Help with minute taking at meeting

[badgerparade]

Am in W.Midlands. We will need to go to a disciplinary/exclusion hearing in the New Year. Previous minutes taken by the school have not always been accurate so we want an independent supporter to attend who will be able to take minutes in short hand for us. Any idea where to go for this? PP cannot assist as they say it is not in their remit to do this.

In my area, PP or Independent Parental Supporters provided by PP have always been happy to take minutes for me.

The below is taken from www.parentpartnership.org.uk/media/5279/nppn_benchmarking_2011.pdf

Parent Partnership Services have always undertaken a wide range of roles in
order that the requirements set out in the SEN Code of Practice are met. One of the key roles is individual casework with parents. The Notes of Guidance that are issued to PPS in order to assist them in completing the benchmarking return states that individual casework with parents may include:
x Providing support, advice and information tailored to the identified need
x Assistance with writing letters, submitting parents? views, etc
x Supporting parents at meetings
x Home visits
x Other casework that is specific to one family/parent.
However other forms of direct work with parents are also important. These may
involve:
x Provision of a helpline and dealing with initial general enquiries
x Provision of a range of information (e.g. staffing a display stand at a parents?
evening, distributing information leaflets to parents groups, etc)
x Drop-in sessions
x Training and/or group work for parents

x Organising or facilitating support groups.

So if PP in your area are unwilling, it is their job to identify who will

Can you ask if PP aren't willing that you be allowed to record it? then you can transcribe the recording to notes.

Icedcake this was their response - I'm afraid it is not the role of the PPS or Independent Parental Supporters to take minutes at meetings therefore we are unable to offer such support at this time.
They did suggest asking if it could be recorded but I know that nobody would agree to that.

I think it's worth asking if you can record the meeting - you could always say, as recommended by PP

Failing that, a volunteer from a local support group may be able to help. PP should be able to provide you with details of such groups.

Hello OP as icedcake has mentioned take a dictaphone in with you, I get really nervous and mind blank when I am in meetings so the chances of me managing to take minutes are zilch and anyone who has been in to support me are pretty much the same. I purchased a dictophone years ago for when I attended management meetings then had a listen to it later to be sure I had taken in everything...so when meetings with Ds's school etc started to get too intense I just took it along in my pocket (at that time it was for my personal use) although after some meetings I wish I had made a point of mentioning it and placing it on the table so they knew I had it!

It was quite amusing when at times I quoted word for word what a staff member had said the look on their faces were of complete panic.

I have just been labelled "discourteous and rude"by the headteacher of dd's school. This is purely because I recorded the meeting, for my own use and to get word for word of what was said.

Will it mean I never do it again........absolutely not. We need to back ourselves up and as long as i'm not recording as a third party, it's perfectly legal

Hi sweetteamum at the last meeting with Ds's school I had the impression that THEY were actually recording it too, the fact that words which had been happily thrown about in other meetings seemed to be avoided and it was as though they were trying to get me to say the words myself IYKWIM so just to test the waters I quoted some of the things that had been said in previous meetings ( Written down from my recordings which I would of only known if specific staff members had volunteered the info) and to watch the staff member quoted go red and squirm was just a sure sign that they can be just as sneeky as us , I think the thing that made you "discourteous and rude" is the fact that you ain't stupid...something that some so called professionals really do not like.

I have been told by my DS's HT that he will terminate any meeting that I record, despite the fact that I have memory problems caused by my own disability, AND there is no PP officer in my area.

Should I do it anyway? It's my memory aid, not for anything else (though it would have a positive impact on catching out people going back on what they are saying...)

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), Section 36, there is an exemption which states that ?personal data are exempt from the Data
Protection Principles and the provisions of Part II (individuals? rights) and Part III (notification) of the Act where they are processed by an individual only for the purposes of that individual?s personal, family or household affairs (including recreational purposes).?

This means that an individual can carry out covert recordings without being in breach of the DPA as long as the information is for their own personal and domestic use.
HTH

What they don't know won't hurt them couthy, who would know its in your pocket? or would they frisk you as you go in? (would expect this from my Ds's school). I guess your memory is about to have an unexpected change for the good , I really don't see how it would be any different than someone taking notes TBH?? Unless the staff don't feel confident enough to be careful what they say , or the fact that they can't twist the truth knowing that your memory isn't too good . Take it anyway you could always jot down TheTimeTravellersWifes post above and stick that under their noses if they find out.

If you want to make it look more like you haven't recorded you could always take a friend and just ask them to doodle in a pad while you are talking

Yes, they ask me to leave my bag and coat hung up on pegs outside the office, to refrain from taking notes, and I'm not allowed to take a friend in...

I think I'm going to print out that data protection info and shove it up their noses in the next meeting...