FoLP Constitution

1.This is the constitution for the Friends of Leith Primary Parent Council.

2.The objectives of the Parent Council are:

To promote partnership between the school, its pupils and all its parents/carers
To develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils
To identify and represent the views of parents/carers on the education provided by the school and other matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils.

3.The membership will be a minimum of five parents/carers of children attending the school.  The upper limit is twenty. The minimum period of duty will be for one year, with an option to stand down at any time or stand again for a subsequent year/number of years.  The aim is to have two representatives per class.

4.The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer of the Council will be elected by the Parent Council members immediately following its formation.  These posts will be for a minimum of one year with the option to be re-elected at the end of each year.

5.Any parents/carers of a child at the school can volunteer to be a member of the Parent Council. In the event that the number of volunteers exceeds the number of places on the Committee, council members will be selected by drawing lots or by election.  Anyone not selected to be a member of the Parent Council may be offered the opportunity to be part of any sub-groups set up by the Council.

6.The Parent Council may co-opt up to five members of the community to assist it with carrying out its functions. 

7.The Parent Council is accountable to the Parent Forum for Leith Primary School and will make a report to it at least once each year on its activities on behalf of all the parents/carers.

8.If 5% of members of the Parent Forum request a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Parent Council’s remit, the Parent Council shall arrange this.  The Parent Council shall give all members of the Forum at least 2 weeks notice of the meeting and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matter, or matters, to be discussed at the meeting.

9.An Annual General Meeting will be held each year in November. A notice of the meeting including date, time, and place will be sent to all members of the Parent Forum at least two weeks in advance. The meeting will include:

a report on the work of the Parent Council and its committee
selection of the new Parent Council
discussion of issues that members of the Forum may wish to raise
approval of the accounts and appointment of the auditor.

11.The Parent Council will meet at least once in every school term.

12.Should a vote be necessary to make a decision, each parent member at the meeting will have one vote, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie.

13.Any two members of the Parent Council can request that an additional meeting be held, and all members of the Parent Council will be given at least one week’s notice of date, time and place of the meeting.

14.Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to all parents of children at Leith Primary School and to all staff at the school. Copies will be available from the Secretary of the Parent Council/Clerk to the Parent Council and from the school office.

15.Meetings of the Parent Council shall be open to the public, unless the Parent Council is discussing an issue which it considers to be confidential.  In such discussions, only members of the Parent Council and the Headteacher, or his or her representative, can attend.

16.The Treasurer will open a bank or building society account in the name of the Parent Council for all Parent Council funds.  Withdrawals will require the signature of the Treasurer and one other Parent Council member.

17.The Treasurer will keep an accurate record of all income and expenditure, and will provide a summary of this for each Parent Council meeting and a full account for the Annual Meeting. The Parent Council accounts will be independently examined by the person appointed at the previous Annual Meeting.

18.The Parent Council shall be responsible for ensuring that all monies are used in accordance with the objectives of the Parent Council.

19.Should the Parent Council cease to exist, any remaining funds will be passed to the education authority to be used for the benefit of the school, (or schools), where this continues.


Terms used:

The Parent Forum is composed of all the parents/carers who have a child at the school.

The Parent Council is composed of representatives of the Parent Forum.

Friends of Leith Primary is the chosen name for the Parent Council at Leith Primary School. Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 June 2009 )