June 2000 - Members' Letter

12 June 2000

To: All School Boards, Education Committee Convenors, Directors of Education, MSPs, etc.

From: Alan Smith, President, SSBA

Dear Members,

The new Executive Board met on the 2^nd and 3^rd June and I would like to share some of the decisions made both at the Executive Board meeting and at the Annual General Meeting on the 20^th May.

First of all, I think it is crucially important that you are re-assured that the financial affairs of SSBA are sound and that there is no truth whatsoever in the allegations of financial irregularities at SSBA. The Executive Board have complete faith in Ann Hill, our Chief Executive and in Jennifer Gallacher, the Personal Assistant. Both members of staff have suffered a great personal mis-service through the columns of a national newspaper. The unfortunate thing in all of this is that the articles in the press all came from one or more disgruntled members of the former Executive Board. We can only apologise on their behalf for the damage this has not only done to the staff at SSBA but to the member Boards by association.

However, with a new team on Board we are certainly looking forward to moving on and repairing some of the damage which has been done. Let me share with you the topics we have been looking at:

Independent Inquiry

Following the allegations appearing in the ‘Herald’ newspaper it was decided by a majority of Office Bearers and fully supported by the staff that an independent inquiry should be carried out to reassure both the Executive Board and the members that nothing was amiss at SSBA. This inquiry was carried out by Kenneth Macleod, former Director of Education for Dumfries and Galloway, Fred Forrester, former Depute General Secretary of the EIS and Police Superintendent Donald Urquhart, past Vice President of SSBA. I am pleased to report that the allegations were refuted. In order to safeguard employee confidentiality, we are preparing a summarised version of the Inquiry Report for members. This should be with you immediately following the summer break.

Financial Status of SSBA

Our Accountants reported to the AGM on the end of year accounts for 1999. Following many questions raised by members these accounts were accepted by the AGM. At the request of the Chief Executive the accounts were again audited on the 20^th May in order to give the new Executive Board a fresh start. Again the Accountant congratulated the staff on their record keeping and also expressed his appreciation of the work done by all concerned to show a very healthy balance of £55,000 working capital at the 20^th May.

New Office Bearers:

Executive Board Vacancies

We have a number of vacancies on the Executive Board. Our recent elections saw several of the Executive Board members either standing down or losing their seats. Since the election we have also been taking advice on the status and requirements for Executive Board members in relation to the fact that SSBA is a company limited by guarantee. Legal advice is that all Executive Board members are required to be Directors of the company. Unfortunately, we have lost our current Secretary - John Waddell because he is a serving police officer and is not allowed to be a Director. Fiona Jurk from Dundee, and Walter Thomson from East Lothian were unable to sign their forms within the fourteen days allowed by Companies House and therefore forfeited their Executive Board membership.

These vacancies will be filled in the elections which will take place immediately after the summer holidays. A list of Executive Board members and vacancies is attached to this letter.

The Role of the Executive Board Member

It was agreed at the Executive Board meeting that all Executive Board members should write to their respective Boards and introduce themselves. If you would like a visit from your Executive Board member write and let him/her know. Look out for a meeting in your area, hopefully in partnership with your local authority.

Taking SSBA Forward into the 21^st Century

The Inquiry team were asked to suggest recommendation which would ensure protection for staff and members and develop the way SSBA carries out its remit in the future. We are taking those recommendations forward and have set up the following working groups:

Charitable Status

Members at the AGM agreed that the changes proposed for the constitution should be held back till later in the year following a review of the present constitution and how it fits in with the Articles of Association as laid out in the Company Limited by Guarantee status. An EGM is expected in the Autumn.

International Conference

I am sure that those of you who managed to join us at the First International Conference will agree that we had four superb days of sharing best practice with parents from around the world. The conference culminated in an undertaking to look at the possibilities of setting up an international link for parents - perhaps via the SSBA website. We also accepted an invitation from Dumfries and Galloway to take next years conference to Dumfries. It will be our 10^th anniversary and it seems fitting that we should celebrate it in Dumfries as the Council have provided us with accommodation for the last 10 years along with lots of advice and help when required. The conference also made a surplus of almost £10,000 so congratulations again to the staff for all the hard work in organising this event. Thanks also have to go to our partners - Glasgow City Council, Highland Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Strathclyde University, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Executive Education Department, Professional Association of Teachers, Top Class Travel, and Quality Hotel Central Glasgow.

Website - www.schoolboard-scotland.com

The website is currently being updated. We would like to hear from you with articles which you might like to share with other schools, e.g. best practice, how you dealt with a particular problem, has your school received any awards. Articles and photographs to SSBA either by post or by email

Let us know your email address for receiving mailings.

Section 28/2A

The debate around Section 28/2A was not handled well by many organisations including SSBA and this is a matter of some regret. However, the consultation carried out in February clearly indicated that parents and School Boards did not support repeal. The majority of Boards either rejected repeal outright or rejected until further information could be given.

John Waddell, former Executive Board member for East Renfrewshire has been part of the Scottish Executive Working Group on Sexual Health Education taking the guidelines forward and he reports that the group has met on eight occasions and initially gave consideration as to the scope and general content of the package of safeguards proposed by the Scottish Executive and to determine whether they were sufficiently robust to meet the legitimate concerns of parents, teachers and the public. The initial report to the Minister endorsed the framework with a reservation that there was no reference to ‘marriage’. The group has produced a draft circular to be issued to Directors of Education and will be examined once more at a meeting this week for consideration of any amendments. After the report has been submitted to the Minister it is expected that a further consultation process will be undertaken but the scope of this consultation is not yet known. The deadline for submission of the report is 16 June 2000.

School Board Handbook

The School Board Handbook - A Practical Guide (priced £3) is selling extremely well. If your School Board has not ordered copies yet there is an order form enclosed with this letter.

Grapevine Newsletter

You may have noticed that you are a copy of Grapevine short this year. This is because one of the issues was replaced with a Conference leaflet. However, Grapevine will return to your schools in August. Unfortunately, as the Scottish Executive have withdrawn financial support which pays for the distribution to non-members, we will have to consider the provision of this service in the future.

Membership of SSBA

Membership of SSBA has risen dramatically again over this past year. At the start of the current year membership stood at just over 1,600 and now stands at over 1,700.

School Board Training

We will be organising training again after the summer holidays. 65 courses were delivered all over Scotland during the past school year - we hope to do just as well next year. Let us know if you would be interested in helping to organise a course (or two) for the Boards in your own area. You could make money for your Board.

Training during this year has been provided in the following areas:

plus several privately organised courses for individual or groups of School Boards.

I hope that this letter will go some way towards reassuring you that SSBA is still the best representative for the voice of parents in Scotland. We look forward to representing you in partnership with others in ensuring the best Scottish education for your children.

Alan Smith
President, SSBA

Executive Board Members (blank spaces show vacancy at present)

Elections to fill the vacancies will take place immediately following the summer holidays. Nomination forms will be sent to member Boards.

Members Newsletters Index