Charity Status
MAPE is a registered charity with a written constitution, run on behalf of its members
by a Council of representatives. Any changes to the constitution must be agreed by a
General Meeting, to which all MAPE members are invited. This has been held annually in the
past (usually at Conference) but in 1998 it was agreed that the constitution should be
amended, changing the AGM to a Biennial General Meeting. The reason for this is to allow
greater flexibility in the timing and organization of conferences.
The Council
The MAPE Council, which determines overall policy, meets once a year. It is composed of
the Executive (see below) plus two elected representatives from each working group and
three regional representatives. There are currently three working groups: Publications,
Products and Innovations, and Communications. These are the real workhorses of MAPE. They
meet termly to plan future products and publications and put in much effort between
meetings, developing materials and commissioning or writing articles, activity sheets and
so on.
The Executive
The MAPE Executive (elected by the Council to serve for two years) also meets termly,
to co-ordinate this work and other activities such as conference planning which fall
outside the remit of any of the groups. The Exec comprises: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer,
Secretary, Business Manager, Publications Coordinator, Website Manager, and a regional
representative - currently from MAPE Scotland. We also have the power to co-opt three
other persons to the Executive on an annual basis.
Membership Survey
A few years ago we conducted a brief survey of members' views of MAPE and the services
we provide. The results were not especially helpful in identifying areas for focus or
development because everything we do seemed to be valued by somebody. There were those who
wanted mainly classroom ideas and had little interest in policies or management issues.
But there were others who took the opposite view. This is probably an indication of the
breadth of the MAPE membership: from class teachers to IT coordinators or Heads; from
trainee teachers to teacher trainers; from those new to MAPE to those who have been
members for as long as they can remember. However, teaching ideas, free or discounted
software, activity sheets and reviews were tops for popularity. We hope that our new
publications format, centred on the Focus Packs and website will please, by supplying more
of what members want the most.
Benefits of Membership
MAPE membership provides the following:
- a termly newsletter covering all developments in ICT, including reports of government
initiatives, reviews of software and feedback on shows and conferences
- twice yearly Focus Packs, each covering a different area of the curriculum and
containing activity sheets, teaching ideas, software and associated support materials and
resources
- an annual MAPE magazine with articles discussing issues of current concern or presenting
case studies of effective classroom practice
- access to a variety of national and regional training events, courses and conferences
(see the News section of the website for the most up-to-date information on these)
- discounts, negotiated for members, on many software packages and support materials.
MAPE is excellent value for the membership fee of £20 and is always ready to listen to
the views of members.
Chairs of MAPE - Past and Present
Ron Jones 1981-1984
Brian Weaver 1984-1985
Roger Keeling 1985-1991
Senga Whiteman 1991-1994
Les Watson 1994-1998
Heather Govier 1998-present (email: hgovier@argonet.co.uk)
Current Working Group Coordinators
Publications
Rhona Dick 121 Fitz Roy Avenue, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8RG
email: rhona.dick@blueyonder.co.uk
Products and Innovations
Mick Harwood Flat 3, Baxter Court, 96 School Road, Birmingham, B13 9TP
email: michael.harwood@lineone.net
