1. 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 and carers.
- To promote partnership between the school, its pupils and all its parents and carers.
- 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.
- To support and encourage the activities of all sub committees formed. The Parent Council has the power to raise sub committees when needed; their activities will be reported back at each Parent Council meeting and financially at the AGM.
- The Parent Council shall have the power to do anything considered by them to be in furtherance of their aims but remembering they are there to represent the views of the Parents Forum.
2. Membership of the Parent Council shall be as follows:
- A maximum of twenty individuals comprising 18 parent members and 2 teaching staff representatives.
- There should be a minimum of one member from the sub committee of the Parents' Association.
- The Parent Council will endeavor to recruit a co-opted member from the wider community.
3. Members of the Parent Council shall be selected for a period of 2 years after which they may put themselves forward for re-selection if they wish. All parents of children at the school have a right to put themselves forward for membership of the Parent Council. Any member of the Parent Council failing to attend three consecutive meetings without reason or apology will be deemed to have retired from the Parent Council.
4. The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer of the Parent Council will be agreed by all members immediately following its formation. The Parent Council will be chaired by a parent of a child attending Merrylee Primary School. If the child ceases to be a pupil, a new Chair will be agreed at the next meeting of the Parent Council.
5. The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for Merrylee Primary School and will make a report to it at least once each year on its activities, on behalf of all the parents.
If a minimum of 5 members of the Parent Forum request a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Parent Council remit, the Parent Council shall arrange this. Alternatively, if an appeal by a smaller number of parents is made directly to the Chair, the Chair will act reasonably in considering whether a meeting shall be arranged. The Parent Council shall give all members of the Parent Forum at least 2 weeks notice of the meeting and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matters to be discussed at the meeting.
6. The Annual Meeting will be held in September of each year. A notice of the meeting including date, time and place will be available to all members of the Parent Forum at least 2 weeks in advance. The meeting will include:
- a report on the work of the Parent Council and any sub committees
- approval of the accounts of the Parent Council and sub committees
7. The Parent Council will meet a least once in every term. Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each Council member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie. Any two 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 1 weeks notice of the date, time and place of meeting.
8. If a Parent Council member acts in a way that is considered by others members to undermine the objectives of the Parent Council, their membership of the Parent Council shall be terminated should the majority of members agree. Termination of membership would be confirmed in writing to the member.
9. Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to all parents of children at Merrylee Primary School and to all teachers at the school. Copies will be available from the Secretary of the Parent Council and on the website.
10. 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 and the head teacher, or his or her representative, can attend.
11. The Treasurer will open a bank or building society account in the name of the Parent Council. Withdrawls will require the signature of the Treasurer and one other Parent Council member. The Parent Council shall not be limited to opening one bank account.
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 Meeting. The Parent Council shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.
12. The Parent Council may change its constitution after obtaining consent from members of the Parent Forum. Members of the Parent Forum will be sent a copy of the proposed amendment and given reasonable time to respond to the proposal at an AGM.
13. Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining funds will be passed to the education authority to be used for the benefit of Merrylee Primary School where this continues.
