On Thursday 18th June Parent Council subgroups and school reported back on the huge amount achieved in a quite extraordinarily successful year of events and activities for the entire school community; a year which has seen more than £60 000 raised to support playground improvements, cycling, swimming, a Music Showcase, subsidised trips and residentials as well as Eco projects, fruit trays and a water cooler. Together we truly Believed and Achieved!

1. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting

2. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
• Welcome
• Apologies
• Approval of last year’s minutes
• Finance Report
• Subgroup reports
• School reports
• Election of Office Bearers
• Thoughts on the year ahead
Post AGM drinks at Summerhall

3. Sciennes School Council AGM
Treasurer’s Report
18th June 2015

4. Report for 2014-15 School Year
Current bank balance: £2,447
Current available funds: £1,960
Annual Income : £23,921
Parent Council fundraising profit £15,135
Annual Expenditure: £23,774
Expenditure on school trip subsidies £1,725*
Profit transferred to school playground £12,987
* A further £1,092 provided by FSS

5. Income School Year 2014-15
Combined net income from Parent Council (PC) and Friends of Sciennes
School Trust (FSS) events & activities:
£58,438 v £26,500 Last Year
Key fundraising activities:
•Triathlon Dads £12,719 (new event)
•Swimathon £12,550 v £7,404 Last Year
•Christmas Fair £10,411 v £6,171 Last Year
•Summer Fair £7,534 v £4,239 Last Year
Social events:
•Camera Obscura £1,151 (new event)
•Wine Quiz evening £1,001 v £432 Last Year
•Ceilidhs x 2 £801 v £818 Last year
•Discos x 2 £324 v £197 Last Year

6. Expenditure School Year 2014/15
Combined PC and FSS expenditure
Playground, playground, playground! £54,927
Also, very importantly -
•Trips and residential subsidies £2,817
Cycling lessons £2,970
•Swimming lessons £800
Parent Council Club subsidies £205
Music Concert £200
Water Cooler £330
Eco Group £100

7. City of Edinburgh Council Guidance
•Monies are raised on understanding that they
will be spent to benefit the children
•Best way to manage is to get input from
teaching staff on things they would like
•Decision on how money is spent lies with the
School Parent Council
•BUT School Parent Council buys things the
school actually wants

8. SPTC Membership
•Charity who provide help, information and support to
parents and carers who want to be involved in their
child's education
•Membership paid for by CoE Council
Provides public liability insurance for School
Council, Chess & Football Clubs & home baking
events
•Growing range of information and training sessions for
our members all over the country eg. PVG guidance
•Signpost other places to go for information and advice
on a wide range of education and parenting issues
http://www.sptc.info/about-sptc/

9. Treasurer Notes
Accounts:
•Financial Year 2014-15 successfully audited – copies available for
information on School Parent Council website.
•Consolidation of main Parent Council, Football and Chess Clubs
•Thanks to Iain Mackintosh for auditing the accounts
Partnership working:
•Continued use of Wisepay for PTA events’ ticket sales
•Use of BT mydonate for sponsored event via FSS makes easier collection
of Gift Aid and sponsor money
Treasurer team:
•Treasurer & 2 Co-Treasurers model has worked well – thanks to Jacqui for
supporting the new team through it´s transition
•Volunteer money-counters at events have been a great help

10. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Subgroup reports:
ECO GROUP

11. Eco group
Parent Council AGM
June 2015
Phoebe Cochrane

12. P3 and the raised beds
• Involving P3 children in looking after the area
behind the huts where we have 3 raised beds
and a greenhouse.
• Every P3 child has a session in the raised beds
area or in the strip of land opposite the
school.
• We work with P3s as it fits most closely with
their curriculum.

13. Autumn term
• Harvesting what had been planted the
previous year
• Raking up leaves and jumping on the compost
heap
• Planting

14. Spring term
• Planting in pots for children to look after in
classrooms
• Further planting in the raised beds
• Keeping the area weeded

15. Summer term
• Clearing areas and sowing wild flowers
opposite the school
• More planting in the raised beds
• Weeding and keeping the garden tidy

16. Other
• Although we offered, we did not get involved
in the eco-reps this year.
• Thinking ahead, the new playground
developments might be an opportunity to try
and get different classes/year groups to be
responsible for looking after various aspects of
the playground – including keeping growing
things alive!

17. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Subgroup reports:
COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

18. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Subgroup reports:
CLUBS GROUP

19. Sciennes Parent Council Clubs
• 18 different kinds of club on offer
• Continued to work in partnership with Active
Schools
• All timetables and all club related information
is published on our webpage

20. Selection of SPC Club
Achievements
Congratulations to :
• Ruyuan for winning Second Prize in the Tesco Bank art
competition;
• All of the Acappella kids for their successful performances
throughout the year;
• The Guitar Club pupils for their continued practicing, almost all
have reached Grade 1 level with performance pieces; &
• All new Karate Club members for achieving their first belts.

21. Sciennes Chess Club
2014/15
• 60 children P2-P7
• 21 new members and 3 on waiting list
• 3 coaches and 7 assistant coaches
• 27 sessions (34 hrs) plus competition days (40hrs or more)

22. External Competitions
• Lothian Junior Chess League (Team and Individual)
• Delancy UK Chess Challenge (Individual)
• Scottish Primary School Team Championships
• 4-5 teams of four players in two age categories
• SCC consistently wins medals in each category
• Sciennes players show great sportsmanship even when not
getting medals
Team Competitions
21 14 Manchester 11-12 July 2015
Club Competition (19)
Megafinal (12)
Northern Gigafinal
Last Chance Saloon (2)
…

23. Blackhall
Heriots
Watsons
S Morningside
East Craig
Flora Stevenson
Kingsland
Nether Currie
St Ninians
Perth
St Thomas
Wardie
Low Port
Earlston HS
Fettes
Nigel Short
Bonaly
Sciennes
42 East Scotland Gigafinal qualifiers by Club
Sciennes (12)
Bonaly (5)
Nigel Short Soc(4)
Fettes (4)
S Morningside (1)

24. Sciennes Chess Club
2014/15
sciennes.chess@gmail.com

25. Sciennes Primary School Football
Club
Parent Council Annual Report
14/15 Season

26. 14/15 Achievements
• Over 190 players involved in 9 teams (6 boys + 3 girls teams)
• Around 45 regular parent / carer coaches, PVG’d and 80%
completed SFA level 1
• Annual income over £4,500 – account in surplus for 14/15
• New face book site and newsletter started
• Registration and kit orders fully transferred to Wise pay
• New constitution, Executive Committee, Club Committee,
membership structure, financial regulations and AGM
processes
• Kit room and kit cleared out and replenished
• New complaints, coaching and selection policies agreed
• Inclusive and participative ethos embedded, except for
tournaments and festivals…..

27. Coaching and Selection Policy
Mental Technical
Physical Tactical
Development
and Progression

28. Sometimes competition can be good !

29. Challenges
• Increasing the number of girl players and women
coaches
• Kit room refurbishment and technical kit purchase
• Improving coaching standards – SFA level 2
• Improving links to local football club structures
• Support to new Executive and Club Committee and
succession planning over the next 2 to 3 years
• Improving the approach to selection and
competitions

30. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Subgroup reports:
SCIENNES PLAYGROUND
IMPROVEMENTS GROUP

31. “SCIENNES ACTIVE PLAY
EXPERIENCE”
SCIENNES PLAYGROUND
Presented by Stuart Sheehan on
behalf of the Playground Group
BELIEVE
ACHIEVE

32. The Idea….!
• The aspiration was to improve the quality,
safety and interest of Sciennes Playground
while recognising our limited space.
• Utilise available grants to activate and deliver.
• Beg, borrow and ….the raise the funds!

33. The Process
– Utilising Parent skills and time we produced initial
plans for school consultation and initial grant
applications.
– Harrison Stevens Architects appointed after funding
raised from the South Central Neighbourhood
Partnership
– Appointment to take plans to Stage D design to
support an application for Commonwealth Games
Legacy match funding.
– Application submitted 2nd February.

34. The Process continued
• SportScotland funding announced Mid April
2015.
• Design work tendered through City of
Edinburgh Council. Harrison Stevens
appointed.
• Construction work tendered by City of
Edinburgh Council with the aim of work being
completed summer 2015!

35. Design Evolution and Precedent
• The current playground at Sciennes and its
surrounds are limited. Tarmac everywhere.
• The playground and the landscaped strip to
the South of Sciennes Road offer the potential
to enhance play experience for school children
and for the benefit of the wider community.
• Active play is at the heart of our thoughts.
Through play, research suggests that children
learn socially, physically and mentally.

36. Active Play -
Climb, run, jump!

38. • Using different materials and textures
we can create a interesting canvas for
kids to :-
- Jump
- Climb
- Run
- Innovate and inspire!

39. Landscaped Area to the South of
Sciennes Road
• Currently underutilised area to be reworked to create
valuable community area.
• The plan is to use much of the existing, incorporating
the trees and natural vegetation to maintain a
woodland feel.
• The space would include an activity trail using raised
logs with ropes, balancing logs, sawn off timber steps
and even a ball pit of pine cones!
• Space could be used by all of the community and
utilised as an outdoor classroom and for Eco Classes.

43. The Plans for the Playground
• Create interest / height.
• Utilise different materials and textures including
wood, grass, compacted sand and pea gravel.
• Create platforms (tyres and wooden) to jump off
/ climb from.
• Create an interesting canvas which will be further
energised by loose play materials.

47. Conclusion and thanks!
• Although the project is not built yet we are
almost there.
• Projects like this don’t happen on their
own. There has been huge input from
everyone across the school family to make
this happen.
• Ps……. Next job…..Closing Sciennes Road
and nabbing some of the Sick Kids…..!!

48. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Subgroup reports:
FUNDRAISING AND EVENTS
GROUP

49. A Year Of Celebration
Fundraising and Events 2014/15
Aileen A Nimmo 18 June 2015

50. Engage
• As many people as possible
• Doing or giving as much as they are able
• To raise funds and increase opportunities
• For the Pupils of Sciennes in accordance with
the School’s aims and objectives

51. Autumn Learning !
• Comedy Quiz
• Camera Obscura

52. Christmas Fair

53. All Years helped !!!!
• P1-3 Ceilidh Kids
• P4/5 and P6/7 Discos
• Ceilidh with the fantastic Macallisters and
June Underwood

54. Celebration of Bilingualism and
Diversity

55. Providing hospitality

56. Thank You Fruit Group

57. Community helping school
• Grange Association
• Savills
• Sainsburys
• Grateful thanks to parent graphic designer Jimmy
Chow for superb artwork in the Science Fair
leaflet and poster and for kind sponsorship from
the Grange Association, Papa John's
Pizza, Macsween's, Gift Experience Scotland,
Sainsbury's, Homebase, Edinburgh University and
Fan Duel as well as many other generous
contributors. Thank you!

58. School Helping Community
• Nepal Bakesale
• Marie Curie Bakesale
• Grange Fair
• Care Homes !

59. Swimathon

60. Science Fair

61. Fundraising
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Totals: 2012/2013 - £7,845 2013/2014 - £ 26740
2014/2015 - over £59, 670

62. Finally

63. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
School Reports:
Head Teacher Report
Business Manager Budget
Report
Music Improvement Gp Report

64. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Head Teacher Report
Mrs Alison Noble

65. Priorities 2014 - 2015
• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Health & Wellbeing
• Science
• Music

66. Priorities 2015 - 2016
Literacy
• Reading
• Curriculum Evening
Maths & Numeracy
• Active Maths
• Financial Careers Education
Health & Wellbeing
• Healthy Schools Accreditation
• Emotional Health & Wellbeing
• Better Relationships, Better Behaviour, Better learning
• 1+2 Languages

67. MUSICImprovement Group:
Claire Ford, Ruth McVicker, Samanda Campbell, Lucy Gallagher,
Alison Noble in partnership with Sciennes Parent Council

68. Parent Council Action Plan
PARENTAL SURVEY FEEDBACK

69. • Increase awareness of Music opportunities
• Expand Music opportunities
• Free Instrument Tuition
SCOPE FOR IMPROVING MUSIC PROVISION
• Music Policy
• Revise Music Programme and Resources

70. INCREASE AWARENESS OF EXISTING MUSIC PROVISION

71. INCREASE AWARENESS OF MUSIC PROVISION

72. EXPAND MUSIC PROVISION

73. EXPAND MUSIC PROVISION: BBC TEN PIECES

74. PARENT COUNCIL MUSIC SHOWCASE

75. INSTRUMENT TUITION AND MUSIC POLICY

76. • Revised Music Programme
• Online resources
• Potential ABC Music pilot
• BBC Ten Pieces in 2015/16
MUSIC PROGRAMME

77. • Instruments Audited
• Wishlist
• Online resources
MUSIC RESOURCES

78. Increase awareness of Music provision
Expand Music provision
Free Instrument Tuition
Music Policy
• Music Programme and Resources
IMPROVING MUSIC PROVISION

79. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Election of Office Bearers

80. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Thoughts for next year

81. Sciennes Parent Council
2015 Annual General Meeting
Summerhall