Scottish Parent Teacher Council

Backchat Newsletter - Issue 74 - August 2003

In this issue


Discipline - parents' number 1 concern
Parents in both primary and secondary schools identified discipline & behaviour as their number one concern in SPTC's latest survey of members. In secondary schools bullying and national qualifications tied a close second whilst in primary schools bullying was pushed into third place by concerns about road safety. In the secondary sector other major concerns were funding, parental involvement, state of the buildings and teaching standards. In primary schools the other important issues were funding, parental involvement, school safety, state of the buildings and, again, teaching standards. SPTC ran a similar survey asking the same questions in 1999. Primary concerns, today are remarkably similar to last time, although parental involvement has moved up and homework moved down. However, there's quite a shift in secondary priorities. Last time, Higher Still was a clear leader - but then it was about to be introduced - whilst discipline & behaviour was fourth on the list. In 1999, drugs came in second whilst this time they are near the bottom. There's evidence that primary and secondary parents are totally focused on what their children are currently learning. No one in the secondary sector identified any concern about 5-14 testing whilst no one in the primary sector was concerned about national qualifications. For special schools, the concerns are school transport, staff shortages and links to specialists. Perhaps most worrying from our point of view is that 11.25% of respondents did not answer the question on parents' concerns saying either that they only did fundraising or that these were matters for the school board. However, only 23% of such associations said that they liaised with the school board. Information on other questions is given over the page and the full report is available on request or on our website www.sptc.info.
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Members Survey 2003 - Report
At the end of April we sent a survey to all our PTA/PA members, then 1250 in number. As promised, here's what you told us. Responses By the end of June we had received 240 completed surveys: 202 from primary schools (with a total of 50,321 pupils), 31 from secondary schools (26,252 pupils), 3 from special schools (172 pupils), 2 anonymous and one each from an all through school (493 pupils) and a nursery school (84 pupils). In terms of geographic spread, we had feedback from of the 32 authorities. Although there were replies from 6.5 times as many primary as secondary schools, in terms of pupil numbers the balance is nearer 2 to 1. The overall response rate was 19.2% which is good for a postal survey and particularly good for one done in the summer term! Activities Not surprisingly, all respondents said that they raised money, and 88.3% said that they organised social events. Just under half (43.3%) said that they consulted/liaised with the school board whilst a similar percentage (42.9%) said that they reported and discussed parents concerns with the head teacher and staff. Only 24.6% said that they did both. Organising meetings on educational topics was a much less popular activity, done by 16.7% of the total, although by 41.9% of secondary PTAs compared to 12.3% of those in primary schools. Overall, only 8.3% said that they ran activity clubs whilst no one claimed to run an after-school care club. The most commonly mentioned "other" activity was helping at school events. Type of Fundraising activity The school fundraiser remains the most popular activity in primary schools although in secondaries it falls far short of social events like quiz nights. Similarly, sponsored events are moderately popular in primary schools but unusual in secondaries. Other fundraising activities mentioned included bag packing at supermarkets and running school discos. Amount raised The amounts PTAs raised ranged from Ł12,000 by a large primary school in Edinburgh, down to Ł100 in a secondary school. Seventeen PTAs - 16 primaries and one secondary - raised more than Ł5,000. However, when we look at the per pupil sum raised, it is clear that size matters! Of the top 20, with a per pupil income ranging from Ł78.9 down to Ł25.90, all had school rolls of less than 150. The two special schools were in the top 20. In contrast, in the bottom 20 with per pupil income ranging from Ł2.10 down to only 10 pence per pupil, 14 had school rolls over 700, 16 were secondary schools and only 4 were primaries. How money is spent Electronic goods such as computers remain the number one "spend" overall, although in primary schools slightly more is spent on outings and play equipment. In secondary schools the other big spending areas were school books and sports equipment. However, this question attracted the largest number of "alternatives" outwith the range that we offered. Some stated they left such decisions to the school/headteacher, either willingly or because they had no choice! Otherwise popular activities included swimming lessons, improving the physical environment of the school, paying for prizes or presents, pupil leaving activities, pupil diaries and supporting music provision in someway. Indeed, you name it and someone was spending money on it. The PTA at Grantown Grammar arranged martial art/self-protection classes for S5 and S6 girls SPTC publications SPTC publications were viewed quite favourably. Overall, 25% gave our newsletter Backchat a middle of the road rating, but 66% gave it an above mid-point rating. This pattern held good for all categories of school. Our leaflets and website came out even better with 83% of those who'd used the leaflets and 80 % of those who'd used the website rating them above average.
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An Active PTA
Inspired by the March Backchat article "Parents in School - what do you want?" Moira McLeod of Grantown Grammar School wrote to tell us about her PTA. We hold meetings every 6 - 8 weeks throughout the school year and cover a variety of topics, depending on what is new. In fact if you're nosey, the PTA is the best place to get up-to-date info, whether on Higher Still or bullying policy. As we work in relaxed mode, more questions are asked and parents give their point of view more easily than in any formal meeting. Of course, we also discuss our various fund raising events. Last year we produced Easy Grub - a recipe book for students leaving home for the first time and this year we are producing a calendar using their artistic talents. We run a 100 Club but our main fund raising event is the annual sponsored walk. This involves the whole school on a, hopefully, sunny morning in September walking a 10 mile route before returning for soup and sandwiches. The effort needed is worth it, not only for the Ł3,000 it raises, but also because it involves parents, teachers and students altogether. Then there are our four school discos with parents on cloakroom and tuck shop duties whilst teachers do patrol duty, making sure our kids behave - another team effort! Most of our fundraising monies go into one pot, so once a year we invite the various departments to put forward bids. Last year we funded a digital camera, a new mobile notice board, electronics equipment, support information for a writing club in the English Department, a one day workshop for the Music Department, a contribution to the new sound system for the main school hall, decorations for the 6th Year Prom and baking ingredients for the Home Economics Department for their Childline Appeal. We also transferred Ł3,000 to help fund the school's shortfall for basic equipment. But that's not all our activities. We are in charge of the buying, measuring up and selling of our school uniform and recently became involved in acquiring new stage sound and lighting for the school hall, a joint school and community project. This has involved us in partnership with funding agencies - which is great as we can raise substantial funds without baking a single cake! Last term we arranged a Martial Arts/Self Protection workshop for 5th and 6th year girls to help them to be more aware of possible dangers as they go off to university. We also support parent information evenings run by the school by providing refreshments and next term we are arranging a drugs awareness evening. We send out a newsletter approximately four times a year to keep everyone up to date with our activities as this is the best way to keep everyone informed of our forthcoming events and what is happening generally in the school. Two of our members set up a new and successful Badminton club. Indeed there are no end of opportunities if you wish to become involved. However, it has to be said that the committee is a group effort and relies on the willingness each year of its members to help. But it's worth it. I've found it the best way to keep in touch, increase my knowledge about education and help the education of children - including my own!
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SPTC News
SPTC Annual Conference
Sex, Drugs but no Rock 'n Roll:
Information parents need to know as their children grow. The date: 8th November. The venue: Moray House, Edinburgh Registration: at 10.00 am The speakers include Roy Harrower of Lothian and Borders Police who will provide information on drugs and alcohol abuse and Donna Milne of the Healthy Respect project. She will give information on a useful "advice" website which helps parents talk to their youngsters about sex. Add in plenty of time for discussion and lunch and it should be a good day. The cost, including lunch, is Ł7-50 per person but only Ł5 when more than one person comes from the same school. Registration forms will come out in September. Survey on Free School Meals In advance of this, we are running a consultation to find out what you think. The consultation is enclosed with this Backchat or can be downloaded from our website. Hopefully, it will give you something to get your teeth into at your next meeting! New Improved Parentzone The Parentzone website is a one stop information shop on everything you ever wanted to know about the education system from choosing a school to exclusion. The original Parentzone was launched in 2000, but this new, improved version is much more parent friendly. Apart from information on the whole education system, current news items , helpful links and interesting events, there are useful contacts - including us and Enquire, the special educational needs helpline. The address is www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk
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Regional Meetings
We're in the process of putting together a programme of regional meetings. These are for all local PTAs/PAs and they're a good opportunity to compare notes and hear what other people do. If you'd like to host a regional meeting, please contact the office. You just have to take out a let and provide refreshments: we do the rest.
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Read Together
Parents often want to help their children to read, but are not sure what to do. Now, the Scottish Executive has launched a Home Reading Initiative, Read Together for parents and carers of children from 0 to 8 years. The central message is, rather than simply reading to children, it's important to share books with them. Talk about the pictures, ask them what they think of favourite characters, even encourage them to join in the story. There is a Read Together website which is full of information about sharing books. There are recommended books as well as words of encouragement from famous readers and children's writers. You can log onto the website at home or at your local library. The address is: www.readtogether.co.uk
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Article 181 - published on 02 Aug 2003

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