Constitution

Mortlach Primary School Parent Council Constitution

 1 Name

The official name for the parent council will be Mortlach Primary School Parent Council.

 2 Aims, Objectives and Vision

• To work in Partnership with the school to create a welcoming school which is inclusive for all parents/carers.

• To promote partnership between the school, its pupils and all its parents/carers.

• To develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils.

• To identify and represent the views of parents/carers on the education provided by the school and other matters affecting the education and welfare of pupils.

• At Mortlach Anything is possible:

o   Curiosity

o   Acceptance

o   Resilience

o   Enthusiasm

 3 Powers

Mortlach Primary School Parent Council shall have the power to do anything considered by them to be in furtherance of the aims and objectives but remembering that they are there to represent the views of its members.

4 Membership

• Membership to the parent council is open to all parents/carers of children attending Mortlach Primary School.

• The parent council must have a minimum of 5 parents representing the school, there is no maximum number.

• Ideally there should be representation from every class P1-P7 where possible, however this is not essential.

• If the number of parent/carer representation exceeds the maximum number of places set in the constitution, members names will be randomly selected.

• If a member of the parent council behaves in a manner which under minds the aims and objective of the parent council, there membership will be terminated if a majority vote is maintained. The individual will be notified in writing and records maintained.

• Co-opted members may join the parent council if required (Co-opted members are there to help fill voids or to bring certain expertise to the group).

• The Head teacher or his/her representative has a right and a duty to attend meetings of the Parent Council.

5 Election of Office Bearers

• Members of the Parent Council shall be appointed at the AGM. They shall be elected for a one-year term and be eligible for re-election if they wish.

• Parents/carers shall always form the majority of the Parent Council.

• The office bearers are Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.

• The Parent Council is able to run without a chairperson If not filled.

• The Chairperson must be a parent/carer of a child attending Mortlach Primary School.

• The Parent Council may co-opt any member to fill in a vacancy at the AGM or occurring between AGMs. The co-opted members shall retire at each AGM but shall be eligible for re-election.

6 Annual General Meeting (AGM)

• The AGM will take Place in September.

• The notice to call the meeting shall be sent out to all parent/carers of Mortlach Primary School at least two weeks in advance.

• Voting shall be on the basis of one vote per parent/carer present at the meeting.

• For an AGM there needs to be at least 5 members present.

• Annual reports from the Chairperson and the Treasurer will be reported in the minutes of the meeting.

• The election of the new Parent Council will take place.

• Approval of the accounts where possible should be done before the AGM.

• Any 2 members of the Parent Council can request an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), there should be at least 2 weeks notice given to all parent council members.

7 Meetings

• Meetings of the Parent Council shall be held as required but ideally should at least be once every term.

• Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each member at the meeting will have one vote, with the chairperson having a casting vote in the event of a tie.

• Any two members of the Parent Council can request an additional meeting to be held and all members of the Parent Council will be given at least a weeks notice of the date, time and place of the meeting.

• The secretary shall be responsible for taking accurate minutes of all the meetings and these will be made available to all parents/carers of Mortlach Primary School. These can be emailed out via the school admin and can be made available on the school notice board and school website, if appropriate.

• In the event of the school being closed, or social restrictions are in place for a long period of time, i.e a term, then virtual meetings shall be held on a suitable platform.

8 Finance

• The funds of the Parent Council will be lodged in a bank or building society in the name of Mortlach Parent Council.

• The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping an accurate record of all income and expenditure, and will provide a summary for each parent council meeting, and a full account for the annual general meeting.

• The accounts shall be brought to balance prior to the AGM, and be reviewed by an appropriate financial individual, as agreed at a meeting of the Parent Council. The individual does not need to be a qualified accountant, just someone who is comfortable with working with figures. This person cannot be related to a member of the Parent Council and must be trustworthy.

• The Parent Council will be responsible for ensuring that all money received will be used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.

• Withdrawals and cheques will require the signatures of two out of the three Office Bearers (Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary).

• The Parent Council bank or building society account is to be registered to the address of the school.

9 Changes to the Constitution

• Changes can be made to the constitution after obtaining consent from the majority of members of the Parent Council.

• Members of the Parent Council must be given an appropriate and agreed amount of time to respond to changes.

• The constitution can only be changed through agreement by a majority vote.

10 Dissolution

If the Parent Council ceases to exist, any remaining funds will be passed to Mortlach Primary School to be used for the benefit of its pupils.