Minutes of the 2010 Annual General Meeting
Held on Saturday 24th April 2010 at the London Institute of Education
1. Minutes of 2009 AGM held in March 2009 were accepted as a true record
Proposed: C. McLaughlin, Seconded: R. Best
2. Matters arising – None
3. Resolutions from 2009 AGM – None
4. Reports:
a) Chair/Secretary Report
This past year has been a time of review and reflection about the way forward for the Association. Our national conference which was planned to take place in June failed to attract many delegates and so had to be cancelled. Membership is not growing as quickly as we had hoped and few members respond to the invitation to attend the AGM. There is therefore a need to consider how best to serve members and this has been at the forefront of discussion at meetings of the National Executive Committee.
There are, however, also several positive things to report. The Journal continues to flourish and is expanding its audience. The new interactive website has been planned as an important means of disseminating information and generating debate. It is intended that each month a short article will appear in the “Home” page and to date these have been on topics as diverse as Student Voice, Learners with Medical Needs, the impact of budget cuts, and contrasts in pastoral care provision in schools. The “Reflecting on Pastoral Care Issues” section provides the opportunity for authors to share their “burning issues” with others, and there will be an opportunity for readers to respond to issues raised.
Mel, the NAPCE Administrator, provides our other main link with the membership. She liaises with Routledge on matters relating to membership and is at the front line for queries about the association and pastoral care concerns. Telephone contact is rare and most contact is via email or through the “contact” link on the website.
Following the sad death of Michael Marland in July 2008 we have been without a President. The NEC voted unanimously that we approach Professor Richard Pring who spoke at our Journal relaunch following our move to Routledge in November 2008. We are delighted to report that Richard has agreed to become the new President of the Association and we look forward to working with him.
The report was accepted:
Proposed: A. Boyd, Seconded: P. Jones
b) Treasurer’s Report:
The Association accounts were audited by AJ Thacker & Co and this year there was an excess of income over expenditure. Despite the lack of members the financial state of NAPCE is quite healthy. The National Officers expenses have decreased due to fewer meetings and the printing, telephone and postage costs are also less due to good housekeeping. Bank interest being received is minimal due to the economic situation in the UK and so the Association will investigate a range of financial institutions for a higher rate of interest.
The report was accepted:
Proposed: J. Bray, Seconded: P. Hazzard
c) Journal Editor’s Report
Volume 27 was an interesting volume where we published a wide range of articles from practitioners in various settings in this country and from other countries. The articles ranged in type and in target audience. In addition the Reviews section built on the number of and range of books reviewed. Max Biddulph has managed to establish this section on a firmer footing now by making better contacts with publishers so that the books reviewed are more appropriate and wide ranging.
Another important development was the appointment of Stan Tucker as Deputy Editor and it was Stan and Mike Calvert who edited an interesting special edition for no 4 of this volume: Special Issue: A New Workforce, New Agendas. We continued with the peer refereeing system and it does not seem to have affected the types of writers submitting articles to us but is seen as important in keeping our journal competitive in the market place, as well as maintaining a quality service to the association. The journal was under budget in terms of pages and this is something that we intend to address in the next edition i.e. we intend to try to aim to be more on target rather than under budget. We also intend to continue with having one edition of the journal being a special edition.
The report was accepted:
Proposed R. Best, Seconded: P. Hazzard
5. Report on NEC Elections
The following have been elected to serve for two years (2010-2012)
Chairperson – Jill Robson
Vice-Chair – Mike Calvert
Elected member – Paula Spencer
6. Resolutions from AGM 2010
The National Executive Committee is asked to write an open letter to the Government expressing the Association’s great concern about the probable impact of cuts in Government expenditure on the training and employment of non-teaching staff. In line with the policy of the last ten years, teaching assistants and other ancillary staff have become essential to the delivery of Every Child Matters agenda and it is critical that this is not damaged.
7. AOB
Constitution: Section 6 of the Constitution is to be amended to state that all members of the National Executive Committee must be fully paid up members of NAPCE.
Proposed: R. Best, Seconded: J. Bray