SSBA Roadshow planned to cover the whole (or nearly) of Scotland. Ann Hill and Jennifer Gallacher of SSBA take the Roadshow to within 20 miles of John O'Groats.

December 2000, saw the start of a year of SSBA Roadshows touring the country to visit member Boards in their own areas to let them know what SSBA is, what it does and to find out what matters to members and how we could best serve our membership.

The Highland meetings were held in Newtonmore, Inverness, Thurso and Golspie along with a meeting with the Director of Education and the Transport Department. The following topics were covered:

• What does a School Board do

  The role of the School Board, how to set an agenda, how to take minutes, items for discussion, how representative is your School Board, what to include in the annual newsletter, how to communicate with parents, etc.

• What does SSBA do

How SSBA has been operating since the new Executive Board took over, how SSBA will consult with Boards and how the various services will operate to member Boards.

• School Board training

School Board training has been offered in the following authorities:

Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Argyll and Bute, Dundee City, Fife, East Ayrshire, Highland, Midlothian, Dumfries and Galloway, North Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, South Ayrshire, Shetland as well as a number of privately organised courses for individuals and groups of School Boards.

• How to represent the Boards in Highland

It was seen as a huge bonus to member Boards in Highland that Donald Gunn McDonald is not only a co-opted member of a School Board but also a Headteacher of another. This teaching background has proved extremely useful in taking the Educational Working Group of SSBA forward to members during our visit to Highland. The Boards in Highland are now working towards finding the best way for them to be represented at national level.

• Safe School Travel

Jim Manson was part owner of a school tour group operator. He is also a retired traffic policeman with many years of experience ‘on the road’. He has been a transport adviser to SSBA for some 8 years. His up to date perception of current school transport problems and how to address them went down very well with members of School Boards and Directorate alike.

• Changing the School year

Both the Association of Directors of Education for Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities have been discussing possible changes to the school year. It is now some 2 years since SSBA first discussed the concept of having Friday lunchtime closure for pupils (as is the case in Edinburgh), the five term year, or everyone having the same holidays, e.g. first two weeks in April and two weeks in October.

SSBA meetsNewtonmore School Board Left to right: Ann Hill, Jim Manson, Isla Russell and Alison Jones (parent representatives), Donald Gunn MacDonald, SSBA Executive Board member for Highland and Patricia MacDonald staff representative.