Parent Councils
The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement Act) 2006 sets out a framework for supporting parental involvement in the education and engagement of their children and the wider school community.
The Education and Learning Directorate supports Parental Involvement and Engagement. As part of this support, we have developed several documents/leaflets by listening to Parents and Parent Councils, but we would also encourage you to seek support where needed from the authority, local and national partners listed below.
| Education and Learning Directorate | Vanessa Morris, Officer with responsibility for Parental Involvement and Engagement | Email EducationandLearningParentalInvolvement@dumgal.gov.uk |
| National Parent Forum Scotland | Mel McGill Regional Representative | Email dumfries.galloway@npfs.org.uk |
| Dumfries and Galloway Parent Council Forum (DGPCF) | Pam Shuttleworth Chair of DGPCF (Independent local forum for parent council support) | Email: dandgparentforum@gmail.com This DropBox is full of resources to support Parent Councils, including a Handover Pack for new PC Chairs/role bearers, as well as agendas and minutes from all DGPCF meetings. |
| Connect Scotland | A membership organisation and charity for parents and carers with children at school. All Parent Council have automatic membership to connect. If you are unsure of your membership details please either contact Vanessa Morris or contact Connect Scotland | Email info@connect.scot Website: https://connect.scot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectScot Twitter: https://twitter.com/connect_scot |
Resources
To support new or established parent council and office bearers in their roles we would suggest you take time to read the following information:
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Parent Council - Know How [PDF - 1MB]
- This leaflet tells you what a Parent Council is. How a Parent Council Works and the roles and responsibilities of those on a Parent Council. -
How we work together [PDF - 858KB]
- This leaflet gives essential information about what you need to have in place for your parent council and what we expect to receive from you each year.
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Parental Partners [PDF - 321KB]
- local and national groups that support you as parents and as Parent Council's
Underpinning the work of a parent council is your constitution. The following document has been prepared to help with the establishment of new Parent Councils and to help Parent Councils review their Constitutions when they decide appropriate to do so. This Scheme for the Establishment of Parent Councils is in line with the Scottish School (Parental Involvement) Act 2006.
Licences for Events
Many Parent Council's run raffles and for these activities you should have a Small Society Lottery licence which is available from the Council for £40 and costs £20 to renew each year.
Apply for a Small Society Lottery license >>
The Council will need to know of any change in contact details, so that they have the right person on record to send renewal letters to.
If you want to serve alcohol at an event, you must have an Occasional Licence from the Council at a cost of £10.
Apply for an Occasional License >>
Volunteering in Schools
* Due to COVID-19 we are not promoting parental volunteering in schools at present. However please contact your Headteacher or Parent Council Chair to see how you might support your school in other ways.
Have your say
We would like to hear from you on what you are already doing, what works well, what could be better and how you would like to be involved in the future?
You can send any feedback or ideas for future engagement directly to: EducationandLearningParentalInvolvement@dumgal.gov.uk. Please ensure to include either Parent Voice or Open Forums as your email subject.
