Scottish Parent Teacher Council

SCOTTISH PARENT TEACHER COUNCIL

SPTC - the independent, national voice for parents
SPTC is a membership body for parents’ groups in schools – both PTAs and Parent Councils – but we help and support all parents in Scotland, wherever they are.

SPTC was founded in 1947 when a group of parents from Parent Teacher Associations around Scotland came together to share their hopes and ideals for their children's education. Their aim - and it is still our aim - was to improve the working partnership between parents, teachers and all involved in education thereby supporting the education of children in Scotland. Research has proved that where their parents are involved, children do better.

What do we do?
SPTC supports parents who want to get involved in their children’s school by offering advice and information.

Helpline
We run a telephone helpline service on 0131 226 4378. It is open to all parents with queries about education. With increasing use of the Internet, this is now supplemented and often overtaken by our online service on sptc@sptc.info

Website
We have a comprehensive website www.sptc.info It carries all our literature, fundraising and activity ideas, has links to useful organisations as well as the latest information on developments in education. The website is updated regularly.

Information Leaflets
We provide a series of information leaflets on topics that parents most frequently ask about.

What is the Scottish Parent Teacher Council?
Setting up a PTA - four easy stages
So what is a PTA/PA? - some helpful hints
What is a Parent Council?
Steps to a Parent Council
A simple guide to money matters
Office Bearers and their Roles
Good Practice for Committee Meetings
Good Practice for Annual General Meetings
Constitutions Made Easy
Model Constitution
Charities, Constitutions and Confusion - guide to the newCharity Law
Fundraising Ideas for PTAs and Parent Councils
Child Protection (Disclosure) leaflet
The Qualifications Mystery Tour - a simple guide for parents
Running a Disco – advice on safe practice
A Simple outline of Devolved School Management
Advertising in schools: nine points to consider
SUSI information packs (Safety on the Internet)
Public Liability Insurance – your questions answered
Insurance leaflet - detailing what the public liability policycovers

The leaflets can be downloaded from the website and are also available by post from the office, free of charge.

Newsletter
We provide a regular newsletter to all our members with the latest news, information, advice and tips. One popular feature is the “Your Questions Answered” section.
Public Liability Insurance
As part of our membership, we provide public liability insurance cover which allows member organisations to enjoy a wide range of activities including cake sales, barbecues, bouncy castles, pony rides, school discos etc, as well as run a host of activity clubs without worry or personal risk.

Meetings
As well as an annual conference in November on a topic of wide interest to parents, SPTC runs a series of regional meetings which not only provide information, but also allow member organisations to share experiences, both the good and the bad.

Parents Views
We run surveys on current topics to determine parents’ views. Recently we have sought their views on sponsorship in schools, the parental involvement proposals and the impact of the teachers’ cut in class contact time.

Representing Parents Views
SPTC Staff and Directors represent the parent perspective on a range of local authority and national committees where education policy is being developed. This includes local authority strategy groups to develop policies on parental involvement, a barring and vetting voluntary group to consider the impact of disclosure procedures on the voluntary sector and the national qualifications steering group to consider the development of the new Curriculum of Excellence.

Press/Media
SPTC staff and Directors also represent the parental perspective to the media both by responding to press inquiries and by writing articles for publication.

Lobbying
SPTC Staff and Directors are pro-active in promoting polices that are in the interests of parents. We have long argued for improved parental involvement and see the current changes as being at least in part a response to our lobbying. We have also been successful in getting nursery provision for children whose parents defer their entry to primary school, and early intervention to support reading.

Organisation

Membership
As a membership organisation, SPTC is fully accountable to its members and responds to them and them alone. It is totally dependent on membership fees for funding.

The Board of Directors
SPTC is run by an elected Board of Directors. Anyone in membership can be elected onto the Board of Directors to serve for up to three years. The Council's Board meets about six times a year to discuss education issues of concern to parents and to determine the Council's policy. Topics in the past have included education funding, homework policy, National Qualifications, drugs, school transport safety, devolved school management (DSM) and pre-school provision. We also examine possible projects we could undertake either on our own or in co-operation with other organisations.

SPTC is a Company Limited by Guarantee
In 1994 the Council decided to become a Company Limited by Guarantee in order to protect individuals who joined the then Executive Committee (now our Board of Directors) from personal financial liability. SPTC is a registered charity.

Get Involved!

Parents like you are needed by the Council. We need to know your views on a wide range of issues affecting your child's education. You could be elected onto the Board of Directors. Your travel expenses will be paid by the Council, so there is no cost to you - just your commitment to your child's education and to the education of all children in Scotland.

Revised October 2007

Return to previous page