Charity Number SC044927 Iona Primary School Parent Council Dachaigh Isle of Iona ARGYLL, PA76 6SP
Annual Report Period 1[st] Jul 2024 – 30[th] June 2025 y
Iona Parent Council Trustees Report
Office bearers & Board of Trustees:
Jann Simpson – chair; Katy Russon – treasurer; Karen Johnston – minutes secretary
Trustees: Katy Russon, Sara Tindal (stood down at AGM in March 2025), Jann Simpson , Karen Johnston, Rebecca Knight, Mairi MacDonald (appointed at AGM in March 2025)
Members (and Parent Forum): Sara Tindal (departed 30[th] June 2025), Graham Tindal (departed 30[th] June 2025), Donna MacInnes, Neil MacInnes, Karen Johnston, Rick Johnston, Katy Russon, Dafydd Russon, Mairi MacDonald, Finlay MacDonald, Rebecca Knight, Stewart Jardine, Jann Simpson, Ben Brace, Neil Macleod Jardine, Isla Macleod Jardine, Glen MacDonald, Zoe MacDonald and Stephen Glen-Lee (HT).
AIMS
The advancement of education, which will be achieved through the following methods:
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To promote close co-operation and communication between parents and teachers
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To study and discuss matters of mutual interest relating to the education and welfare of pupils
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To engage in activities which support and advance the education of pupils attending the school
Meeting & Communication structure: we will aim at one meeting per school term, usually at the beginning of the term. Extra meetings will be called if necessary. General communication will be upheld via email. All Trustees and Members have been provided with written details of Trustee Responsibilities and membership policy.
Summary of activities
Over the past couple of reporting periods, the expenditure of the Parent Council has clarified into three categories of spending:
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Supporting the uptake of swimming lessons
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Funding contribution towards the P6/7 Residential Trip
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Supporting fiddle tuition within the school
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School Photos with shared expenses with Bunessan Primary
We acknowledge the ongoing support from our community fundraising eventd and particularly donations received via the local Post Office.
We have continued with the decision to access swimming lessons in Oban rather than Craignure despite, as reported last year, that incurring slightly increased costs. We have also taken on Sea safety swimming lessons, which we feel is essential to Island living. To assist with those costs (specifically the travel costs), we were pleased to successfully apply for funding from Rabbie’s Trail Burners Carbon Tax Donation Scheme. Rabbie’s run mini bus tours to Iona and Staffa and, as part of their self-imposed carbon tax (whereby they donate £10 for every tonne of carbon they use), donate to local causes in the communities they visit. We thank them for their support and are pleased to be working with them again in what will be our next reporting period.
Our older children had a residential trip to Ardroy Outdoor Education Centre, towards the cost of which the Parent Council made a 50% contribution (invoiced in the next reporting period) with the remaining 50% being ingathered from parental contributions. With fewer children and been heavly subsidized the expense is lower then usual.
With funding for music tuition having been reduced last year, and the Parent Council undertaking to assist with this, we again sought some external funding to assist us with this. Initially, we applied to the Johnny Paton Memorial Fund – administered by The Waterfall Fund – designed to support inter alia the promotion of traditional music. The fund had received a number of applications from local schools, all citing the same reduction in funding from central budgets. The Waterfall Fund could not meet all these application under the Memorial Fund and instead put a comprehensive funding package in place to support all local schools. We were pleased to be awarded £1,000, which award will be repeated over a three year period. We are now on our second year of this funding Again, we acknowledge and thank them for their support.
No remuneration was paid to any trustees of IPSPC or anyone connected to the trustees.
Iona has officially been taken out of the Mull Consultation process with Oban High School remaining in our catchment area regardless of how the consultation completes. This issue stays ‘‘live’’ in many ways for Mull Families
Signed: Name: JANN SIMPSON Position: CHAIR Address: 3 THE GLEBE, ISLE OF IONA, PA76 6SG Date: 21[st] March 2025