Adapted Minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 28th April 2012

• Tuesday 1^st May 2012

1. Phil welcome to members to the meeting.
2. Minutes of 2011 AGM.
   The minutes were accepted as a true record subject to one amendment.
3. Matters arising
   Item 9 – If the NEC wish to pursue a link with the Caspari Foundation, information can be found on www.caspari.org.uk
4. Resolutions from the 2011 AGM
5. Reports:

Chair / Secretary Report

Our first task is to thank Jill Robson for her 5 years of sterling work as Chair of the Association, a period during which the Association saw many changes including transfer of the Association from its Warwick Base, the appointment of a new administrator and a change of publisher for the Journal. Jill efficiently and effectively supported the Association and successfully led it through unsettled times and we are grateful to her.

A recent article in the Times Educational Supplement with the title, “You’ll miss us if we perish, warn subject associations” reported on falling membership and the challenges associations are facing to support teachers. The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education finds itself facing similar challenges and much of the work of the association during the year has been focused on reflecting on what the Association is about and what is should be doing to meet the needs of members.

It is 30 years since the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education was founded. It was founded to bring together people who shared similar values about the importance of education in supporting the personal and social development of learners. In those early days of the Association, educational professionals attended meetings in their local area to share ideas and views about new initiatives. There was always a close link between theory and practice with the Association having a journal where academic debate took place about issues relevant to the association and used by members to support and guide them in their daily work with young people. The National Executive Committee was there to link together all the local groups and people who shared and valued this interest in the personal and social development of students. There have been great changes in the 30 year history of the Association with the introduction of new technology and the impact this has had on daily life and education. Good practice and news about the latest developments in education used to be shared at courses and conferences and networking took place through personal contact. The Association now finds itself having to reflect on its role in the age of the internet and to consider whether the original values and beliefs of the Association are still relevant.

During the year the NEC has met three times and the future of the Association has been at the forefront of discussion. One outcome of the debate was a restatement of a vision for NAPCE which included

• Share theory and practice about pastoral care
• Encourage research and the sharing of ideas about pastoral care
• Influence practice in pastoral care to improve the experience of young people in education
• To share views and opinions on how pastoral care can be effective in improving the educational experience of young people
• Influence and respond to policy at national level
• To make a difference in the lives of young people by ensuring that pastoral care and its provision in educational institutions supports the personal/academic development of learners
• To promote a proactive approach to pastoral care in educational institutions with the aim of improving the educational experience and the life chances of young people

There are probably more initiatives and proposed changes in the education system than there were when it was felt that there was a need to form the Association 30 years ago. The Association remains a way in which educational professionals who share similar values and beliefs about the importance of personal and social education can have a voice about proposed changes in practice and policy. There is no certainty that the views of an Association will change policy but they are more likely to be listened to than the single voice of an educational professional. If the National Association for Pastoral Care is to participate in consultations and share its values and beliefs it needs to be able to demonstrate that it represents the views of a large membership across the country at a time when similar Associations are facing falling membership. A questionnaire has been placed on the website and copies circulated to all members requesting feedback as to what members would like to see from the Association and from the website.

The Association remains well served by its Journal which continues to flourish and has gained respect worldwide as a leader in the field of debate about personal/social/emotional education. It has included a wide range of articles and authors and continues to influence debate in the field at both a national and increasingly at international level. The publishers report a healthy readership of articles as evidenced by the number of downloads that are made.
There is an opportunity for the Association to use the ideas and enthusiasm of its members to decide how it should be developed to meet the needs of educational professionals in the 21st century and to include others with a genuine interest in ensuring that the experience of learning is a positive one. An important question to be considered is how to involve more people with an interest in the values and beliefs of the Association to contribute their ideas and energy to its future development. People live in an age of change and uncertainty where the opportunity to share ideas and concerns provides valuable support and maintains belief that it is the people involved in the process of education that matter. This is the challenge that the Association faces and it modernisation to meet the demands of the educational world of the 21st century can be achieved by evolution not overnight revolution because it can build on the solid foundations and values that the Association has had during its history.

• Phil Jones (Chair)
• Margaret Roberts (Secretary)

The contents of the report were considered and discussed. Boosting membership is a clear focus for the NEC and strategies have been discussed on how to achieve this. It was agreed that the constitution should be reviewed. A strategy has already been agreed to review the composition of the National Executive Committee. The NEC needs to reflect on the work of the Association based on current discussions and the opinions expressed by those who responded to the questionnaire. It also needs to consider the success of the Association in ways which can be quantified e.g. the changed nature of NEC meetings, the success of information mornings/evenings, the effectiveness of communication with people, membership etc.

In conclusion Phil suggested that the NEC was aware of the issues and was working towards moving forward.

Treasurer’s Report Jan-Dec 2011

Ethel reported that overall income has increased but subscriptions have declined as a result of reduction in membership. The purchase of the Principality bond should ensure that the bank interest rate will improve in the future.

In response to a query about royalties, Colleen confirmed that they remained unchanged as part of the contract agreement with Routledge.

It was agreed that some money should be spent in a positive way to invest in developing the Association.

Journal Editor’s Report

The Journal is in a very strong position and Stan wishes to acknowledge the hard work of Taylor and Francis in promoting the Journal. There has been an increase in downloads and consequently an increase in income. Journal articles have been used in specific campaigns e.g. bullying in schools.

48 articles were received in 2011 and to date 16 have been received this year. This places the Journal in a very healthy position and it is perceived as a popular journal. There is an acceptance rate of 60% which is slightly higher than the norm for journals. It is planned that all accepted articles will be published online before inclusion in the journal.

He is very grateful to Vicky for the way she has worked with Taylor Francis to proactively promote the Journal. e.g. through inclusion of articles in a compilation of journals and through increased downloads. Early online publishing of papers has been well received, especially since authors get credit in the current REF (Research Excellence Framework) exercise for these submissions. Stan was pleased with the response from International Associate Editors for his request for papers and these formed the basis for a special edition.

The journal also has an exceptionally good turn around period for articles. Stan thanked members of the Board who refereed articles for the part they played in achieving this.

The future of the Journal is about maintaining quality and it was suggested that there was a need for debate about standards in countries abroad where authors were not familiar with the UK system and where cultural issues are significant. This would also impact on the work of International Associate Editors.
The next edition of the Journal will be a special edition focussing on the issue of violence and aggression in schools. Three of the six papers are written from an international perspective.

The report was accepted and Phil thanked Stan for his support of the Association.

5. Report on NEC elections

Mike Calvert will remain as Vice Chair and Paula Spencer was re-elected onto the Committee. There are two vacancies.

6. New resolutions from the 2012 AGM

The following resolution was proposed by Colleen McLoughlin and seconded by Jae Bray.

“The NEC should reconsider the Constitution of the Association”

The resolution was agreed.

AOB

Jae Bray reported on the sad death of Filomena Blyth who had contributed much to the Association in the early years of its development. Jae had attended the funeral and was able to represent NAPCE.