of Grapevine to go to schools who are not members of SSBA.

Sponsorship is sought from a great many sources, however, not very often successfully. We are currently considering advice from a 'professional fundraiser', but they cost money so it's a never ending circle.

12. Safe School Trips

Earlier this year we were contacted by Strathclyde Police and HM Customs and Excise to ask if we would consider including new advice and guidance in our booklet "Safe School Trips". The approach was opportune because we were running low on supplies and had managed to gain sponsorship from various sources. The reprint and upgraded book was launched at the AGM and Conference in Glasgow in May 1999.

If your child is going on a school trip, either for a day's educational visit or a week long trip to France then it is worth asking your school to provide you with a copy of this booklet.

The cost of the booklet should be no more than £1. If they buy in bulk through the authority then it costs less.

13. European Parents Association

David Hutchison attended his first meeting of EPA in Stockholm earlier this year. The meeting was on the subject of Computers in the Classroom. David was so impressed with what he heard and what he saw in a presentation on "Classrooms of the Future" that he has got SSBA and East Ayrshire Council together and a conference on this subject will be held in Kilmarnock in September.

Other than the opportunity to meet with other people we have felt no real benefit from being members of the European Parents Association. ]be Scottish representative on the EPA Board is from SPTC.

14. Conferences

Scottish Qualification for Headship conferences are currently being held for School Board members throughout Scotland.

David Hutchison continues taking personal interest in Dyslexia and has recently spoken at a conference organised by Dyslexia Scotwest in Glasgow.

At the request of the School Boards in the Western Isles Ann Hill has been the keynote speaker at conferences set up to inform parents about the role of the School Board.

Furbie launches have taken place in Scotland, England, Wales and will take place in Northern Ireland shortly. This also gives us the opportunity of telling the educational departments in these various places about the work of SSBA and how parent partnership is developing in Scotland.

15. Association of Directors of Education in Scotland

Bill Fordyce our main education adviser to date and a former Director of Education resigned as adviser during the year. However, he is still available as a tutor for training.

We approached the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and were delighted at the positive response to our request for a Director to act as adviser at Executive Board meetings and at other times as the need arose.

Our contact Directors are John Mulgrew (East Ayrshire), Gordon Jeyes (Stirling) and Ian Mills (East Dunbartonshire).

16. International Conference 2000

- Parents Role in Decision Making in Education around the World

Plans are going well for the international conference in May 2000. We have had between 25 and 30 responses from all over the world for chapters for inclusion in the book which will accompany the conference.

Call for Conference Papers has gone out recently and if you would like the opportunity of bringing 'a good idea' to other parents and School Boards at the Conference we would be delighted to hear from you.

17. Executive Board Meetings

We have welcomed two distinguished guests to speak to the Executive Board this year. In September we welcomed Ian Barr from the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum to talk to us about the proposed Review of Secondary Education.

In November we welcomed David Stewart, HMI Administrator from the Scottish Office to explain the problems associated with the implementation of Higher Still.

The January meeting brought Carolyn Hutchinson, HM to talk to us about Baseline Assessment Procedure and their positive use in schools.

18. Parent Prompts

It is now well over a year since we started work on the Parents Prompts Project. We are grateful to the 12 Directors who now look after what was once known as Strathclyde for their permission in developing the very successful project which was run in schools in Strathclyde several years ago.

We have continued to submit everything asked for by the Scottish Office but were unsuccessful in our application to be considered for tendering for the work to be done. This is particularly disappointing as we had already done all the work at their request. However all is not lost. We have been assured that SSBA will play a lead role in taking this forward once the contracts have been finally awarded by the Scottish Office.

19. Helen Liddell

- Minister for Education at the Scottish Office

We had a meeting with Mrs Liddell to talk about our Problem Solving Service, Parents as Partners, Refurbished Computers in Schools and School Board Training.

Problem Solving Service - having highlighted the amount of problems being brought to SSBA we suggested to the Minister that she might consider funding for a Development Officer for one year to allow SSBA to gauge the content of the calls coming in and the advice necessary to help the parent cope with the various problems. This request was ultimately turned down but we are pleased that by bringing the bullying problems in particular to the attention of the Minister, we may have had some influence in her decision to set up an Anti-Bullying programme recently.

Parents as Partners - We complained to the Minister that the Scottish Office report on Parents as Partners was long overdue and again, we are certain that this led to the publication of the booklet not long afterwards.

Refurbished Computers in Schools - By the time we saw the Minister our Pilot project in Dumfries and Galloway had been running for nearly one year and the members at the AGM last year had called for the project to go ahead. However, not content with what the working party could tell her she decided that the Scottish Office should have its own working party to look at setting up a scheme. 1 am pleased to say that SSBA helped persuade the Scottish Office officials that a scheme run by the Scottish Office would not work and that they should simply give guidance on specification and standards and leave the decision making to the schools themselves. As mentioned earlier in this report the Furbie Foundation is now up and running.

School Board Training - 92.3% of those responding to the Parents as Partners questionnaire indicated that they would like School Board training provided locally and free of charge. With this mandate we asked the Scottish Minister to consider funding for one training course in each of the 400 secondary schools. This offer was turned down. However, we were interested in her plans to provide School Board training via the internet or by video. We will keep you informed.

Higher Still - During the year we also received an invitation to talk to the Minister about Higher Still. Following this meeting, David Hutchison was invited to join the Liaison Working Group for the phasing in of Higher Still.

20. SSBA Website

Information on SSBA can now be found on the internet. I am sure that you will agree it is worth visiting.

You can find us at -

http://www.schoolboard-scotland.com

21. Treasurer's Report

The Accounts were audited by Farries, Kirk and McVean, Chartered Accountants, Castle Street, Dumfries and are enclosed with this report.

Profit & Loss for 1998

May 1999