Author: hollidaydm

15. Any six 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.
16. Should a Parent Council member act 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 members agree. Termination of membership would be confirmed in writing to the member.
17. Minutes of all meetings (including any sub-groups) will be available to the public on request from the local public libraries, Annan Academy Office and on the School’s website (www.annanacademy.org.uk).
18. Meetings of the Parent Council shall be open to the public, unless the Parent Council is discussing an issue which it considers should be dealt with on a confidential basis. In such circumstances, only members of the Parent Council, the clerk, the head teacher (or his/her representative), and anyone specifically invited to the meeting such as the Director of Education and Community Services can attend.
19. The Treasurer will open a bank or building society account in the name of the Council for all Parent Council funds. Signatories for the operation of the account(s) will be the Treasurer, the Chairperson and one other member of the Council. Withdrawals will require the signature of the Treasurer and one other signatory. Signatories must not be connected*.
*(The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 defines ‘connected’ as:
‘Any person to whom the [signatory] is married, is the civil partner of the [signatory] or with whom the [signatory] is living as husband and wife or, where the [signatory] and other person are of the same sex, in an equivalent relationship.
Any child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother or sister of the signatory (and any spouse of any such person).
For the purposes of the above, a person who is another person’s stepchild or brought up or treated by another person as if the person were a child of the other person, is to be treated as that other person’s child’
20. The Treasurer will keep an accurate record of all income and expenditure, and will provide a summary of this for each Parent Council meeting and a full account for the Annual General Meeting. The Parent Council accounts will be audited by the auditor appointed at the previous Annual General Meeting.
21. The Parent Council shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.
22. The Parent Council may change its constitution after obtaining consent from members of the Parent Forum. Such changes should only take place at the Annual General Meeting or at a properly constituted Extra-ordinary General Meeting for which 14 days notice has been given.
23. Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining funds will be passed to the education authority to be used for the benefit of the school (or schools in the case of joint councils). If the school is closing or amalgamating the funds will be passed to the schools which pupils will attend.

Constitution
for
The Annan
Academy
Parent Council

1. This is the constitution for the Annan Academy Parent Council.
2. The objectives of the Parent Council are:
to work in partnership with the school to create a welcoming school which is inclusive for all parents
to promote partnership between the school, its pupils and all its parents
to develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils
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.
3. Parent membership of the council will be a minimum of 10, maximum of 15 parents of children attending the school. The maximum size of the Council is 20. The quorum for any meeting of the Parent Council will be 6 parent members, two of whom must be office bearers.
4. Parent members of the Parent Council will be selected for a period of 4 years, after which members may put themselves forward for re-selection if they wish, as long as they still have a child attending the school. At the inaugural meeting of the Council, half of the parent members should be selected for a period of 2 years to allow for continuity and evolution. In the event of a parent member leaving the Council another parent may be co-opted to take his/her place until the next AGM. Any subsequent replacement should be selected for the remaining period of time that the original member was due to serve.
5. Any parent of a child at the school can volunteer to be a member of the Parent Council. In the event that the number of volunteers exceeds the number of places set out in the constitution, members will be selected by means of a secret ballot that will be conducted during the AGM. Expressions of interest in becoming a member of the Council should be lodged with the Clerk to the Council at the Annan Academy School Office at least 7 days before the AGM is scheduled to take place. In the event of there not being the required number of expressions of interest for places, parents may be co-opted from the AGM or within the 4 week period immediately following it. 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.
6. The Parent Council may co-opt a minimum of 3 members, maximum of 5 non-parent members to assist it with carrying out its functions. Others invited to attend meetings are: Local Councillors, school staff (as required), school pupils x 2, School Based Police Officer and a representative from the Department of Education and Community Services.
7. Non-parent members will be co-opted for a period of 4 years, after which members may put themselves forward again for co-option if they wish. At the inaugural meeting of the Council, half of the co-opted members should be elected for a period of 2 years to allow for continuity and evolution. In the event of a co-opted member leaving the Council another may be invited to take his/her place for the remaining period of time that the original member was due to serve.

8. If the parent council choose to set up sub-groups, they should each involve at least one member of the parent council. Other members of the parent forum and school community may be co-opted to sub groups. Sub-groups will last as long as required to carry out their tasks. The duration of membership of sub-groups should be agreed at the time the group is commissioned. Parent council member(s) on any sub group(s) will be responsible for liaison with the Parent Council.
The Chair and other office bearers of the Council will be agreed by the Parent Council members within one week of its formation. It is recommended that office bearers serve for a period of 2 years. The Parent Council will be chaired by a parent of a child attending Annan Academy. If the child ceases to be a pupil, a new chair will be agreed at the next meeting.
Office bearers should consist: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Clerk and Treasurer.
The Council may choose to appoint an elected member of the Council (parents or co-opted) or someone independent of the Council as its Clerk. If the Clerk is a member of the Council the fact that they are also the Clerk will not affect their voting rights. If the Clerk is independent of the Council they should receive remuneration at an annually reviewed date. In this situation the Clerk will not have voting rights.
10. The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for Annan Academy and will make a report to it at least once each year on its activities on behalf of all the parents.
11. If 30 or 33% (whichever is the lesser) 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. The Parent Council shall give all members of the Forum at least 14 days notice of the meeting and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matter, or matters, to be discussed at the meeting.
12. The Annual General Meeting of the Parent Forum will be held in May of each year. A notice of the meeting including date, time, and place will be intimated to members of the Parent Forum at least 14 days in advance. The quorum for the AGM of the Parent Forum will be 6 parents.
The meeting will include:
a report on the work of the Parent Council and its committee(s)
selection of the new Parent Council (if required)
discussion of issues that members of the Parent Forum may wish to raise – previously notified to the Chairperson.
approval of the accounts and appointment of the auditor.
13. The Parent Council will meet at least once in every school term.
14. Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each parent member and each co-opted (non-parent) member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chairperson having a casting vote in the event of a tie.