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December 2001 - Members' Letter
3 December 2001
To: SSBA Member Boards, Directors of Education, Education Committee Chairpersons and MSPs
Dear Colleagues
Extracts only from the Members Letter – full copies have been sent to members.
1. SSBA Executive Board Nomination Forms
Nomination forms are enclosed for the SSBA Executive Board. Executive Board members are required to be Directors of SSBA which is a Company Limited by Guarantee and a registered Scottish Charity. Directors liabilities are covered by insurance.
2. List of training courses booked by local authorities
A list of courses booked to date is attached for your information. Please contact your local authority if you wish to attend the course. Your local authority has already written to the Chairman of the School Board with regard to these courses. Why not ask your Headteacher if they would like to accompany you?
3. Education Debate
SSBA’s Executive Board enjoyed a presentation by Gabby Pieraccini, Future Learning and Teaching Team Leader , New Educational Developments Division , The Scottish Executive, at its meeting on Saturday 24 November 2001.
4. Guidelines for the first meeting of your School Board following the elections
Many of you have been telephoning the office for guidance on how to elect a Chairman and Office Bearers, when you should do this, how to set up sub-committees, on what date should new members start, etc. We have put together a paper on suggestions for the newly elected School Board – this is attached to the original letter. Should you need clarification or help please do not hesitate to call.
5. Annual Conference and AGM
Please note that the Annual Conference will be held in Musselburgh Race Course in partnership with East Lothian Council on Saturday 16 March 2002. Any member Board wishing to raise an item for the Agenda should write to the SSBA office no later than 1 February 2002.
6. SSBA one-day conferences around Scotland
Details are available on the website.
7. Publications Order Form
Many of you will find the enclosed publications list and order form helpful for new School Board members. The booklet entitled "Getting the best out of your School Board" is a must for new and existing members, acting as an introduction or a reminder of what is expected of the School Board. Topics include – Appointment of Office Bearers, Example of Agenda and minutes, Speaking at a School Board meeting, Communicating with parents, the role of the Clerk, Complaints and how to deal with them, School Board and PTA, School Development Plans, School Board and School budgets, Appointment of senior staff, School lets, School Board training, etc.
The Headteachers handbook is also a must for the School Board members. This sets out what is expected of the Headteacher as principal adviser to the School Board on topics such as The Headteacher and School Board partnership, The Headteacher/School Board/Education Authority partnership, The role of the School Board in School Development Planning and Quality in Education, School Buildings, Devolved School Management, Appointment Committees, etc. Both of these publications are £3 each including post and packing. Your School Board budget can be used to purchase these items.
8. Change of address or personnel
It is vitally important that you notify us of any change of name or postal address. If you have left the School Board and have received this letter please pass it to the Headteacher of the school with a request to pass it on to the new Chairman.
9. Group membership – local authority participation
19 of the 32 local authorities (listed below) currently take advantage of the group membership scheme which means that all Boards receive membership for only £35 per Board (individual memberships are £38 or £45) – a considerable saving for the local authority and the School Board. If your local authority is included in the list below you will not be required to renew your membership for 2002 – it will be done for you by your local authority.
| Aberdeen Aberdeenshire Argyll and Bute Clackmannanshire Dumfries and Galloway Glasgow East Dunbartonshire |
East Lothian Falkirk Midlothian Moray North Ayrshire North Lanarkshire Perth and Kinross |
Shetland South Ayrshire Stirling West Dunbartonshire Western Isles |
We have offered the group membership scheme to all other Councils for the coming year. Those joining the scheme for 2002 are - East Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Highland.
Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, Fife and East Renfrewshire are supportive in principle and letters are currently out to the School Boards (they are enclosed with this letter). Individual invoices will be sent later should the Council decide not to participate in the Group Membership scheme.
Angus, Edinburgh, Dundee, Inverclyde, Orkney and West Lothian will consider our offer again next year. Invoices for members at the full rate are enclosed with this letter.
10. Individual Membership of SSBA
Invoices are enclosed for those Boards who are not part of a group membership scheme. Individual memberships cost £38 for a school with under 100 pupils and £45 for schools with over 100 pupils. These invoices should be processed as soon as possible.
11. Assessment in Schools
Carolyn Hutchinson, Assessment Branch, Qualifications Assessment and Curriculum Division at the Scottish Executive addressed the Executive Board recently on the subject of Assessment in Schools.
12. Letter from the Minister
Jack McConnell has again written to SSBA asking about training and budgets for School Boards. We are waiting for a date from the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) so that we can meet with them to discuss the recent survey which showed that training and budgets are extremely unsatisfactory in some authorities. We will keep you posted.
13. SSBA questionnaire
A reminder about the questionnaire issued with the last members newsletter. Please remember to return it if you haven’t done so.
Communication between School Board members is just as important as that between the School Board and the parent community. May I therefore suggest that you copy the actual letter part of the circular to all the members of your Board and to the Headteacher. (Shrink it to A5 and you can get it on one sheet of A4 back to back). I look forward to working with you throughout the coming year.
Ann Hill
Chief Executive
SSBA
