A Parent Council is a group of parents who represent all the parents at a school. Any parent with a child at the school can volunteer to become a member of the Parent Council. Parents can be members of the Parent Council for as long as they choose.

Parent Councils can also invite members of the local community and school staff to join their Parent Council and Elected Members are also invited to attend meetings. In denominational schools, the Parent Council must invite the relevant church or denominational body to nominate a representative to be a member.

Almost all schools in the Falkirk Council area have a Parent Council. Each school has set up their Parent Council in the way which suits them best with support from the head teacher and Falkirk Council. The Parent Council operates very flexibly and generally has a chair, vice-chair and treasurer which are chosen from amongst its members.

The role of the Parent Council is to:

  • Support the school in its work with parents
  • Represent the views of all parents
  • Promote contact between the school, parents, pupils, providers of nursery education and the wider local community
  • Report to the Parent Forum (all parents) at least annually
  • Fundraise (unless a separate Parents & Teachers Association does this on behalf of the school)

Falkirk Council provides funding for Parent Councils. The amount of funding depends on the size of the school. Please see the Help for Parent Council Treasurers page for contact details, guidelines and useful documents to help Parent Council treasurers manage finances.

You can contact the head teacher of your child's school to find out how to join the Parent Council. If you would like to know more about Parent Councils, including information about training and support, please contact us: