Meetings
General Meetings and Annual General Meetings
The Parent Council acts as the collective voice of all parents within the wider Parent Forum. It is important that the Council has flexible arrangements in place for hearing the views of parents, representing these to the school, or the local authority, or other body, and providing feedback to the Parent Forum.
The Parent Council has to report back at least once a year to the Parent Forum but it will also be important to have good ongoing communication between both the Forum and Parent Council members. These arrangements do not need to be set out in the constitution. However, the constitution should set out how a special general meeting can be called.
What your constitution might say
The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for Anytown School and will make a report to it at least once each year on its activities on behalf of all the parents.
If (x) number (or %) of members of the Parent Forum request a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Parent Council’s remit, the Parent Council shall arrange this. The Parent Council shall give all members of the Forum at least (two weeks) notice of the meeting and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matter, or matters, to be discussed at the meeting.
Annual meeting
It is good practice for the Parent Council to hold an annual meeting - the Parent Forum would decide this at the time it agrees the constitution. The annual meeting would be when the parents selected new members for the Parent Council and when the Parent Council reported back formally to the Parent Forum. If the Parent Forum decides it wants to have an annual meeting, a new Parent Council will need to hold its first annual meeting within 12 months of starting up. After the first annual meeting, there should be 12 months between future annual meetings. It is important that people know in good time about the meeting, and feel that they are truly welcome.
What your constitution might say
The Annual Meeting will be held in April 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 two weeks in advance. The meeting will include:
- A report on the work of the Parent Council and its committee(s)
- 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.
How should the Parent Council carry out its work?
Clear arrangements about how the Parent Council organises and runs meetings can help the Council to operate effectively. Some key areas to cover are suggested in the draft wording for your constitution.
Questions for parents to think about
- How often the Parent Council is going to meet, and how often any working groups are going to meet, and how decisions are going to be made.
- What happens if an important matter needs to be discussed and the next planned meeting is not for some weeks?
- What would the group do if a parent member of the Parent Council acted in a way that is not in keeping with the aims and objectives of the Council? Inviting a member to leave the Parent Council should be used as a very last resort and would happen in situations where, for example, a member was using the Council in order to promote an individual issue to do with their child or if the member's behaviour at meetings was disruptive or abusive.
What your constitution might say
The Parent Council will meet at least once in every school term.
Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each parent member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie.
Any two parent 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.
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.
Notes of meetings
You can help to keep all members of the Parent Forum informed by making copies of Parent Council meetings available.
What your constitution might say
Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to all parents of children at Anytown School and to all teachers at the school. Copies will be available from the Secretary of the Parent Council/Clerk to the Parent Council and from the school office.
Confidentiality
Your Parent Council will wish to work in a way which is open and transparent. In general, all meetings of the Parent Council are open to the public.
However, the Parent Council, (including the Headteacher) also has the right to meet in private during discussion of any matter which the Council considers should be dealt with on a confidential basis. These would normally be matters that were confidential to a named individual.
Individual cases relating to pupils, teachers or parents at the school are not matters for direct Parent Council involvement. For example, if there is a case of bullying at the school the Parent Council may discuss the general bullying policy but will wish to leave any individual case of bullying to be addressed by the school and others as appropriate. There might be other situations where the Parent Council wants to support a pupil who is suffering from serious illness. In this case the Parent Council should not discuss the individual case, or act on behalf of the pupil, but could write to the parents of the child asking for permission to provide support, for example, through fundraising.
What your constitution might say
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 or her representative, can attend.