Membership of SSBA has remained constant this year and now stands at 1960 Individual School Boards.

Education Authorities and School Boards are given the opportunity of joining the SSBA Group Membership scheme. The main difference in this type of membership is very simple – SSBA issues one invoice directly to the Education Department for all of their Boards and we receive one payment. This saves considerable time and effort for both parties. You still get the option not to join as we firmly believe that the decision to join should be made by yourselves. The monetary saving is quite substantial – a Board with over 100 pupils taking out individual membership will pay £45 per year whereas a Board which is part of the Group membership scheme will only pay £35. Local Authorities who take out Group Membership also receive the benefit of discounted training courses which we provide.

Involvement in the Group Membership by Education Authorities now stands at 24 Councils.

The following Councils currently take advantage of the Group Membership scheme:

Aberdeenshire

Argyll and Bute

Clackmannanshire

Dumfries and Galloway

East Ayrshire

East Dunbartonshire

East Lothian

East Renfrewshire

Falkirk

Glasgow City

Highland

Moray

North Ayrshire

North Lanarkshire

Perth and Kinross

Renfrewshire

Scottish Borders

Shetland Islands

South Ayrshire

Stirling

West Dunbartonshire

Western Isles

Executive Board members continue to play a crucial part in the decision making process in Scottish education. There are still a few vacancies on our Executive Board but it is hoped that these will be filled shortly.

Former Chief Executive Ann Hill is no longer employed by the Association.

"Given the potential changes which lie ahead for School Boards and the debates around future parental involvement, Ann Hill, Chief Executive of the SSBA has decided that now would be an appropriate time for her to leave the organisation and to pursue other interests.

SSBA gratefully acknowledges the energy, effort and enthusiasm shown by Ann in her various roles during the past 12 years as founder, President and latterly, as Chief Executive of SSBA and wishes her well in whichever future career she pursues".

SSBA continues to enjoy free office space in Dumfries in Southwest Scotland, courtesy of Dumfries and Galloway Council. The office in Dumfries is operated by Jennifer Gallacher who deals with all enquiries from School Boards, parents and Education Authorities. Part time staff are employed on an ‘as needs’ basis. We have increased the number of School Board training tutors this year and can now cover most of Scotland on request.

www.schoolboard-scotland.com - SSBA continues to update its website on a regular basis. Emails will reach us at ssba @ schoolboard-scotland . com

SSBA started investigating the practicality of providing email facilities to all School Boards and to provide Boards with web-space on an Association website and will be piloting this project early in 2004 in conjunction with Intuitive Media Ltd. Our existing website is also being reviewed and revamped as part of this project.

SSBA continues to deliver School Board Training. The two most popular training course materials were updated in the Autumn in readiness for delivery in early 2004. The course entitled "Powers, Responsibilities and Partnerships" is no longer being run and has been replaced by "School Boards – Partnerships and Responsibilities" and forms Module 1 of the training package. "The Effective School Board at Work" forms Module 2. The course materials have been reproduced in A5 loose leaf format to fit in the new A5 ring binders we are providing.

We continue to run our course on Training for Head Teachers or Aspiring Head Teachers and are updating our course on Appointments Training also for delivery in early 2004.

Following the School Board election period of 1 September to 30 November there has been a number of enquiries for School Board training, particularly for new Board members and these courses are being arranged for early 2004.

Our former President, and Executive Board member for City of Glasgow, John Tierney, has been involved in the Assessment is for Learning Programme over the past year. LTS held three meetings on 30^th August, 6^th September and 13^th September in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh to obtain the views of parents on the quality of reporting to parents and how it can be improved. They gave parents the opportunity to obtain more information about the assessment programme and how it is progressing. More information is also available on the LTS website – www.LTScotland.com/assess.

9.

10.

SSBA met with members of the Scottish Executive, ADES and SPTC. The main items for discussion were how the parent body should move forward in the education process, and how to engage all parents in their children’s learning.

The SSBA urged that current legislation should be kept and, if necessary, strengthened to ensure the rights of parents and continue the good work involving parents as partners in children’s education.

The use of questionnaires to consult with parents on these issues was discussed. The SSBA, while being in favour of proper consultation, expressed the wish to see a greater focus on consulting parents on a more personal level, with written consultation being followed up by more personal face-to-face meetings. Colin Reeves, SEED Head of Schools Division, took the main points of these discussions to Peter Peacock, Minister for Education & Young People.

MEETING WITH PETER PEACOCK, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND YOUNG PEOPLE

SSBA had a meeting with Peter Peacock on 22 September.

The Minister took the opportunity to outline his plans for the future of Education in Scotland and the increase in the role of Parental Involvement. He also suggested that some changes may be required to School Board legislation in order that wider involvement could be achieved.

MEETING WITH SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OFFICERS NETWORK – 10 OCTOBER 2004

SSBA attended this meeting and received first draft of proposed handbook which will replace the old ring binder folder which School Boards received when they were first introduced. SSBA were asked for a page on SSBA which they can attach as an Annex to the document. The handbook, in Ring Binder format was to be ready for Boards following the School Board elections.

This service to members continues to grow. Enquiries range from questions about changes to legislation, what can be discussed at a Board meeting, who is in charge of setting the Agenda etc.

Nearly 100 parents attended the 2003 Scottish School Board Association’s Conference and AGM which was held in the Salutation Hotel, Perth on Saturday 22 March. Joe Manattini, SSBA’s Executive Board member for Perth and Kinross, introduced Alan Smith, SSBA President, who welcomed delegates and informed them of the various workshops that would take place during the morning.

Mr George Waddell, Director of Education and Children’s Services, Perth and Kinross Council opened the Conference and spoke about the parental role and the need of those in education to provide more information on the progress and attainment of our young people during their life at school. Many businesses follow up their customers with a call on how they can improve their service. Can we be looking at something similar in education in the not too distant future?

Morag Brown, Policy Manager, Scottish Consumer Council gave the Conference a preview of research findings on "Parental Involvement in School Education". This research was conducted between October and November 2002 using telephone interviews and involved over 1,000 parents of secondary school age children. It looked at current levels of satisfaction and attempted to gauge parental opinion on policy options. Consumers in education were defined as ‘those who have to make decisions about their own or their children’s education’. The Scottish Consumer Council has sought improvement in – access to information/advice for parents and young people to enable informed decisions about education, choice of provision that best meets children’s needs, good communication and complaints systems and parent and pupil representation so services reflect children’s needs.

Key themes in previous education research have shown lack of knowledge in accessing independent advice, difficulties in interacting with schools, concerns about breadth of curriculum and lack of understanding/knowledge of complaints systems. This research looked at parental involvement in school education and found 1 in 10 parents are members of a school body, specific groups are less likely to be involved, 1 in 5 parents want more involvement and parents of S1/S2 children are more likely to want this greater involvement. Representation at local and national level was also assessed and 85% of parents were very satisfied/satisfied with representation at local level while 49% of parents felt views were not adequately reflected at national level. Key issues raised were breadth of curriculum, levels of knowledge - eg complaints handling, inspection process, helping children with subject choices and representation of views at national level. Findings indicate an overall positive view and general satisfaction with education provision.

Delegates then left the main function room for the various training workshops. At the first of these, Ian Findlay introduced the background to School Board legislation and the role it now plays in the five national priorities. The School Board must approve the school's budget, be involved in the appointment of senior staff and be consulted on the school development plan.

Alan Smith conducted the second workshop on running an effective meeting. The chairperson of your Board should consult the Head Teacher about the agenda for every meeting of the School Board. The final say on what is on the agenda rests with the chairperson of the School Board. The chairperson is responsible for running the meeting and all Board members are entitled to speak at the meetings and should be encouraged to do so by the chairperson. It is a legal requirement for the School Board to communicate with parents at least once a year, when the Board are required to issue a report on what they have been doing during the year.

Peter Kormylo organised the third workshop which was about the school development plan which takes account of national priorities, LEA improvement plan, standards and quality report, school aims and consultation with staff, pupils and parents. A good school knows what it is aiming to do. Whether it is meeting its aims successfully, what needs to be maintained or improved, whether changes are working. Finally quality indicators will assess the extent to which school aims are being met. It is up to the School Board to track the progress of the plan through advice given by the Head Teacher and whether it will be achieved within the budget framework.

Following lunch, the AGM took place. The Annual Report was presented to the members by Alan Smith, President and the Financial Report and Accounts were presented by Kathleen Glass, Treasurer.

Publications now include –

BOOKLETS

• A practical guide for School Boards

• Running an Effective School Board meeting

• Working with your School Board – a guide for Head Teachers

• Safe School Travel

• Safe School Trips

Publications can be ordered by contacting the SSBA office.

The Accounts were prepared by Farries, Kirk and McVean, Chartered Accountants, Castle Street, Dumfries and are contained within this report.