Annual Report Mpp 0809

Moray Parent Partnership (MPP) Annual Report 2008/2009

This term started with much intrepidation for me as the newly appointed Chair. Firstly, it is appropriate to thank Andrew for his many years on the Parent Board and subsequently the Parent Partnership. Also thanks to Mrs. Wright for her continued hard work as Headteacher in our school. At the AGM on 11th Setember 2008 it was agreed that the existing Parent Council members - Lynn Paterson, Ian McGregor, Lorraine Clark, Andrew Steedman, Lorna Tilley, Diane Campbell, Martin Craigen, Elizabeth Leebody, Elaine Millar and Robert Niven - would continue as members and form the Partnership. This is in keeping with the constitution. Sadly, Sheila Punton decided to resign as she has other commitments (looking after her grandsons so that Diane can attend meetings!). I would like to thank her for her attendance at meetings and her interest in the school – it is difficult enough to try to coax parents to participate let alone grandparents - so thankyou Sheila for supporting the Council. The posts of Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer would be held by Lynn Paterson, Ian McGregor and Lorraine Clark for a period of one year. New members to the Council were Mr. G. Leebody, Mrs. F. Currie and Mrs. Lorraine Morrison. Unfortunately, Graham Leebody and Fiona Currie decided their talents would better serve the P.T.A and I believe Graham is still actively supporting this. Whilst Lorraine Morrison was not present at the AGM it was decided that she would become a member of the partnership and subsequently attend meetings throughout the term. Lynn McGuire (formerly Prentice) from The Circuit Fitness Club within the Sports Complex was adopted as a co-opted member. The Council would like to thank Lynn for her interest in the school and taking part in meetings and it is hoped that this will continue. Local Councillors were invited on a rotational basis and Councillor Angus MacDonald attended the meeting on 29th Jan 2009.

Achievments

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Road Safety Campaign This initiative was proposed by Martin Craigen. The children drew pictures and made up slogans on how they felt adults should be aware of their safety in and around school. The winners were chosen by the Council and their signs were erected on the school railings with the help of local businesses providing sponsorship. This was a bid to alert parents / carers of how perilous it can be around school for children and that they should take care and consider others when parking and driving in Moray Place. The drawings and slogans were married together for greater impact and Mrs. Wright thanked the children for their input. Subsequently we had an enquiry from Langlees Parent Council on how we managed the campaign and I think they are devising something of a similar nature. Additionally, the road markings were reinstated to allow the Traffic Police to challenge people who are illegally parked. This was with the support of Councillor MacDonald. I have to say although things have improved slightly there is still room for improvement and the safety of our children is everyone’s responsibility.

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MPP Webpage It was agreed by the Council that having our own page on the school website would be a good way of informing parents of our meetings, what we are about, what are our responsibilities, really - who is MPP! In March we had a presentation from Mrs. Johnston who demonstrated features of the current site and how easy it would be to manage our own page. Thanks to Mrs. Johnston for taking the time out to do this. Currently there is information about the Council on our page but I am hopeful that we can improve on this next term. The children were asked to design a logo for this page and the winner was chosen at our meeting in June. Thanks went to all the children for their great efforts and I look forward to seeing it on our updated page very soon.

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Groupcall Thanks again to Councillor MacDonald who had our charges waived for this service. Whilst informative messages continue to be promoted on the website it is absolutely vital that parents can be alerted if their child / children are not in attendance by way of groupcall. This is a big saving for the school and can be put into the purchasing of essential resources.

Head Teacher Reports In September copies of the Standards and Quality report were submitted and approved by the Partnership and were circulated to parents. March brought us the news that we had a high number of placing requests to the school against the number of places available. This matter is out of the Head Teacher / Parent Council’s remit and was dealt with by Law and Administration. It was reported to us that there would likely be composite classes throughout Moray. The partnership expressed its dissatisfaction of this to Education Services. Subsequently there are no composite classes this term and this is thanks to Mrs. Wright and her lengthy meetings with Education Services. It is reported that there will likely be composite classes at Moray in the future and this is something that Mrs. Wright has worked with in the past. This term we saw the retiral of a much loved Mrs. Davidson, Nursery Teacher and MPP wished her well. Two new appointments for next term are Miss. Molloy and Miss Multani both of whom have experience in Moray Primary and not only work well within the team of teachers but are liked and respected by the children. On a happy note – Mrs.Wright was delighted to report on the success of our Green Flag achieved at the Ecoflag Assessment Day. Congratulations to the Eco Committee and all of the children (and teachers!) who support this. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meetings •

Parent’s Conference – Literacy Across Learning – Victoria Primary School Attended by Diane Campbell. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aims •

To continue promoting every aspect of Moray Primary School.

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To address any issues that arise concerning the school.

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To establish and maintain a Parents Partnership Noticeboard within school so that any parent / carer may access information during school hours.

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To work on the web page and issue minutes of meetings / reports for all parents to access.

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To attend more meetings / conferences as and when circumstances allow .

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To keep an ‘open door policy’ to any parents who wish to join MPP. I would like to thank all the members of MPP for their patience with me in my new role and their support over the term. Also, thank you to Norma for her clerical skill and support.

Lynn Paterson Chairperson – MPP 2008/2009