Parklands School Parent Staff Association Trustees’ Annual Report 31st March, 2025 - 30th March, 2026
Charity contact information
Charity Name: Parklands School Parent Staff Association
Also Known As: Parklands PTA, Parklands School Parent Council Scottish Charity Number: SC024796
Address: 27 Charlotte Street, Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute
Postcode: G84 7EZ
Email Address: Parklandspta@outlook.com
-
- Website: www.parklands.argyll bute.sch.uk/parent council/
Charity Trustees
-
Kirsten Davidson – Chair
-
Karli McGowan – Treasurer (30th June, 2025, until present)
-
Aileen Dickinson – Secretary
-
Fiona MacLennan – Treasurer (resigned post 30th June, 2025)
Objectives and activities
Parklands School, Helensburgh, opened in 1993 as a purpose-built school for pupils with complex special education needs. Pupils are aged from 5 to 18 years, with moderate, severe, and profound learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorders, complex and multiple disabilities, and associated emotional and behavioural difficulties. There are currently 43 pupils attending the school.
Parklands Parent Staff Association was set up to work in partnership with the school to create a welcoming and inclusive school environment for all.
It promotes partnership between the school, its pupils, and all its parents and carers.
It seeks to develop and engage in activities which support the welfare of the pupils.
It identifies and represents the views of parents and carers on the education provided by the school and on other matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils.
All parents and carers are welcome to attend meetings, which are held in person and virtually at least once a term.
Fundraising is undertaken to raise extra funds for Parklands School through a range of fun and creative initiatives and events.
We are involved in the school Easter and Christmas Cafes, organising bake sales and raffles to provide funding for school uniforms and the Christmas Pantomime.
Structure, governance, and management
Type of governing document
Parklands School Parent Staff Association is governed by the Parent Council Constitution, which was updated in July 2025 and approved by OSCR. The constitution outlines the purpose, structure, and operational rules for the group.
Trustee recruitment and appointment
Due to Fiona MacLennan's resignation, a new treasurer and trustee was required, as per the Parent Council Constitution. The available post was advertised to parents and carers through the group WhatsApp and an email. A vote was then taken at the meeting on 12th May, 2025, to appoint Karli McGowan as the new treasurer and trustee.
Achievements and performance
For 2025/2026, Parklands School Parent Staff Association aimed to increase the awareness of the group within the school and wider community and to increase fundraising for the school.
It was a key goal to involve more parents and carers in meetings and events. This was achieved by:
-
Sending a memo home in schoolbags to ensure that all parents and carers were aware of the WhatsApp group, so we were able to add new contacts and to have a new group admin monitoring the messages.
-
Getting the private Facebook page back up and running with two new administrators, and by updating it regularly engagement increased.
-
Using video conferencing at meetings, allowing parents and carers to attend virtually.
-
Setting up a noticeboard in the school foyer, detailing upcoming events and fundraising goals.
-
Changing meetings to a Friday afternoon, which has increased attendance.
These actions have increased the engagement and involvement of more parents and carers. And whilst we have had more people attending meetings (both virtually and in-person), others have volunteered to run the WhatsApp group and Facebook page.
Increasing fundraising was another key objective, and whilst we continued running a bake sale and raffle at Easter and Christmas Cafes within the school, we also:
-
Set-up a new bank account with Co-operative Bank, with access to digital banking allowing for faster payments and to receive bank transfers.
-
Purchased a SumUp card machine so that card payments can be taken at events.
-
Created a tea towel. with artwork from the pupils. These were sold via an order form sent home in schoolbags, with awareness raised on the WhatsApp group. The new bank account allowed parents to make a bank transfer for payment, making the process easier:
£288.80 profit from tea towel sales.
-
Looked into available grants and funding to support the resources needed by the school.
-
£1600 grant received from Helensburgh HEART, for Les Staves numeracy staff training.
We were happy to see the positive reaction to the tea towels from parents and carers, and some school staff also purchased them. The involvement from the staff to gather artwork from the pupils showed how the school supports the group, and it was fun for the pupils to see their artwork displayed this way. This was also an effective way to raise funds other than by the usual bake sales and raffles.
Securing the Helensburgh HEART grant, which Kirsten applied for, was a huge achievement for the group and has helped the school gain recognition in the wider community. The training will benefit the pupils long term – not just the current pupils, but those who attend Parklands in the future, as staff develop the skills to teach numeracy effectively to SEN children.
Each year we guarantee to pay for a school polo shirt and jumper for each pupil and for the school pantomime. This year, uniforms cost £638.45, and the pantomime was £300. So our target was to raise £1000. We are therefore extremely proud to have ended the year raising £3943.14. Once expenses of £1943.12 were deducted, this resulted in a £2000.01 profit. When the £1600 has been used to pay for training, we will still have ended the year with a profit of £400.01. This puts us in a
fantastic place to start the new financial year.
As a SEN school, Parklands catchment encompasses a wide geographic region within Argyll and Bute, which has significant pockets of deprivation and high rural poverty rates. The area faces major challenges, including high living costs and low wages, and the council has implemented a Child Poverty Action Plan to tackle the major issue of child poverty. The council is also facing a £15million budget gap, resulting in significant service reductions.
It is therefore important for Parklands School Parent Staff Association to explore new sources of raising funds and not rely on events that solely target school families. It is also essential for us to increase support to the school in funding initiatives and resources that benefit the children.
For example, the pantomime is provided by a travelling company which comes to the school, allowing for all the children to access this entertainment. It can be challenging for many of the children to enter new environments, so having the performance in a familiar and safe space is essential.
We were able to provide £140 for the school prom decorations, which was a special event for the school leavers, who had significant input in planning and organising the event.
£70.25 was provided for the maintenance of the school sensory garden, and refreshments were provided to the volunteers from Faslane Naval Base who carried out the work. The school has a strong tie to the base, having a number of naval family children attend the school.
Future plans
We hope to continue the success of 2025-2026 into this next year.
Staff from Parklands School are taking part in the Kiltwalk on 25th April, 2026, to raise funds for the music therapy classes which the pupils receive. Parklands School Parent Staff Association will be supporting this event by putting the money raised at the Easter Cafe towards this fund. A Small Lottery Licence has also been purchased to sell tickets for a raffle, with prizes donated from local businesses, and this will be drawn at Sports Day on 14th May, 2026. This proceeds will also go towards the music therapy fund.
The sensory garden at the school continues to need volunteers to help with its maintenance. The Parent Staff Association is reaching out to the local community for help and will look at available grants to provide tools and plants for this.
A PayPal Just Giving account has been set up for donations, and QR codes have been created to attach to the donation tins which are situated at local businesses. Hopefully, this will help donations, as people can now donate using their phone.
The school is also looking for funding to provide shelter/shades for the playground and school pitch, to allow them to be used in all weathers. The Parent Staff Association are hoping to raise funds for this in 20262027.
Declaration
Signed on behalf of the charity trustees:
Karli McGowan
Print name
Karli McGowan
Designation
Treasurer
Date
08/05/2026