Present:
|
Simon Cunningham (Chair)
Debby Biddles (Vice Chair)
Beverly Eades
Fiona Dempsey
Lisa Gold
Fiona Needleman
Lesley Cook
Jane Thomson
Cllr David Macdonald
|
SC
DB
BE
FD
LG
FN
LC
JT
DM
|
Tennant Stevenson
Carole Chalmers
Margaret Robertson
Ellie Murphy
Joanne Scott
Julie Roberts
Lynn Sweeney
Cllr Annette Ireland
Stuart Bryce
|
TS
CC
MR
EM
JS
JR
LS
AI
SB
|
Apologies: Joanna Teuton, Angie
McHendry, Alison McCosh, Fiona Leatham, Ruth Alexander, Lisa Gold, Cllr Stewart
Miller, Cllr Alan Lafferty
Non-Attendees: David McLeish
Observers: Adam
Capek
Welcome
Simon
Cunningham (SC) welcome everybody to this meeting of the Parent Council
(PC). SC thanked Debby Biddles (DB) for
looking after the PC so well in his absence and for progressing matters with
the car park funding.
SC also thanked
Lesley Cook (LC), DB and Carole Chalmers (CC) for tidying up the garden area
next to the mural at the Clarkston Road entrance to the school on Friday 19th January 2018.
SC reported
that Brian McLauchlan (BM) has stepped down from the PC due to work commitments
and extra study. BM asked SC to
congratulate the PC for their commitment and work that they do. SC thanked BM for his help and contribution
to the PC.
SC said that
Alan Reed has taken over from John Marley for Road Safety at East Renfrewshire
Council (ERC). Alan Reed is on board and
being as helpful as possible on Road Safety Matters and the proposed changes to
the car park.
Minutes from
Meeting – Wednesday 8th November 2017
Joanne Scott
(JS) asked that on page 2 of the previous minutes be changed to Scottish Education
Awards from Scottish Attainment Challenge.
Proposed by: DB
Seconded by: LC
School Matters
Vandalism
JS said that
there had been significant vandalism in the one of the nursery play areas where
cupboards had been pulled down and items being upended. The Police have been to the school and will
try to increase vigilance on a weekend monitoring the school.
There is still
a problem with people climbing onto the roof and the notice board next to
Clarkston Road entrance has been taken down and this should stop people using
this to gain access to the roof. Ruth Adams
from ERC will provide funding to apply cladding around the school to deter
people from climbing onto the roof. LC
commented that she had witnessed people climbing up the drain pipes so it may
be an idea to apply anti slip paint to these.
Annette Ireland
(AI) said she has spoken to Claire Reid and she met with Ruth Adams and they
have confirmed that there is a budget to enhance CCTV provision at schools in
East Renfrewshire. They are looking at
setting up live monitoring screens at the depot. JS requested that if people see any kind of
vandalism or people in the school grounds after hours to report these incidents
so that the issue is highlighted.
Numbers to call are 101 and 0800 013 0076.
Discussion was
also held around encouraging children not to go into areas they shouldn’t i.e.
the garden area at the mural. SC asked
people to challenge this behaviour and report it to the office.
JS said that
the bicycle shelter is still broken and that ERC have agreed to replace
this. The council will not remove the
old shelter but will take the plastic off and extend the shelter providing a
metal structure. Tennant Stevenson (TS)
asked if the bike shelter needed to be covered.
JS said it was better if it was covered as when Bike Ability is held
there are a lot of bikes in school.
Quiet Area
JS said that
the school were also looking at the area by the car park to make this a quiet
area for children. They will ensure that
the surface of this area is paved or pebbled and ensure that water will drain
from the area. The area will also be
fenced off to provide a quiet area for children.
Term Activities
JS said that
this has been a busy term and preparation for standardised tests for Primaries
3, 5 and 7 was under way.
There has been
good work on outdoor learning utilising the 2 courtyards in the school.
The school has
also just finished the Scots Festival and this year the focus was on speaking
Scots poetry. The Ceilidh Band have also
been busy playing in the festival.
Governance Review
JS said that there
has been no update from the Governance Review.
Some schools have started collaborating together and the Education
Authorities have been working in partnership with other groups. The key focus is on raising attainment and
closing the gap. There is a more formal
partnership for West of Scotland which is being headed up by Mhairi Shaw,
Director of Education for ERC. She will
undertake this role in parallel with her role as Director of Education.
LC asked about
ERC not having control of their budget.
JS said that that was incorrect and ERC are in charge of their own
funding. There will be some changes and
ERC are currently looking at how things can be managed fairly and effectively. They are looking at schools being able to
carry forward a small percentage of their budget at the end of the financial
year. JS said that it was important to
ensure the money is used for the children in that year but can also use this
method to save in order to do something bigger the following year. Fair funding will also state how much funding
the schools will control as opposed to the council doing it.
Road Safety Update
SC reported that the last Road Safety Event had been
cancelled due to weather. There was
still a plan to have a Road Safety Even and a suitable date will be arranged
for this.
Alan Reid from ERC has sent out a copy of the updated car
park plan. The pathway will now extend
to Linn Park Avenue so that there would be no break in the curb.
JS said it would help if there was a gate installed at the end
of the playground next to the Nursery building to stop parents crossing the
playground with small children. Having
the gate would make the approach to the Nursery building safer. JS was asked for adaption requirements when the
nursery hours changed but ERC did not deem crossing the playground as a health
and safety issue.
AI said she would pick this up with ERC.
Adam Capek (AC) asked if you could not make the gate access
into the nursery garden. JS said she
would look at options to add a gate. SC
said he would write to ERC regarding this matter.
ACTION:
AI
to follow up on gate for access to Nursery with ERC
SC
to write to ERC regarding this matter
JS
to look at options of where the gate could be located
Car Park Proposal
SC said that he
had looked at having yellow lines put in the middle of the car park and outside
the car park and if this goes ahead would need community wardens to monitor the
situation and people parking on double yellow lines.
SC said that
the new car park changes are due to be carried out before the end of the
financial year and for the alterations to be done the car park would be shut
completely. The work is expected to
take around a week to complete.
DB said that we
should also communicate with nursery parents regarding parking safely and
sensibly. JS said this would be added to
the nursery newsletters. DB also asked
if the nursery could be informed when buses are being used for school trips as
sometimes parking is bad and the bus cannot get into park. JS said she would look at this.
ACTION:
JS to add parking safety to
nursery newsletters
ERC Winter Road Safety
SC said that ERC have issued a
Winter Road Safety campaign. SC spoke to
Alan Reid who complimented Netherlee Primary on their road safety campaigns and
the progress that the school has made in tackling the issue. The ERC document highlights what can be done
for road safety. JS said that this is
the start of a bigger programme. SC said
he would have more information at the next PC meeting in April. SC also asked if there were any comments on
the Winter Road Safety Campaign to pass these onto himself and DB.
DB said that the Road Safety Event
could maybe tie in with the council initiative.
Adam Capek asked if the car park
next to La Contrada had been looked at as this seemed to be a major safety
issue with pedestrians. SC said it is
believed that this land is not owned by either McLaren Place or La Contrada. The PC have previously looked at having
markings in this area and asked for zig zag lines to be put across this
entrance but nothing progressed with this.
David Macdonald (DM) said that you could look at having a white line
across the end of the space. SC asked DM
to look into this and provide feedback at the next meeting.
AI said that she had spoken to
Lorraine Laine regarding school crossing patrols and are hoping to have someone
in place in the next couple of weeks.
ERC are looking to recruit School Crossing Patrollers and could people
pass onto people who may be interested.
SC asked if JS could send an email
out asking if people are interested in the School Crossing Patroller vacancies.
Actions:
DM to follow up having a white line at the entrance to
the car park on Clarkston Road and feedback at the next meeting.
Vandalism and School Break Ins
SC has spoken to the campus officer
and alerted them to the vandalism at the school. This has been related to community police
officers and they have been asked to be more attentive to the area out of
school hours.
JS said that there had been a break
in via a window in one of the classrooms.
Nothing was taken and there was no damage but the cleaners were alarmed
by the incident. SC said that we could
maybe look at the fences around the school being heightened.
AI said she had spoken to Sandra
McLemon at ERC and they are taking the vandalism very seriously. A new initiative is to be started with
Achieve More Scotland and currently they are targeting Barrhead and Eastwood areas
looking to setup football teams and play on a Friday night. They will also be doing dancing classes and
they are hoping this will be up and running by April 2018.
SC said it would be useful to speak
to Angie McHenry and the campus officer and for them talk to high school
children about vandalism and the consequences of this.
Any Other Business
Motivational Seminar
TS asked the
school to consider having a motivational seminar as part of the P7 leaving
programme. JS said that this is
currently taught within the school and have had different speakers in to talk
to children from athletes and SFA footballers.
JS said it was very important for children to be able to link their
learning with people’s achievements.
There is also a special leavers assembly for P7 children and a former
pupil is asked to attend to address the children.
4G Pitch
TS would like
the PC to create a small subcommittee to look at getting a 4G pitch installed
on the playing field. SC said that JS,
SC and David McLeish had held previous discussions on this and it would cost a
lot of money to have this installed and the pitch belongs to ERC. TS asked if a feasibility study could be
undertaken for a 4G pitch and look at other ways this can be funded. SC will add this to the agenda at the next PC
meeting. DB asked of TS could get a copy
of a feasibility study for a for a hockey pitch so the PC could have a look at
this.
Actions:
SC to add 4G pitch to next agenda
TS to provide copy of 4G pitch
feasibility study
Date of Next Meeting
Wednesday 21st March 2018 @
6.30pm