CONSTITUTION OF MORRISON'S ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION 1 TITLE The name of the Association shall be Morrison's Academy Parents Association ("the Association"). 2 OBJECTIVES The objectives of the Association are: (i) to maintain healthy communication between Morrison's Academy ("the School") and the Members in the interests of the education and well-being of pupils; (ii) to organise events, meetings, discussions and other gatherings to foster a friendly relationship and good communications amongst Members and between the Members and the School; (iii) to hold fund-raising events, including but not limited to, the operation of stalls and refreshment kiosks; (iv) to operate a Nearly New Shop, selling items of school uniform, clothing and equipment either purchased new by the Association or offered/donated by current or former Members; (v) with monies raised from (ii), (iii) & (iv) and other activities of the Association, to support: the cost of activities in (ii), (iii) and (iv) above; events and performances organised by the School and; the donation of equipment and/or materials to the School or contribution towards the purchase of such items; (vi) where necessary, and with the agreement of the Committee, represent the views of the Members to the Rector, Bursar and Governors of the School. 3 MEMBERSHIP All parents or legal guardians of children receiving education at Morrison's Academy ("the School") are automatically Members of the Association. A Member shall cease to be a Member either when he or she no longer has a child enrolled at the School, or by giving written notice of his or her desire to withdraw from the Association, to the Secretary of the said Association. 4 HONORARY MEMBERSHIP In the interests of the smooth running of the Association, the committee of the Association may offer Honorary Membership to any person at any time for any reason and for whatever period. Such membership will be given automatically to any person accepting the Association's nomination to the Board of Governors ("the Parent Governor") who is not otherwise a member of the Association. 5 SUBSCRIPTIONS No subscription will be paid for membership 6 MANAGEMENT (a) The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Committee consisting of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and up to six Ordinary Members, chosen, as far as possible, to represent the different geographical areas from which the pupils of the School are drawn. The Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The Ordinary Members shall serve for a two year term, at the conclusion of which they shall be eligible for nomination for a further term of two years, provided they are still Members of the Association. No member may serve more than four consecutive years as either an ordinary committee member or an office bearer. Nominations for the committee shall be in writing, shall be signed by two members of the Association and shall contain a statement by the Nominee indicating his or her willingness to be elected. Nominations shall be delivered to the Secretary at least seven clear days before
the Annual General Meeting. Where insufficient nominations have been received within this time limit, nominations may be taken from the floor of the Meeting. (b) The Committee of the Association may, in the interests of the smooth running of the Association's activities, co-opt any person for any reason for whatever period. (c) The Committee shall appoint a Nearly New Shop Convenor who, if not already a committee member, shall become so pursuant to Clause 6(b). (d) The Parent Governor shall be, ex officio, a member of the Committee under Clause 6(b). (e) No member of the Committee shall receive any remuneration or other benefit in kind from the Association. The Association may reimburse any member of the Committee for out-of-pocket expenses, provided such reimbursement is approved by the Chair and the Treasurer. (f) The Rector may attend all Committee meetings and General Meetings of the Association or may appoint someone to do so in his stead. (g) The Rector may appoint three delegates to the Committee, being one teacher representative from each of the Nursery, Primary and Senior schools. (h) The Chair may, with the Rector's agreement, invite the Director of Development & Alumni Relations to attend any Committee meeting or General meeting. (i) For the avoidance of doubt, "written" notice and communication includes e-mail and fax. 7 GENERAL MEETINGS General Meetings of all Members of the Association may be called by the Secretary giving all members seven clear days’ notice of the date, time and place of the meeting and the agenda items upon which decisions are to be taken. The Secretary must call a meeting upon receipt of the written request of three or more members. No business shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless ten members of the Association are present throughout the Meeting, at least five of whom may not be Office Bearers or Committee Members. 8 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held within twelve weeks after the close of the financial year of the Association. The business of an AGM will include: (a) The receipt of the Income and Expenditure Account for the year, and the Balance Sheet as at the close of the financial year under the terms of Clause 12; (b) The appointment of an auditor under the terms of Clause 13; (c) The election of a Chair who shall be responsible for the activities of the Association; (d) The election of a Vice-Chair who shall assist the Chair in the exercise of his or her duties and deputise for the Chair when required; (e) The election of a Treasurer who shall make regular statements on the financial situation of the Association to the Committee and who shall annually present properly audited Statement of Accounts to the AGM; (f) The election of a Secretary who shall be responsible for recording minutes of all General and committee meetings of the Association; and (g) The election of Members of the Committee to fill vacancies created by those retiring. (f) No business shall be transacted at any AGM unless ten of the Association's Members are present throughout the Meeting, at least five of whom must not be office bearers or Committee Members. 9 VOTING Every member present in person at a General Meeting shall have one vote. Matters for decision will be decided by a majority of votes cast, except for those matters which must be decided by three quarters of the votes cast under Clauses 16, 17 and 18. In the event of a tied vote the Chair shall have a casting vote.
10 APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNOR The Association is entitled to appoint one person ("the Parent Governor") to serve as a member of the Board of Governors of the School. In accordance with the terms of the School Trust Scheme, the appointment shall be for a period of four years. Any member is eligible to nominate for the position of Parent Governor. Nominations will be invited by the Secretary during the last year of the incumbent Parent Governor's term, at a time to be decided by the Committee. Nominations shall be in writing and must be proposed and seconded by two other Members. The Parent Governor will be selected by the Committee from the nominations received. The selection process will be by way of interview. The Committee shall use its best endeavours to select a Parent Governor who will represent the views of Members to the Board and who will act in the best interests of the parents and pupils. The Committee shall have absolute discretion in appointing the Parent Governor. The appointee shall work closely with the Committee and shall accurately represent the views of the members to the Board of Governors. The appointee will not be eligible for re-election after the period of four years. The Committee shall have the authority to grant to the appointed Governor, in the event of him or her ceasing to be a member of the Association during his or her four year term, honorary membership of the Association under Rule 4 and ex officio membership of the Committee under Clause 6. 11 CONTROL OF ASSOCIATION FUNDS The finances of the Association shall be applied by the Committee subject to the following considerations: (a) Payments shall be made in pursuance of the objectives in Clause 2, above. (b) A general reserve for the continuation and development of the Association shall be held in a reputable safe deposit, e.g. a bank or building society. (c) The Association shall not have the power to borrow, nor to issue loan stock. 12 BOOKS OF ACCOUNT (a) The Committee shall cause to be kept proper books of account with respect to the transactions of the Association, and its assets and liabilities. (b) The Committee shall establish and maintain a satisfactory system of control of its books of account, its cash holdings and all its receipts and remittances. 13 AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS (a) The Committee shall cause the accounts of the Association to be submitted for examination at least once in every year. (b) At each AGM an independent examiner shall be appointed to examine the Association's accounts and balance sheet for that year. For this purpose, "independent examiner" means either a person who is a qualified auditor or a person with appropriate experience. (c) Neither an office bearer nor a committee member of the Association, nor a person in their employ, may be appointed independent examiner of the Association. (d) The Committee may appoint an independent examiner to fill any casual vacancy arising between general meetings of the Association. 14 COPIES OF ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSTITUTION The Secretary shall supply freely to any member on request, a copy of the Constitution of the Association and/or a copy of the last Annual Report as certified by the auditor. 15 RECORDS In order to comply with Data Protection legislation, the School shall keep a register of the names and addresses of all the members of the Association on the Association's behalf. The Secretary shall keep a list of the names and addresses of all the office bearers of the Association, together with the office held by them
and the date upon which they each assumed office. The Secretary shall cause the names and the offices held to be published on the school website. 16 REMOVAL OF OFFICE BEARERS A General Meeting may remove any office bearer who has grossly failed to perform his or her duties as described in Clause 8, provided that all members have been given seven clear days’ notice of the purpose of such a meeting and provided the motion to remove is approved by at least three quarters of the votes cast. 17 ALTERATION OF THE CONSTITUTION A General Meeting may rescind, add to, or amend the Constitution of the Association, provided all Members have been given seven clear days’ notice of the changes to be proposed at the meeting and the motion is approved by at least three quarters of the votes cast. 18 DISSOLUTION The Association may be dissolved at a General Meeting held specifically for the purpose of winding up the Association. All members must be given seven clear days’ notice of the said meeting and of its purpose. The motion to dissolve must be passed by at least three quarters of the votes cast at the said meeting. Any funds remaining after satisfaction of the Association's debts and liabilities shall be distributed in accordance with the objectives of the Association, as may be decided by the said meeting.