Blueprint for education consultation

[humptygrumpty]

Well said that laffalot !!!!

[tivacudda]

I so agree.

And the important thing is that we don't let the detructive proposals in the blueprint allow our communities to start fighting among each other, as was clearly intended.

If we want Shetland to continue to be a community made up of many smaller communities, we have a duty to support that.

If, on the other hand, we don't care if we are indistinguishable from any more urban settlement, by all means go ahead and destroy our rural communities. After all, we've had an "excellent" education, perhaps it doesn't matter if our children do not get access to the same. Don't listen to what the teachers, parents and pupils are telling you. All hail the Blueprint proposals. And of course, the statistics they give you at the meetings are bound to be accurate, because they say so. What more reassurance could you possibly want? Sleep well.

[MuckleJoannie]

The Western Isles are planning a massive cull of primary schools

 

Island primary school numbers could be halved

 

The number of primary schools in the Western Isles could be cut by almost a half, if proposals being considered by councillors are implemented.

 

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has been forced into the move by a lack of money, falling schools rolls, and buildings no longer fit for purpose.

 

That could mean four primary schools left in Lewis from Tolsta to North Lochs and three from Ness to Carloway.

 

It would also leave just two in Harris and six in the whole of Uist and Barra.

 

The projection is to have 19 primary schools in eight years' time instead of the existing 36, and four secondary schools, saving more than £2m.

 

[khitajrah]

 

Heard tonight that there are 93 staff employed at hayfield house What do these people all do ? do you know ? Do THEY ?

 

Its high time this bureaucratic monster was cut down to size and IT was made fit for purpose.

 

At the Aith Blueprint for Education meeting the Facilitator at our table said, when we raised this point, that a good percentage of those employed at Hayfield House work in Social Care and aren't directly related to the education system.

[paulb]

what was the final conclussion of the aith meeting.

[khitajrah]

There was no conclusion really, they were just there to take people's opinions. They should all be on the website within a week and even if you didn't get to attend you can still send in the forms with your opinions on it. I can't recall the website address (and I'm indisposed at the moment so I can't get up to look for it), but I'll dig it out later.

[judgeknott]

Looking at some of the financial information they produced it became obvious that some cost effective schools were included in possible cuts, rather than target the ones which were obviously needing attention.

Obviously playing politics and not just economics.

[soljey]

what was the final conclussion of the aith meeting.

 

The results of the consultation at the various schools is being made available on the SIC's website - at http://www.shetland.gov.uk/education/InformalConsultationMeetings.asp

 

Although at the moment only the meeting at Mid Yell has been published.

[paulb]

seems the parents and teachers are not in favour of the move to anderson. they do raise a good question on what is the cost of boarding a child at lerwick.

[MJ]

from westerskeld they'll be busing them. At least it's only 2 buses. Mid waas they've got 3, including up to 10minute wait in wiesdale.

[paulb]

sorry mj i was talking about those from unst and yell.

i think the council is trying to sneak this blue print throught with the change in education. very sneaky. but they are not giving out the associated costs of the moves. so no honest comparrison can be made.

[Rasmie]

From the South Mainland:

Secondary number at Sandwick are already on a par with Brae, if you show like for like and include the pupils who got to AHS for their highers. Additionally sixty new houses being built in Sandwick alone, suggests that unlike reductions in school population elsewhere there may shortly be a boom there. Apparently SIC can't take this into consideration as their planning is based on past statistics and they can't/wont use future projections. The feeling that if a high school is viable in the north then it should also be viable in the south. Perhaps suggesting to many the possibilty of bias in favour of the north mainland. Any further reduction in employment status in the South Mainland would be disastrous.

 

Dunrossness, Sandwick and Cunningsburgh are all shown to be amongst the lowest cost schools in Shetland!

If it ain't broke.........................?

[paulb]

i thnk that is going to be the view of most people. merging a few schools is not going to save them enough. as with the anderson mess up the council needs to listern to the parents and teachers.

[khitajrah]

Someone at our table at the consultation suggested that a good money-saving method would be to bus all the Lerwick secondary children out to the country schools, thereby saving any need to build the new Anderson.

[paulb]

the kids informed me that there are plans to down grade skeld to a one teacher school.

 

how can one teacher prepare and carry out a lession for 4-12 year olds possible if you had 4 or 5 but there will be 17. is this part of there plan to wreck the school before the consultation and goverment oks there plan.

i dont want my children getting taught in such a large age mix. so it could be either waas or aith. maybe that is what they plan.