PCC Jun 2016 News

School Survey, 17/06/2016

Please complete our survey of parents and carers – it’s findings are read and, where possible, acted upon by the School.  It’s an important opportunity for you to make your opinions and ideas known.  For reasons familiar to everyone, we’re late in holding it this year and are adopting an on-line format.  Paper copies are available from the office, should you prefer. Closing date for replies is 24th June.

Wall Collapse, 17/06/2016

The Chair of the independent inquiry into the school closures subsequent to the Oxgangs wall collapse has been announced as John Cole, CBE. Further details can be found on the Council website, here.

Parent Council Meeting News, 14/06/2016

There was a Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 7th June – minutes of which will be posted after they have been approved at the next meeting. The approved minutes of our January meeting can now be viewed in our “Documents” page.

Our meeting was shorter than usual but we addressed a number of pressing issues such a Road Safety, how the Parent Council communicates its activities to parents and how parents can be more involved as well as discussing matters relating to the wall collapse and hearing regular updates from Mrs Walshe and the various Parent Council subgroups.

Most notably, the PTA indicated that, though the figure was not yet final, the May Fair has brought in approximately £4,500.  Given the timescale the May Fair was organised over, and the late access to the building, this is an excellent result.  A massive thank you to everyone who organised it, who helped set it up, and who came along to support it – all of the money raised goes to help support the children attending Oxgangs Primary.

A little later than usual, the Parent Council hope to conduct our annual survey of all parents and carers of children at Oxgangs.  Because we’re pushed for time before the summer break, and to make it a little more manageable, this years survey will be on-line.  If you don’t have internet access and would like to submit a response we can arrange a paper copy for you to complete. Please look out for the ParentMail!

The next meeting is the Parent Forum meeting, which the Parent Council organises.  This meeting gives the Parent Council a chance to tell all parents what we’ve been doing over the previous year and also elect new members to the Parent Council – this usually means no more than sticking your hand up and saying you’d like to come along to our meetings and take part.  All parents are warmly invited – the date for this meeting has been penciled in for the 20th of September 2016.

You can access the survey directly here.  Thank you.

News Relating to the Wall Collapse, 14/06/2016

Despite the school looking like “The Beirut Hilton”, as one Edinburgh Council official noted, most parents and children are relieved and happy to back in the building.  However, there are still some outstanding matters.

Councillor Corbett forwarded a response from Will Rudd Davidson concerning the question “Why a full structural survey was not done after the first wall collapse in January”, the context being, were our children prematurely returned to an unsafe building?  This communication can be read here.  The PC Chair has since written a response, which can be read here, indicating that Will Rudd Davidson’s answer is not satisfactory.

Councillor Rust has also forwarded to all relevant parties a draft of the Terms of Reference for the Edinburgh Schools inquiry: a copy of this communication can be read here.

A draft of the transcript of our meeting with Council Executives on the 26th of April has been put on the “Documents” page.  Not all the comments have been attributed.  From the audio, though it is easy to pick out voices familiar to us, the unfamiliar have gone unaccounted.  If you attended and we’ve wrongly, or not, attributed your question or comment, please get in touch and we’ll amend.  The transcript will remain as long as this website is available, however, the audio will be taken off, along with all news items for this academic year, and archived in August, prior to the commencement of the new school session.

Regular Parent Council Meeting, 06/06/2016

There will be a regular Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 7th June, between 7 pm and 9 pm.  The Agenda for this meeting is attached here.

Meeting of Primary Parent Council Chairs and Edinburgh Council, 06/06/2016

The PC chair was invited to attend a meeting between the PC Chairs of all schools built under PPP1 and Mr Andy Gray, the Head of Schools for the City of Edinburgh Council on the 24th of May.

As well as Oxgangs’, the PC chairs of St Peter’s and St. Joseph’s attended.

Other than to confirm that the cosmetic repairs to the school building will take place over the summer, there was little more information received that was specific to Oxgangs that has not already been noted elsewhere.

More generally, it was confirmed that a council instigated enquiry will take place into the provision of Edinburgh public buildings under PPI contracts.

Ensuring Child Safety around the School, 06/06/2016

The “Links” page has been reworked as a “Useful Info.” page.  The first item to be added is a working document on the laws and rules associated with car parking and dog handling around the school.

No parent wants their child put in harms way and no right thinking person would purposefully put a child in harms way, however, it is all too easy to inadvertently make an accident more likely.  We need to be child aware in moving around the school, especially at drop-off and pick-up times; we need to work together to ensure the safety of all.

Please get in touch if you think it’d be useful to have other specific information here, or if you’ve any links you think would be useful to other parents.

Firhill Partnership Project, 06/06/2016

We have had no adverse comments so far about the construction of this facility at the entrance to the school car park: all seems to be going well, the site is well enclosed and well operated.  Again, please get in touch if you have any concerns.

May Fair, 06/06/2016

After near heroic efforts by parents on the PTA as well as those parents and teachers who helped, the May Fair went ahead as normal on the 28th May.  The May Fair is one of the main parent led fund raising activities which provides the means for all children to have access to facilities, experiences, and equipment the school would otherwise not be able to afford.  A more accurate figure will be published in due course, but the ball-park figure for funds raised is about £4,000.  A huge thank you to all those who pulled it together, to those who helped in whatever way they could, and to those who came along to support it.