Q and A
Developing a Constitution
Who decides what a Parent Council should look like?
It is for members of the Parent Forum at each school to decide on whether they wish to have a Parent Council and, if so, what their Parent Council should look like and how they wish to select members of the Council. Section 8 of the Toolkit breaks the development of a constitution for the Parent Council into manageable sections.
What is the role of the education authority?
The education authority role is to promote the setting up and support the operation of Parent Councils in their schools.
How can education authorities support Parent Councils?
Some of the ways in which education authorities (EAs) might offer support for their Parent Councils include:
- EAs need to be prepared to help implement different Parent Council arrangements, whatever selection methods are chosen by Parent Forum members. These might be based on non-election methods, e.g. volunteers, members chosen by lots etc, or members may be chosen by election. Where a Parent Forum wishes to have elections, the local authority should consider whether election for individual Parent Councils should be run by central staff, or school based staff, or by parents and school staff working together.
- EAs need to establish the budget for Parent Councils and advise their Councils accordingly.
- Offer support and advice to Parent Councils on financial issues including setting up bank accounts, insurance etc.
- Offer networking opportunities to bring Parent Councils in their area together.
- Consider training needs of Parent Councils and, in particular, training of any Parent Council members who are to be involved in a Headteacher/Depute Headteacher appointment panel.
Can co-opted members have full voting rights?
Yes, but consideration should be given in developing the constitution as to whether circumstances might arise where co-opted members out-number parent members. Such a circumstance could lead to co-opted members with full voting rights having more of a say than parent members.
How can the constitution be changed?
Once Parent Councils have been running for a while they may feel that changes to their constitution are required. The constitution should contain provisions that allow it to be updated. Any changes should be agreed with the wider Parent Forum. If individual parents feel that change are necessary, they should check the constitution on how to bring changes forward at the Parent Council's AGM. Copies of the constitution will be available from the Parent Council's office-bearers.
Parent Council Selection methods
Who decides how members of Parent Councils are selected?
It is up to parents as members of the Parent Forum for the school to decide on the selection method for membership of the Parent Council for their school. Selection methods may vary from school to school and may involve elections or some other means of selecting representatives depending on what parents agree in their constitution.
Where parents choose to have elections, authorities might be able to offer support to run these as they used to do for School Boards. On the other hand, parents may wish to run the elections themselves with support at a local level from the school. For example, they might choose to have representatives elected by year groups within the school. Parents of course may choose other more informal methods to select members, e.g. asking for volunteers, choosing members by show of hands, etc. Essentially, parents should agree selection methods with which they are most comfortable and write these into their constitution.
The education authority and schools can help parents to look at what options there are and what parents wish to see for their local circumstances.
Should Parent Council members be selected at the annual meeting of the Parent Forum?
The Parent Council must report to all members of the Parent Forum at least once per year. This can be done at the annual meeting of the Parent Council, to which all members of the Parent Forum are invited. The same meeting can be used to select members of the Parent Council for the forthcoming year, or years, as set out in the Council’s constitution.
Parent Councils Members and Clerks
Can a parent be a member of more than one Parent Council?
Yes - a parent can be a member of more than one Parent Council if they have children at the respective schools.
Can a parent who is also a member of staff at the school become a member of the Parent Council?
Yes, if a parent of a child at the school they are automatically a member of the Parent Forum and have the same rights as other parents. However, if they become a member of the Parent Council, they should be clear that they are there in their role as a parent, not as a member of school staff.
What is the role of local authority elected members in Parent Councils?
The Parent Council constitution agreed by the Parent Forum will say who, if anyone, the Parent Council can co-opt. This can include the local councillor if parents so choose.
Are Parent Council members entitled to time off work to carry out their duties?
Members of Parent Councils have the right to time off work under the Employment Rights Act.
Do Parent Council members need to be disclosure checked?
In the first instance a Parent Council should speak to its local authority. It is for education authorities and organisations to decide which individuals are regarded as being in a child care position as defined by the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 and for whom a disclosure check may be required. Occasional or one-off involvement in school activities may not require a disclosure check, particularly where other adults supervising children are disclosure checked. Guidance for staff, schools and education authorities on disclosure checks for individuals who may wish to work with children is provided in the “Safe and Well” handbook.
The Scottish Government has recently amended the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act so that Parent Council members will not need to be checked if they are solely attending Parent Council meetings at the school. However, if Parent Council members are involved in supervising activitities involving children such as after school clubs, they will still need to be checked. Read the latest guidance.
Full information on disclosure checking procedures can be found on www.disclosurescotland.co.uk.
What are the arrangements for Parent Council Clerks?
Processes vary across authorities. The guidance on the Act states that “the authority should seek to agree arrangements whereby they can minimise the administrative burden on the Parent Council of appointing a clerk”, recognising that it could be burdensome for individual Parent Councils to do their own advertising/interviewing. Whether a clerk is a paid employee of the authority, or not, depends on the contractual arrangements that the authority agrees with the clerk. The authority's own legal team should be able to offer advice.
What is the tax status of a clerk directly "employed" by a Parent Council?
In cases where the Parent Council, rather than the local authority, takes on responsibility for paying a Clerk, the Clerk will normally be classed as “self employed” so it is the individual’s responsibility rather than the Parent Councils to declare their earnings as a clerk to HM Revenue and Customs. The Parent Council is however expected to keep records of who they paid and how much for work done as a clerk. For further clarification, you can check HM Revenue and Customs Employment Status Indicator or contact your local tax office.
Does the Headteacher need to be a co-optee given that she has a right and a duty to attend?
Headteachers have a right and duty to attend (or to be represented at) Parent Council meetings so do not need to be selected as a co-opted member.
Should the Headteacher have a vote?
In practice, this is unlikely. Headteachers (or their representative) have a right and duty to attend Parent Council meetings to offer advice and information, but good practice might suggest that . The Toolkit and Guidance do not suggest that headteachers should have a vote since it might be better for headteachers to remain objective in the interests of both the Parent Council and the school..
Parent Councils charitable status
Can Parent Councils obtain charitable status?
A Parent Council will be able to obtain charitable status if, on the evidence of its constitution and activities, they pass the ‘charity test’ and their constitution does not otherwise disqualify them from being considered a charity.
What is the ‘charity test’?
The ‘charity test’ requires that an organisation’s purposes consist of only one or more of the charitable purposes under the Charities and Trustee Investment ( Scotland) Act 2005. Charitable purposes under the Act includes the ‘advancement of education’. The organisation must also provide public benefit in Scotland or elsewhere.
Does the Parental Involvement Act ‘toolkit constitution’ meet the test for charitable status?
Advice from OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) suggests that a Parent Council, applying on the basis of the ‘toolkit constitution’, would be likely to pass the relevant elements of the charity test in respect of charitable purpose. However, OSCR would take a decision based on what individual constitutions say and might want to discuss the wording in certain respects, for example, where a Parent Council had no office bearers; or the disposal of funds where a Parent Council was wound up. In addition, a Parent Council would need to provide evidence that its actual, or planned, activities would provide public benefit.
A Parent Council wishing to apply for charitable status can do so through the OSCR.
Would each individual Parent Council have to register separately?
Yes, each would have to apply for charitable status and therefore admission to the Scottish Charity Register in its own right.
What should a Parent Council think about if considering charitable status?
It is for Parent Councils to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of charitable status. Among the things they may wish to consider are how great a financial advantage does charitable status bring. For example, an organisation can receive gross rather than net interest on bank accounts, although this may not be a major issue for a Parent Council if they are dealing with relatively small sums of money. The organisation can also receive money through gift aid, although a careful record must be kept of who has given donations.
Seeking charitable status requires OSCR to scrutinise an organisation’s constitution. If charitable status is awarded this imposes certain responsibilities. These include how your accounts are drawn up, how you report to others, the role of Parent Council officers (who could now be trustees) and the need to publicise that the organisation is a charity. Receipts and payments accounts must be kept and copies sent to the OSCR each year with an annual return. Charitable status may also bring with it a requirement for office bearers of the Parent Council to be disclosure checked.
The OSCR website gives advice on the issues that any Parent Council thinking about charitable status needs to know about.
Parent Councils Other Issues
Do members of the Parent Council need to take out personal liability insurance?
No. Members of the Parent Council do not need to take out personal liability insurance cover. The Parental Involvement Act states that members of Parent Councils do not incur personal liability for anything done, or said to have been done, in carrying out the work of the Parent Council, if this was done in good faith.
Do Parent Councils need to take out public liability insurance?
Parent Councils should consider the need for appropriate insurance in respect of activities which it may undertake and in relation to which issues of liability might arise. Where a Parent Council undertakes an activity on behalf of the education authority or a school, it will wish to establish whether the members involved are covered by the authority's own insurance arrangements for public liability. Otherwise, as for activities undertaken by the Parent Council itself, or by anyone on its behalf, it should secure its own public liability insurance. The Parent Council could take out an individual policy with a recognised broker. Alternatively, it may wish to explore the possibility of buying into a group policy held by a national organisation or into local authority insurance arrangements.
Do the accounts of Parent Councils need to be audited by an Accountant?
The accounts of a Parent Council should be audited and presented to the Annual Meeting. The auditor does not need to be an accountant – simply someone who is used to working with figures, who is known and trusted by the Parent Council, and who is independent of the Parent Council. This is covered at page 98 of the Toolkit.
Can a Parent Council seek funds from the national lottery?
The Act allows a Parent Council to raise funds by any means other than by borrowing. It can also receive gifts. However, Parent Councils that wish to seek lottery funding may find it helpful to have a specific reference in their constitution saying that it can apply for and receive grants and gifts.
Are education authorities required to consult Parent Councils when setting term dates?
The Parental Involvement Act does not specifically require authorities to consult Parent Councils on term dates. However, we would expect authorities to continue to consult parents on this issue, and discussing with Parent Councils would be one way to do this.
Do early year establishments/nurseries have to set up a Parent Council?
Parents who have a child in a nursery class of a local authority primary school are automatically members of the Parent Forum for the primary school and can have a say in whether they want a Parent Council and what it should look like. Where parents have at nursery that is not part of a primary school, the guidance on the Act stresses the importance of local schools working with their Parent Council to promote contact with parents of children at nursery.
Can the Parent Council meet without the headteacher being present?
Parent Councils should agree a schedule of meetings that is suitable for all their members and the headteacher (or their representative) who has both a right and a duty to attend Parent Council meetings.
If the headteacher or their representative can't attend a meeting at late notice it doesn't mean that the meeting has to be cancelled. In such circumstances it might be advisable for the Parent Council to go ahead with the planned meeting to deal with the routine business but to postpone major decisions for a future meeting when the headteacher is able to attend.
Help and Support
What information is available to Parent Councils, PTAs and parents?
Guidance on the Parental Involvement Act and a toolkit of practical resources to support its implementation was published in 2006. Additional copies of the toolkit were sent to all headteachers in August 2007 to pass on to Parent Councils. Welcome Packs for Parent Council members were issued to education authorities and schools in August 2007.
Who can help Parent Councils?
Education authorities are under a duty to support Parent Councils. All authorities have local parental involvement contacts who can keep parents and staff up to date with what is happening in their area. Here is a list of local education authority details.
Other organisations offering help are the Scottish Parent Councils Association and the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.
How can I get more copies of the Toolkit or Welcome Pack?
We can provide additional copies of the CD-rom which contains both the Toolkit and the Guidance on the Act. The Toolkit has been designed to be photocopied for use in schools and is also available on the Parentzone website. We can also provide additional copies of the Welcome Pack to Parent Councils on request – please email: parentzone@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 0131 244 0025.