Parent Council
Longside School Parent Council
Parent Council Chair
Parent Council Treasurer
Parent Council Secretary
Constitution
| 1. | Objectives |
| 1.1 | The objectives of the Parent Council are: |
| 1.1.1 | To work in partnership with the school to create a welcoming school which is inclusive for all parents |
| 1.1.2 | To promote partnership between the school, its pupils, all its parents and the wider community |
| 1.1.3 | To develop and engage in activities which support the education, welfare and health of pupils |
| 1.1.4 | To identify and represent the views of parents on the education provided by the school and other matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils |
| 1.1.5 | To constitute sub-groups and/or sub-committees, as required, to support the Parent Council and the school in appropriate activities |
| 2. | Membership |
| 2.1 | The membership will be a minimum of 8 parents of children attending nursery/school. Ideally there shall be parents representing pupils from all stages |
| 2.2 | The maximum number of parents on the Council will not exceed 25 and will be drawn from as many families as possible |
| 3. | Appointments and periods of service |
| 3.1 | The Parent Council will be subject to an annual appointment |
| 3.2 | Any parents of a child at school can volunteer to be a member of the Parent Council |
| 3.3 | Members may put themselves forward for re-appointment if they wish |
| 3.4 | In the event of the number of volunteers exceeding the number of places set out in the Constitution (see 2.2), members will be identified by a random draw |
| 3.5 | Anyone not selected to be a member of the Parent Council may be offered the opportunity to be part of any
sub-groups set up by the Council |
| 4. | Co-opting Members |
| 4.1 | The Parent Council may co-opt up to 6 non-parent members, at any one time, to assist it with carrying out its functions |
| 4.2 | Two additional places will be reserved for Representatives from the Mini Parliament, who may be invited to attend relevant meetings or parts thereof |
| 4.3 | Co-opted Members will be invited as and when relevant. They will not be expected to commit to attendance for longer than one year |
| 5. | Appointment of Office Bearers |
| 5.1 | A Chairperson will be appointed at the first meeting of the Parent Council, by the membership of the Council |
| 5.2 | The Chairperson will be a parent member of the Council |
| 5.3 | The period of office will be 1 year. After which time, you may be re-elected. The position may be held for a maximum of 3 years continuous service |
| 5.4 | The period of office will terminate if the parent ceases to qualify for membership of the Parent Forum or if 2/3 of the Parent Council request that person to stand down |
| 5.5 | A Vice-Chair should also be appointed on the same terms as those defining the appointment of a Chairperson |
| 5.6 | The Council may appoint a Treasurer and a Secretary from within the Council membership or appoint a Clerk to transact Council’s administrative requirements |
| 5.7 | Such a decision will be made at the first meeting of the Council as defined above (see 5.1) |
| 6. | Operating Guidelines |
| 6.1 | The Parent Council will meet at least once in every school term |
| 6.2 | Decisions can only be taken at meetings attended by 2/3 of a Parent Council members and at least 1 non-parent Council member |
| 6.3 | Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie |
| 6.4 | Any two members of the Parent Council can request that an additional meeting be held, and all members of the Parent Council will be given at least one week’s notice of date, time and place of the meeting |
| 6.5 | Meetings of the Parent Council shall be open to the public, unless the Parent Council is discussing an issue that it considers should be dealt with on a confidential basis |
| 6.6 | In such circumstances, only members of the Parent Council and the Head Teacher, or representative, can attend |
| 6.7 | Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to all parents of children at LongsideSchool, to all teachers, and any other attendees |
| 6.8 | Copies will be sent to Area Education Office |
| 6.9 | Copies will be available from the secretary of the Parent Council/Clerk to the Parent Council and will be filed in Parent Council file in the main entrance |
| 6.10 | Copies will also be posted on the school website |
| 6.11 | The Parent Council may change its constitution after obtaining consent from Members of the Parent Forum |
| 6.12 | Members of the Parent Forum will be sent a copy of any proposed amendments and given reasonable time to respond to the proposal |
| 7. | Finances |
| 7.1 | The Treasurer will open a bank or building society account in the name of the Parent Council for all Parent Council funds |
| 7.2 | Withdrawals will require signatures from the Treasurer, one other Office Bearer and one other Parent Council member. Two of the three signatures will be required at any one time |
| 7.3 | The Treasurer will keep an accurate record of all income and expenditure |
| 7.4 | The Treasurer will provide a summary of this for each Parent Council meeting |
| 7.5 | The Treasurer will provide a full account for the Annual Meeting |
| 7.6 | The Parent Council accounts will be audited by the auditor appointed by the Parent Council |
| 7.7 | The Parent Council shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council |
| 7.8 | Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining funds will be passed on to the education authority to be used for the benefit of the school (or schools), where this continues |
| 8. | Reporting |
| 8.1 | The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for LongsideSchool and will make a report once a year on its activities on behalf of all the parents |
| 8.2 | The Annual General Meeting will be held in September of each new academic session |
| 8.3 | A notice of the meeting including date, time and place will be sent to all members of the Parent Forum at least 2 weeks in advance |
| 8.4 | The meeting will include:
(1) A report on the work of the Parent Council and its committee(s) (2) Selection of the new Parent Council (3) Discussion of issues that members of the Parent Forum may wish to raise (4) Approval of the accounts |
| 8.5 | If 2/3 of members of the Parent Forum request a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Council’s remit, the Parent Council shall arrange this |
| 8.6 | The Parent Council shall give all members of the Forum at least 2 weeks notice of the meeting and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matter, or matters, to be discussed at the meeting |
| 9. | Conduct |
| 9.1 | If a Parent Council member acts in a way that is considered by other members to undermine the objectives of the Parent Council, their membership of the Parent Council shall be terminated if the majority of the parent members agree |
| 9.2 | Termination of membership will be confirmed in writing to the member |