December 2002 - Members' Letter

9 December 2002

To: All Member School Board Chairpersons, Headteachers, Directors of Education, Education Chairman, MSPs and other interested parties

Dear Colleagues,

EXTRACT ONLY – FULL COPIES SENT TO ALL 1969 MEMBER BOARDS

Members newsletter

It is the time of year when everyone is thinking of families and Christmas presents and may not be as interested in School Board business as they usually are. However, there are some important issues which we here at SSBA need to address with you. These are:

1. SSBA’s new President.
2. The Banks Report – Review of support for School Boards by the Scottish Executive
3. SSBA Executive Board vacancies – nominations sought.
4. SSBA Newsletter competition – winners.
5. Proposed changes to the Articles of Association.

1. SSBA has a new President

John Tierney reluctantly stood down as President recently due to other commitments. I am delighted to say that he will remain on the Board to represent Glasgow. The new President is an old favourite – Alan Smith from Renfrewshire Council. Alan was our immediate past President and was responsible for leading us towards the ‘new look and improved’ SSBA during recent years.

2. The Banks Report

You may recall that Nicol Stephen, the Depute Minister of Education and Young People launched a review of Support for School Boards at our AGM in March. The Banks Report was commissioned by the Scottish Executive following concerns raised by School Boards over the lack of support and funding available to them from their local authorities. Philip Banks, retired HMIE was asked to review the level of support offered to School Boards. The objectives of the review were:

1. to provide information on local authority support to School Boards,
2. to evaluate the level of local authority support,
3. to identify the needs of School Boards and headteachers in terms of finance and administration, initial and continuing training, availability of information, resources and role development,
4. to evaluate the current contribution of key agencies, governmental and non-governmental, to meeting School Boards needs, and
5. to identify key issues for future policy consideration.

The consultant spoke to School Board members, headteachers, teachers, community members, Education Department personnel, School Board Co-ordinators, Directors of Education, Lead Officers in both SSBA and SPTC and also took evidence from HMIE.

The review identified:

Strengths of the present position, including –

• commitment of all parent members of School Boards
• recognition by almost all Education Authorities of the effectiveness of School Boards as part of parental involvement in policy consultations
• constructive relationships between most headteachers and School Boards
• availability of national training, advice and information from SSBA

Areas of weakness, including –

• School Boards are hindered by the legacy of the abandoned policy of self-government of schools
• School Boards have inconsistent expectations of their potential role and very unclear ideas about the implications for them of recent legislation
• School Board consultation with parents is inconsistent
• Rationale for allocating finance to School Boards is inappropriate
• Headteachers are generally complacent about their own training needs in relation to School Boards and Education Authorities do not set high enough expectations of them
• The potential role of School Boards in contributing to the improvement agenda lacks national definition
• The forum election procedures deter many parents from membership

Steps which should be considered include:

• The relaunch of the School Board movement by Ministers
• The Scottish Executive should take the lead in establishing a new national framework for the work of School Boards, drawing on the views of all parents
• The framework should include consideration of –
• finding ways of disseminating good practice
• improving communications between School Boards and the wider parent body
• establishing more consistent levels of training for teachers and parents
• easing access for School Boards to essential information
• using ICT more consistently
• raising general expectations of the contribution to be made by School Boards
• setting the funding of School Boards on a proper basis
• clarifying the relationship between School Boards and PTAs
• encouraging a more consistent level of support from education authorities
• ensuring a better fit between national and local training, both for induction and on-the-job training

The Ministerial Review Group included members from the Scottish Executive Education Department, HMIE, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and the Scottish School Board Association.

This is an excellent report which draws on the strength of involving parents in the education of their children. We are grateful to the Minister for taking our concerns on board and commissioning this review. We look forward to the relaunch of School Boards, to SSBA working in partnership with the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland in ensuring that School Boards get the support they need and to consulting you on the issues. With this support we look forward to seeing more parents involved in the education of their children and the possibility of School Boards having both a wider membership and a much broader role in supporting headteachers and schools.

I am sorry that we cannot afford to produce the document in full (35 pages) but the full report is available on the Scottish Executive website within the section entitled Publications and on the Scottish School Board Association website (see "Responses to Issues")

3. SSBA Executive Board elections

The SSBA AGM will be held in Perth on Saturday 22^nd March 2003. As you know, half of our Executive Board stand down every year and therefore we have vacancies to fill. Nomination forms 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.

The nomination form should be returned to SSBA no later than 12 noon on Friday 31 January 2003. Please note that the three signatures at B, C and D on the form must be three different signatures of members of your own School Board. The form must be accompanied with a relevant Minute of the School Board meeting when your nomination was agreed. Should a postal ballot be required ballot papers will be sent out by 7 February 2003 to be returned no later than 12 noon on Friday 7 March 2003. The successful candidates will be notified within 7 days of the count. The first meeting of the new Executive Board will be held on the evening of Friday 21 March 2003 prior to the AGM and Annual Conference of SSBA on Saturday 22 March 2002 in Perth. The following Council areas are open for election to the national body to represent your Council area:

Executive Board members serve for a term of two years but can stand for re-election. The SSBA Executive Board meets five times per year, mostly in Glasgow on a Saturday morning. The various sub-committees meet as necessary. These cover Finance, Contracts and Personnel, Constitutional Review and Public Relations. Educational sub-groups are set up as required.

4. SSBA Newsletter Competition

The standard of entry to our Newsletter Competition was exceptionally high with a large number of entrants from all over Scotland. The entries were judged on:

• originality
• layout
• pupil participation
• variety of articles and topics
• information for parents
• School Board contact details
• reader friendly

The six winners were as follows:

1^st - £250 - Strathburn Primary School, Aberdeenshire

2^nd - £100 - Houston Primary, Renfrewshire

3^rd - £50 - Old Machar Academy, Aberdeen

4^th - £20 - Grange Academy, East Ayrshire

5^th - £20 - Hermitage Academy, Argyll and Bute

6^th - £20 - Auchterarder Community School, Perth and Kinross

These newsletters can be viewed on this website under "Responses to Issues".

5. Proposed changes to the Articles of Association

Details of proposed changes to the SSBA Articles of Association are enclosed as Appendix A. These proposed changes will be debated at the AGM in March 2003.

Once again, this has been a very busy and successful year for SSBA. Jennifer and myself in the office, and Alan and the Board members would like to take this opportunity of wishing you a happy Christmas and look forward to working with you again in 2003.

Ann Hill

Chief Executive
SSBA

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