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August 2001 - Members' Letter
24 August 2001
To: All member School Boards, Directors of Education, Education Committee Chairpersons, and MSPs.
Dear Colleagues
Welcome back and may I take the opportunity of wishing you a successful school year.
1. SSBA meeting with Jack McConnell, Minister for Education
SSBA met with Jack McConnell in July to discuss the way forward for School Boards. Also on the agenda was SQA, School Board training and budgets, the new SSBA Headteachers handbook, and school holidays. I am pleased to say that we got on extremely well with the new Minister. He was encouraged by the work SSBA is doing and is particularly interested in our current research on how much money School Boards get and what, if any, training is being provided for School Boards. A report on our meeting is attached.
2. SSBA Roadshows
As you are aware SSBA is currently doing roadshows around the country. To date we have covered Glasgow, Edinburgh, Highland, Perth and Kinross, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, Falkirk, East Ayrshire and East Dunbartonshire. During September, October and November we will cover the remainder of Scotland with the exception of the Western Isles which we will visit in February 2002. A list of venues is attached.
3. SSBA 10th Anniversary Conference – 31 October – 3 November 2001 inclusive
The four day international conference is looking good. The theme is based on "Learning for Life" and we have 20 keynote speakers and 24 workshops to entertain you. We also have evening events which include a children’s concert and dinner, a visit to the new Crichton University Campus with dinner and a ceilidh and dinner. An outline programme and booking form is attached.
4. 2001 Diet of exams
I am sure you will join with me in saying congratulations to all our young people who had success in the 2001 diet of exams. However, we must not forget to say ‘thank you’ to their teacher who guided them and who encouraged them through this difficult year. Further thanks must go to the management teams and office staff within schools for the extra work they have put in during the year to ensure that the data was kept up to date and correct. Well done!
5. SSBA/Scottish Police Poster Competition
SSBA has joined forces (excuse the pun!) with the Scottish Police to raise awareness of the many alternatives to crime for our young people. The poster competition is aimed at children in P5, P6 and P7 and the prizes include spending the day as a policeman/woman, a visit to the local police headquarters, being a judge in a courtroom, watching the dog handlers, a ride in a police car, trying out the assault course and being a guest of honour at the SSBA international conference on Friday 2 November 2001. The closing date for the competition is 30 September 2001 and details of how to enter are enclosed.
6. School Board elections
The election period for all School Boards throughout Scotland runs from 1 September to 30 November 2001. Flyers have been provided to all schools by the Scottish Executive. The SSBA Roadshows are open meetings and you should feel free to publicise them to any parents who are interested in becoming School Board members.
School Boards now have a more defined role in the partnerships within education. The Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act 2000 placed a new duty of "raising standards" for our young people. The last ten years have seen a significant increase in parental participation and partnership and this is a direct result of involvement in School Boards and their role of supporting headteachers in schools. The parent body within a school ‘elects’ you as parent representatives and this is something you should be proud of.
I look forward to working with you during the coming year and I hope to welcome as many of you as possible to the Conference in November and at the Roadshows around the country.
With kind regards
Ann Hill
Chief Executive
SSBA
