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SPTC Regional Meeting at Overtown Primary

The Parent Council at Overtown Primary in North Lanarkshire organised a regional meeting for all the parents in their area and invited us along.

When Judith and I finally arrived at Overtown Primary after a journey up and down the streets of Wishaw, we were greeted by a relieved Headteacher who had been worried that she would have to entertain the crowds that had turned up for the meeting! We were delighted to see so many parents and teachers had made the effort to come to Overtown on such a cold night. In fact there were 67 people in the crowded school hall from 20 primary schools and four secondary schools. There were also two local councillors in the audience.

In her introduction, the Headteacher suggested that we were about to give a presentation. Judith revised this to "more of a conversation". SPTC don't like to talk at people, but would rather listen to what others have to say.

When people were first asked what their Parent Councils had already done, there wasn't really a huge response:
- Several groups had written their constitutions and were holding social/fundraising events to encourage parents to get involved.
- A couple of schools had written articles about their Parent Councils for their local press and had also made contact with businesses in their area.

It seemed that most people were there to get some good ideas for their first Parent Council event. Judith asked them what they had found to be successful in the past:
- A village school organised a Family Fun Day which was now in its sixth year. This was now a fixed date in the village calendar and all the residents joined in. Parents had found it not just a great fundraiser but also a fantastic social event which meant lots of families and others in the village came into the school.
- A couple of schools had had a great success with their Burns Night suppers. Pupils provided the music, addressed the haggis and, in one school fifteen pupils were going to present Tam O'Shanter!
- As an alternative to just Burns, one school had organised a Scottish night which gave them a lot more choice with food and entertainment.
- Quiz nights were also popular as these could involve families. Judith also suggested pitting the parents/other adults against the children.
- One school had organised a very successful bingo night where half the money went to the winner and the rest went to the school.

It was clear from the discussion that a lot of Parent Councils are still at the planning stage and were looking back at what PTAs and school boards had done in the past to "start them off".

- Some parents had thought about looking at their school's homework or bullying policy. These things are always worth looking at now and again and parent should feel able to make suggestions for changes or new ideas.

- Some people suggested writing a leaflet for parents on school policies to be approved by teachers, although some said that they would find it difficult to write this in a way that would be accessible to all parents. But as Judith suggested - "imagine yourself explaining it to your next door neighbour, that should make it easier".

- Following on from this, one parent from Coltness Primary told us of the leaflet that they had written when several parents had found it a problem to help their children with their maths homework. Subtraction isn't what it used to be when many parents were at school and now tends to be taught in a different way. The PTA and the school organised sessions in the school where parents could come along to learn this new technique. This had proved very popular and on the back of this the PTA/school had produced a leaflet for parents to be used as a reminder at home.
Everyone at the meeting agreed that this would be a good idea and could be done for all areas of the curriculum. For example, a "refresher" leaflet for English - what is a noun? what is an adverb? etc. Not everyone wants to admit that they can't quite remember when to use a semi-colon, so a wee reminder might be useful.
There was quite a discussion about leaflets; the fact that they should always be written in a reader-friendly language and that they shouldn't be too long. SPTC's theory is that if you can't fit the information on an A4 piece of paper, then you have over-explained it!

- Some Parent Councils were getting involved in the refurbishment of their school and we discussed the importance of the Parent Council in keeping up the lines of communication between the local authority, contractors, the school and the parent forum.

- One parent said that her Parent Council were thinking about writing a set of values for their school. They were going to seek the views of parents, pupils and teachers and would then present the final draft to the Headteacher and staff.

- One mum was very enthusiastic about the website that her parent's group had established but had been disappointed in the lack of visitors to the site. It was suggested that people would go to a website to get vital information - the school calendar, for example. People tend to go to the SPTC website for information on membership and insurance and then they may have a look at some other pages while they are there. (You're reading this, aren't you?!) Someone said that they don't like it when they visit a website and find it is out of date, so if you are thinking of setting one up it is important to keep it accurate and lively.

Some general points and suggestions from the meeting:
- One of the main functions fo the Parent Council is to pick up "big" issues from the parent forum and take this to the local authority. However, the person that mentioned this was unsure about how his group could engage with the authority. Invite your local councillor to your Parent Council meetings was the suggestion.

- Collect ideas for healthy lunchboxes - although many people cautioned that not everyone could afford all foods.

- Don't ask parents for money all the time. Social and family events are just as, if not more successful than just fundraising.

- Put on events to promote family values using money raised from fundraising to provide these.

- Health days with information stalls on such things as healthy packed lunches, sun awareness, general health, local contacts for health services. The Parent Council could provide free smoothies.

- Sports Fair/Activity Day. Invite local sports groups and clubs to give demonstrations and taster sessions. This is a great way to publicise minority sports - not all children like to play football or hockey. What about the local cheerleading club or martial arts? Why not invite schools from your local area or if the event is in the secondary school, invite the cluster primaries?

At the end of the meeting people were asked what makes a successful Parent Council?
- All the parents in the school know who is on the Parent Council and feel that it belongs to them
- The membership includes parents from each class/year
- The Parent Council listens to what parents say and are flexible with their ideas
- Parents know how to contact the Parent Council
- Parent Council members are available to talk to, for example, at the school gates
- They have a method for the parent forum to make suggestions either via a noticeboard in the school or a dedicated suggestions box
- Be aware that you can't give everybody everything they want; people want conflicting things
- You can't do everything!

Report written by Eleanor Coner and Judith Gillespie

If your Parent Council and/or PTA would like to host an SPTC regional meeting, then please email us on sptc@sptc.info or phone the office on 0131 226 4378/1917