October 28, 2016

Minutes of the meeting held on Friday 28 October 2016

Stirling Court Hotel, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA at 1700 hours

Attendees

  • Janice Eaglesham MBE, Chair
  • Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
  • Gavin Macleod, CEO
  • Dave Rhoney, Director
  • Oliver Barsby, Director
  • Claire Morrison, Director
  • Jay Runga, Director
  • Heather Lowden, Education & Development Manager
  • Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies

  • Iain Smith, Director
  • Gerry Milne, Director
  • Ailien Pallot, Finance Manager
  • Jennifer Griffin, sportscotland Partnership Manager

1.    Welcome and Apologies

The Chair welcomed everyone and particularly Jay Runga to his first Board meeting. It was noted that Oliver Barsby had been re-elected at the AGM on 2 October 2016.

There were no conflicts of interest and no legal matters outstanding of which SDS is aware.

2.    Matters Arising

  • Policies which had been implemented in real situations were the Transgender Policy and recently the Business Continuity Plan, which was considered to have been tested during the temporary office relocation. Oliver Barsby was thanked for forwarding the Recruitment Policy to the CEO.
  • The Articles had been amended and were now operational. Copies should be sent to OSCR and Companies House. Action: CL
  • Work is continuing on the new database and two members of staff had attended report writing training.
  • Feedback on the meeting held on 14 October had been provided earlier during the Board training session.
  • The Board skills audit would be conducted on Saturday 29 October.
  • The development audit is scheduled to take place between 30 January and 3 February 2017 and will be conducted by KPMG. The CEO had consulted the Chair and the Finance Manager and all were available during this period. It was noted that KPMG may wish to speak with other Board members as well.
  • There were two possible requests to be considered for bowls. Firstly the test event for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games would be addressed during the Mission 2018 meeting next week. Secondly there is a possibility opportunity for Scotland to host the IBD World Championships in 2020. The feasibility study conducted by the Performance Manager is currently with Bowls Scotland and will be considered by the Bowls Scotland Board to agree a partnership.
  • The office refurbishment has taken place. Furniture is being delivered on Tuesday 1 November and staff will move back in thereafter.
  • sportscotland have indicated they are content for SDS to retain the Intermediate Level of the Equality Standard rather than requiring work to begin on achieving the next level. The decision will be considered by the CEO and Opportunities & Equality Manager and the CEO will report back to the Board. Action: CEO to consult JL.
  • The AGM had been attended by approximately 130 people. A feedback survey had been circulated regarding the combined Branch Conference and AGM but few responses have been received to date. Anecdotally feedback had been positive. A date should be decided for 2017 and a decision taken on whether to combine the two events again. The CEO would consult with the Opportunities & Events Manager regarding dates and the format will be subject to further discussion. Dates were suggested of 17 or 24 September and Stirling was considered to be an advantageous venue. Action: CEO to consult MG.
  • The Team Scotland dinner had been attended by the Chair, Vice Chair, CEO, Education & Development Manager, Claire Morrison and Oliver Barsby. SDS had received excellent recognition in the Legacy Award for the UK Disability Inclusion Senior Pupils workshop, and there had been good recognition of para athletes in the awards, in particular Young Athlete of the Year Maria Lyle and Para Athlete of the Year Gordon Reid. Attendance had been around 600 and Commonwealth Games Scotland were to be congratulated on the organisation.
  • The Linlithgow Grange Rotary Club dinner had been attended by the CEO and Pathways Manager with Jamie and Alan Docherty. A cheque was given to SDS for £6,500 raised throughout the summer and further donations were likely.
  • The strategic plan update had been presented earlier in the day. Printing will take place after Christmas and distribution will be in April 2017. The efforts of the CEO and staff were recognised in the impressive spread and depth of consultations, both geographical and in terms of people. This was considered to have been a very worthwhile process and feedback would reach partners through regional forums. Board members were thanked for participating in the process.
  • The CPISRA General Assembly will be held in Barcelona in early November and will be attended by the Chair and CEO. Peter Drysdale has been asked to stand as President and Craig Carscadden as Head of Development and Education. The General Assembly of the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football will be held at the same time and motions and nominations had been received. It was noted that CP football will not be in the 2020 Paralympic Games.

3.    Sub Groups

  • Apologies had been received from the Finance Manager. The Finance Sub Group had met prior to the Board meeting to review the minutes of the last meeting and agree the second quarter accounts. The office refurbishment and GOGA launch were covered.
  • The accounts were as expected and the Finance Manager will present at the next Board meeting in more detail.
  • It was noted that the MOR Sub Group had met prior to the AGM and approved the awarding of MOR to South Lanarkshire and Perth & Kinross Branches.
  • The Boccia Sub Group had met and also scheduled their next meeting. The focus was on targets for the new plan, the coaching and education presentation and Scott McCowan’s update on Rio.

4.    Operational Plan Update

  • An overview was given of the operational plan, which the CEO will circulate and address queries at the December Board meeting.
  • It was noted that there had been very good engagement with Edinburgh University regarding Disability Inclusion Training being delivered within the curriculum for 4th year PE students, and more interaction may follow. Other tertiary education establishments engaged include Glasgow University, Stirling University, Ayrshire College and Strathclyde University.
  • Case studies are being conducted at Edinburgh University and Stirling University, where disability services are included for the first time.
  • The GBDFA meeting had focussed on the Paralympic Games where GB had finished 5th overall which was considered to be a good result. As there is now no pathway for CP football SDS would have to consider whether to maintain involvement.
  • The Performance Manager will be attending the forthcoming BPA AGM and NPC meeting on behalf of SDS. It was noted that Tim Reddish will be standing down as Chair of the BPA.
  • Alan Oliver had been accepted onto the GB Badminton Squad for the first time.
  • The SDS Athlete Academy now includes three pilots for the first time.
  • The bowls test event had initially caused some confusion around qualifying, but is confirmed to be part of the qualification process and it was confirmed Scotland will only be able to send one team.
  • The Coaching Conference has been scheduled for 29 January 2017. Notification will be send out mid-November and sportscotland will be supporting the conference through speakers. The day will incorporate an L2+ workshop.
  • The mentoring of young coaches is proving successful.
  • Funding has been secured for Disability Inclusion Training from Sainsbury’s for a further year with the potential for more to follow, including the possibility of funding for resources and e-learning. Sainsbury’s have also expressed interest in the Senior Pupils DIT.
  • Gary Fraser is in position as Performance Manager. Jennifer Scally has been appointed as Tayside Regional Manager and Neal Herbert begins on 31 October as East Regional Manager. Lothian Disability Sport have recruited a part-time co-ordinator to fill the post vacated by Neal Herbert.
  • The Celtic FC Foundation have confirmed continued funding of the Inspiring Sport programme and SDS will again be beneficiaries of their fundraising dinner this year.
  • SDS are through to the second stage of the application process for Big Lottery funding.
  • It was considered that the communications group had worked well over the Paralympic Games with good partnership with sport Very good press releases had been issued by the BPA. The next communications group meeting is on 14 November.
  • Neil Fachie MBE had been inducted into the Hall of Fame and Claire McDonald had made the presentation at an Active Scotland meeting.
  • The Pathways Manager had attended the selections for the School Sports Awards and SDS felt this involvement was a good development. The Pathways Manager was commended for her commitment to the representation.

5.    Board Member Updates

  • The Chair had attended the Team Scotland Awards night in Edinburgh.
  • The Chairs’ forum had been established following the Branch Conference and will start operating next month.
  • The Chair would be attending the CPISRA General Assembly and had been a visitor to the Rio Paralympic Games.
  • Claire Morrison had attended the Team Scotland Awards and homecoming celebration. Claire had also coached in Rio and reported a good team spirit among Scottish athletes across all sports. It was felt that added value and support was provided by the Scottish identity and there was recognition of support from SDS on behalf of the athletes.
  • Dave Rhoney had attended the water sports day. A group of veterans is taking part in the marathon in Washington and there is some potential for contact with SDS. Dave is in communication with the Performance Manager regarding this.
  • The Vice Chair had attended the AGM and Branch Conference and would be participating in the Chairs’ forum. She was also part of the MOR Sub Group.
  • Oliver Barsby had been part of the MOR Sub Group, and had also attended and been very impressed by the summer sports camp.
  • Jay Runga had attended his first SDS AGM. He indicated he would like to make contact with the South Lanarkshire Branch as this was local to him, and that he had recently returned to 1:1 coaching with David Beattie following the AGM. Action: CEO to ask JL to contact Jay re South Lanarkshire.
  • Board members were offered the opportunity to attend the Aspiring for Excellence Conference at Hampden on 29 November. The CEO, Vice Chair and Oliver Barsby are attending and anyone wishing to attend should notify the CEO by the end of 4 November. Action: All.

6.    Partners Update

  • The BPA AGM and NPC will be held on 9 November.
  • The Boccia Board meeting had included a Rio debrief from Matt Hammond, governance, policy review, commercial, and a recognition that a talent development resource is needed. It was recognised that classification should lie at a GB level and should be co-ordinated, led and information stored at GB level.

7.    Sports/Events

  • The Boccia Open competition is taking place tomorrow and for the first time involves other home countries. It is hoped that next year pairs and team events can be included.
  • The Junior Swimming Gala takes place on Wednesday next week.

8.    AOCB

  • It was noted that Josh Manson won the Lord’s Taverners’ Young Male Sportsperson of the Year Award.
  • Scottish Rowing indoor championships will be held tomorrow and Dave Rhoney will be competing. Seven para rowers in total are competing.
  • The large amount of work invested in the office refurbishment on the part of Ailien Pallot and Kate Shaw was acknowledged.

9.    DONM

Board dates are:

  • 12 December 2016
  • 30 January 2017 – Performance presentation
  • 13 March 2017 – Branch, Equality and Events presentation
  • 24 April 2017 – Pathways presentation
  • 12 June 2017 – Coaching and Education presentation
  • 21 August 2017

One of the meetings will be held in Glasgow and a date for the AGM will be set after consultation. The start time of all meetings is 1700 and other than the meeting in Glasgow the venue will be Caledonia House, Edinburgh.