Welcome: Amersham School Parent Council

Parent Council Parent Council role is consultative and advisory: The governing body remains the decision-maker and provides strategic leadership. Parent Council is not the channel for individual complaints and issues. Concerns or complaints involving individual children, families or teachers will not be discussed. The Amersham School already has procedures for this.

Setting up: Why the Parent Council has been set up? What is its purpose and remit? The ground rules: how the group will work, what is acceptable and appropriate What issues parents would like to discuss? How people want to be involved? Who will take forward any actions Dates of future meetings.

How do we fit in? Governing Body Main strategic decision-making body for the school Financial and legal management of the school Appoints the head-teacher Sets the strategic direction of the school Sets targets and monitors progress Responsible for taking account of parents' views Parent Teacher Association Fundraising Bringing parents and staff together socially Organising social events Enabling parents and carers to get involved in the life of the school Reaching out to other parents Parent Council A route through which parents as a group advise the governing body of their views A route for the governing body to consult parents as a group Bringing parents together socially Enabling parents to share views and ideas Providing support to parents Helping parents to support their child Enabling parents to get involved in the life of the school Reaching out to other parents School Council A route through which pupils' views are represented to the school/governing body A route for the school/governing body to consult pupils

The Parent Council will have a close working relationship with the governing body (and the leadership team).This will ensure that the goals of the Parent Council relate to the strategic direction of the school and its broader objectives. The governing body will be informed about what issues are being raised in the Parent Council and what actions the school is taking in response. These links could be created by: a parent governor attending Parent Council meetings and reporting back to the governing body the governing body inviting a representative from the Parent Council to give regular verbal or written reports to the governing body the governing body producing written responses to issues raised by the Parent Council a representative from the Parent Council liaising regularly with the head teacher or a senior member of staff. We already have other structures in place such as Parent Teacher Associations, School Councils and other groups. To avoid duplication and clarify people's roles and responsibilities, we need to be clear about the purpose of each body and how they relate to each other.

Things to bear in mind over the first year and into the future It will take time for a Parent Council to get established. Celebrate and keep a record of your successes. Keep lines of communication open between everyone. Set challenging but achievable goals with timescales and ensure that the Parent Council and the school are committed to achieving them. Keep trying to reach out to new people Avoid revisiting the same issues Prioritise issues and try to stick to those priorities. Review and evaluate effectiveness of the group and progress in general.