SQA Information Event: ‘Qualifications Plus’ (Tue. 5 Mar., 18:00, at St Thomas of Aquin’s)
The National Parent Forum of Scotland is delighted to invite you to attend an SQA information event on Tuesday 5 March 6-9 pm, at St Thomas of Aquin’s High School, Edinburgh, called ‘Qualifications Plus’. This is an opportunity for parents and carers to find out about the new National Qualifications and what lies beyond. The keynote speaker will be Michael Russell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning. There will follow a roundtable discussions followed by a question and answer session with a panel of experts.
Please click here to book your free place. Places are limited, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For further information about this event, or to join the NPFS database and hear about future events, please visit www.parentforumscotland.org or email enquiries@parentforumscotland.org.
S2 course choices
S2 course choices – it’s happening now.
The S2 Parent information evening on Wednesday 23 January met with extremely positive feedback from parents, for the concise and helpful information for pupils making their course choices.
Course choices will now need to be submitted before the February holiday. All S2 Pupils have been offered the opportunity to attend a presentation of their own, and have been issued with detailed course choice selection forms and a detailed course choice booklet.
A copy of that presentation, including full time scales is being posted on the school website. Click here for a course choice form.
If you were unable to attend this session or would like to discuss any aspect of this with the school please contact the school office.
upcoming events at Broughton — general reminder for January
Just to remind parents and carers at this busy time of year, there are several late-January events at Broughton that may need to go in people’s diaries:
Curriculum Evening for S2 Parents at 6.30 on Wed., 23 January.
S5/6 prelims begin at 9:00 on Wed., 30 January.
Full Parent Council Meeting at 18:30, on Thu., 31 January.
Special budget meeting with councillors this WED, 16th 6.30pm @ BHS
Dear Parents and Carers
We are meeting with a (handful) of our local councillors on WED (6.30pm) to talk about the Council’s draft budget proposal — given our own interest, obviously with an eye on education items.
To give you an idea of the scale of things: for the coming financial year (from April 2013), the Council is seeking to save £3.8m. This rises to £31m in 2014/15 and £95m in 2017/18. Given that education accounts for 33% of the total Council budget, a lot of these savings could translate as cuts into a more poorly resourced education budget.
The format of the meeting will be relatively informal, seminar style: rather than lobbying the councillors present, the emphasis will be on gathering as much information and rehearsing arguments as possible to make the maximum impact at a special budget meeting for PC chairs in the following week with the convenor of the Council’s finance committee.
The aim of the meeting will be to identify any weaknesses in the draft budget and to outline any alternative ideas/priorities that benefit BHS either immediately or longer term (through better education budget husbandry). The ideal outcome of the meeting would be three to five well-tested points and arguments that I can take to the meeting with the finance committee convenor.
In addition to MSG members and local councillors, any BHS parent or carer interested in this is welcome to contribute.
Harald Tobermann
Chair, BHS Parent Council
annual school performance survey for parents and carers
Dear Parent/Carer
Annual self-evaluation survey
View of parents and carers
This survey has been devised to help us provide your child with a high quality education. Your views will help us find out what we are doing well and where we could improve.
I would like to thank the thousands of parents and carers who have taken part in the survey before and encourage even more of you to do so this year. The views of parents and carers really help us to improve services at the school level and across the city.
If possible, please complete the survey on-line using the following link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cfsurvey-parents
(Please note, if the link does not open, please copy and paste it into your browser and it should open from there).
Paper copies are available from your child’s school if preferred.
We have not asked you to provide your name. This is so that you can express your views freely knowing they will be anonymous.
The deadline for completion of the survey is Friday 8th February 2013.
A summary of the results will be circulated to all schools.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Yours sincerely
Gillian Tee
Director of Children and Families
Waverley Court
4 East Market Street
Edinburgh
EH8 8BG
Broughton High School Parent Council 