admin@craigmount.edin.sch.uk 0131 339 6823
admin@craigmount.edin.sch.uk 0131 339 6823

Parent Council

The Parent Council works with the school to improve the experience of your children and to represent the views of parents and carers at Craigmount High School.

We get involved in many issues, but typical ones include:

  • Curriculum and the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence
  • Impact of budget cuts
  • School Improvement Plan
  • Review of report from Head Teacher

We represent parents who are active members of the parent forum and you can get involved by:

  • Checking the Parent Council page on the website and sending us an email if you have a query;
  • Attending parents evening and other events for parents and speaking to one of us;
  • Coming along to a meeting as an observer without any commitment to join;
  • Supporting fundraising by buying a quiz or helping at an event such as The Corstorphine Fair scheduled for June 2024;
  • Joining the Parent Council and coming along to any of 7 meetings a year (usually on a Monday evening).

 

You may already know one of us in which case feel free to raise any issues with council members directly or by sending an email to contactus@chsparentcouncil.onmicrosoft.com.  

The office bearers of the Council for the 2023/24 session:

The other members of the Council are:

  • Michelle Appleby (S1)
  • Ian Batty (S5)
  • Mark Bingham (S5)
  • Nicola Currie-Mullan (S5)
  • Gilly Herbert (S1, 3, 5) (our fundraising convener) – email Gilly
  • Alison Humphreys (S3)
  • Lucy Hunter (S5)
  • Claire Labelle (S2, 3)
  • Jeni Mackay (S1)
  • Jeanette Ross (S4, 6)
  • Alison Thomson

The Head Teacher and other teaching staff attend the meetings. Parents are welcome to join the meetings at any time. Local councillors and our local MP and MSP are invited and often attend our meetings.

Meetings

We meet 7 times a year, 2 or 3 times each term, every 5 or 6 weeks or so, on Monday evenings at 7pm for around 90 minutes. In the past these meetings were in the school, but since COVID, we have alternated between in-person meetings at the school and online meetings via Teams.

Attendance is open to all parents/carers of students at Craigmount and you are most welcome to come to a meeting, either to observe or with a view to joining.

Meetings will be publicised on our Facebook page and in the school’s weekly Sway the week before each meeting. If you wish to receive the notice and agenda for each meeting direct to your mailbox – or the meeting link for each online meeting –  please email our secretary to be added to our list.

Any general questions for the school should be sent to admin@craigmount.edin.sch.uk

Our remaining meetings for the 2023/24 session are as follows:

  • 13 November 2023 (at Craigmount High School)
  • 8 January 2024 (online via Teams)
  • 25 March 2024 (at Craigmount High School – rescheduled from 4th March)
  • 29 April 2024 (online via Teams)
  • 3 June 2024 (our AGM, at Craigmount High School)

Further Reading

Constitution

Constitution (13.11.2011)

This is the constitution for Craigmount High School Parent Council.

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.
• to promote partnership between the school, its students, its parents and the wider community.
• to develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the students.
• 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 students.
• to ensure that all parents are informed appropriately.

2. The parent membership of the Council will be a minimum of 7 parents of children attending the school. The maximum will be 15 parents. It is desirable but not necessary that parents should represent students from all 6 years of the school, and also from all 6 associated primaries.

3. Every parent member of the Council will be appointed for a period of two years, with the option of leaving after one year. After serving for two years they may put themselves forward for re-selection.

4. Any parent of a child at the school can volunteer to be a member of the Parent Council. If spaces are available, priority will be given to ensuring year and associated primary representation (see 2.). If the membership has reached the maximum number allowed, volunteers can become members of any sub-group set up by the Council, and may join the Council at the first opportunity thereafter.

5. The number of parent members on the Parent Council must be greater than the number of all other members, excluding co-opted members.

6. Any sub-groups formed by the Council will report regularly to the Council, will deliver any monies raised to the Council, and may be dissolved and re-formed as and when the Council requires. Forum members may be asked to join the sub-groups at any time.

7. Up to 3 members of staff and up to 3 students will be invited to become members of the Council. These members will be chosen so as to ensure as wide a representation of Craigmount School as possible.

8. The Parent Council may co-opt up to 3 members from the community. These members will be chosen so as to ensure as relevant a representation as possible.

9. Co-opted members will be invited to serve for a period of one year, after which time the Parent Council will review and consider. Staff and student members will be appointed for a period of 2 years, with the option of leaving after 1 year.

10. The Headteacher of Craigmount High School or his/her representative will attend every meeting.

11. All local elected representatives will be invited to attend Council meetings.

12. The Council will appoint the following office bearers from the Parent members – Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. These will be agreed by the Parent Council members immediately following its formation. A Clerk will be appointed if monies are made available. Office bearers will be re-selected by the Parent Council on an annual basis.

13. The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for Craigmount High School and will communicate regularly with the Forum on its activities.

14. An Annual Meeting will be held in May of each year. A notice of the meeting including date, time, and place will be sent 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 its sub-groups
• selection of the new Parent Council
• discussion of issues that members of the Parent Forum may wish to raise
• approval of the accounts and appointment of the auditor.

15. The Parent Council will aim to meet every 6 to 8 weeks.

16. Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each parent, staff and student member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie.

17. 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 one week’s notice of date, time and place of the meeting.

18. If a Parent Council member acts 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 parent members agree. Termination of membership would be confirmed in writing to the member.

19. Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to the Parent Forum at Craigmount High School and to all staff at the school. Copies will be available from the Clerk to the Parent Council, from the school office and from the school website.

20. 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 Headteacher, or his/her representative, can attend. There may also be certain circumstances when it will be deemed inadvisable for the student members to attend.

21. The Treasurer will open a bank or building society account in the name of the Parent Council for all Parent Council funds. Withdrawals will require the signature of the Treasurer and one other Parent Council member.

22. 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 accounts will be checked by two persons from the Forum who are not members of the Council, and who were appointed at the previous Annual Meeting.

23. The Parent Council shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.

24. 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 any proposed amendment and given reasonable time to respond to the proposal.

25. Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining funds will be passed to the education authority to be used for the benefit of Craigmount High School.

Fundraising

Craigmount High School Fundraising Committee

Craigmount High School Fundraising Committee is a sub group of the Parent Council to assist with planning, co-ordination and implementation of fundraising activities, identifying sources of support as well as assisting in decision making for spend. 

The Fundraising Committee plays an active role securing funds for the school through direct sponsorship, fundraising activities or connecting the school with grant funding to enhance and extend our students’ educational experiences. Through this assistance, we typically raise a substantial amount every year (over £20k since 2021). All funding requests and initiatives are approved by the Parent Council in consultation with the head teacher. The following provides examples of initiatives or funding requests that we have funded or secured funding for in recent years:

– mental health awareness initiatives 

– educational field trips

– sports kit and equipment 

– music and drama initiatives 

– gardening equipment

– debating club support

– pupil equity fund contributions

– school uniform funding

– library resources

– science department homework kits

– information & computing technology equipment 

– craft and design technology materials 

– scientific calculators for pupils

– school prom 

– school concerts

The Fundraising Committee has built strong links with businesses in the local community and continues to build on these relationships to benefit fundraising efforts.

Please contact Gilly Herbert at gilly.herbert@chsparentcouncil.onmicrosoft.com or fundraising@chsparentcouncil.onmicrosoft.com for more information on sponsorship or donor opportunities. 

Sponsors’ Page

This page is to thank the generosity of our different partners and their contribution to our community at Craigmount High School.

Each partner represented here has provided resources for different aspects of the school ranging from sports equipment to staff training to promoting positive mental health. Each contribution has had a positive impact on our young people.

If you have an opportunity to support Craigmount High School and its young people then please contact Gilly Herbert on the parent council: craigmount.parentcouncil@gmail.com