Blueprint for Education Update - Closures Again - Aith

[trowie246]

 

Only at the towards the end of their term in office when the financial problems became to obvious to ignore.

 

In my view closing schools is not the answer and I don't believe it's all about making financial savings. I think it has been the intentions of Schools Service for a long time now to drastically reduce the size of the school estate. If it was all about money they would have spent more time considering other options.

 

Is this what they call 'out of the box thinking' ?

 

Time and again we see Council departments being criticised for having too many staff, too many buildings, too big a budget and pretty much only out to build their empire. Here I see Education being criticised for spending too much time trying to shrink their empire and save money ?

 

In any case, Councilors have instructed the education department to make savings, large savings. The sort that can not be done simply by getting a discount by bulk buying pencils.

 

I'll take the 'out of the box thinking' comment as a compliment, thanks.

 

Getting rid of teachers is not my idea of shrinking an empire. Teachers are front line staff and any reduction could impact on the quality of pupil's education. When people speak about too many staff employed by the SIC they're usually talking about office/admin staff and managers.

 

I have heard that the AHS is now overstaffed since Scalloway shut but I don't suppose that will ever be looked into since they intend to shut junior highs. Are there still 6 pupil support staff there? It's also very unhelpful that unlike primary there are no guidelines on secondary staffing levels.

 

You're absolutely right - it was the councillors who requested the level of savings. What I want to know is why Helen Budge didn't tell the councillors the truth of the matter, that the level of cuts was completely unachievable.

[paulb]

You need to remember that they have been wanting a 1500 space school for the last 20 years. Why would they need such a large school if it was just the Anderson kids around 900 and dropping.

 

Education along with a few other things are essential services that the council must provide. However the council dont have to run them. A very good example is the care centres the one in scalloway is run by a company the quality of care is very good and the costs are lower. if we had a private provider run them it could see a drastic reduction in there costs.

 

getting in a private school to run the schools could be well worth a look. the council just does not need to run everything themselves.

[oxna]

The problem isn't an intractable one as put quite simply there are too many schools, too many teachers, too many admin and support staff and not enough money to maintain the monster that has evolved due to the "spend spend" mentality of pevious Councils. That said, it is clear that difficult and unpopular decisions now have to be made if the Council wants even to be in a position to pay staff wages in the not too distant future and tinkering isn't the answer due to the gravity of the situation.

[oxna]

The problem isn't an intractable one as put quite simply there are too many schools, too many teachers, too many admin and support staff and not enough money to maintain the monster that has evolved due to the "spend spend" mentality of pevious Councils. That said, it is clear that difficult and unpopular decisions now have to be made if the Council wants even to be in a position to pay staff wages in the not too distant future and tinkering isn't the answer due to the gravity of the situation.

[Urabug]

We can all make accusations & pass horrible remarks about our council officials, but they are no different to anyone else,police,doctors ,nurse’s act ,& have a job to do which is so very often not pleasant. A surgeon may have to amputate a leg to save someone’s life, now would we suggest that he or she should be struck off. & never be allowed to use a scalpel again!

 

In their private lives I believe there is not one councillor who wants to change or close anything, but in their official capacity, presented with all the facts & figures & advice, what options do they have left.

 

The real problem really lies with the lack of government funding & past councils not implementing the necessary financial constraints when they should have ,but dipping into the reserve funds (which are now disappearing very fast), in an effort to solve the problem , no doubt hoping that better government funding would become available. But it never did.

 

Would be interesting to know if all the many mandatory changes that have been imposed within the education system over the past few years , probably resulting in the increase of staff & transport has been funded from central government or from the reserve funds.

 

This is mainly education at the moment but there will sadly be other departments which will almost certainly get similar treatment.

 

Let’s support our councillors & try to encourage them to make these almost impossible decisions that in years to come hopefully will prove to have been correct under the circumstances at the time.

 

The main thing now is to ensure that we get our fair share of funds from the various government departments to ensure a similar situation will not occur in the future. This will need some very good shrewd negotiators’ .

[Clickimin Clippie]

We can all make accusations & pass horrible remarks about our council officials, but they are no different to anyone else,police,doctors ,nurse’s act ,& have a job to do which is so very often not pleasant.

 

The difference is when you can't believe a word Robinson says.

 

He is a hypocrite who can't take the heat.

[trowie246]

Yes paulb, I think the closure of the JHS's has a fair bit to do with the new AHS and it's not just being done to save money. If it was all about savings then why was the new secondary hub model, which was passed by the council about 2 years ago not implemented? No adequate explanation was given as to why it never happened, yet if it had gone ahead it would have saved in the region of one million pounds. Why am I hearing about head teachers going to meetings in Lerwick and making suggestions which are never followed up?

 

Why also is Helen Budge so adament that the new Curriculum for Excellence cannot work in JHS's when Mike Russell and a union rep both spoke on Radio Shetland following Helen's comments saying that was simply not true?

[MuckleJoannie]

Seeing as Orkney is used as a comparison so often I've had a look at what high schools they have. The have two 6 year ones, at Kirkwall and Stromness, and three 4th year ones in the north isles, Westray, Stronsay and Sanday.

[tirvaluk]

Well said Urabug, they all have hell of a job to try and do .

[Rasmie]

These reviews seem to come around regularly.

 

It is very disconcerting for both staff and parents. I know of some staff and bairns who have moved schools already due to the uncertainty. Surely there must be a better way of doing things?

I get the impression that somewhere there is desire to build a new megalith (elephantus albas) in Lerwick and that the financial justification for this can only be squared by robbing from other districts.

 

What happens to areas when they lose schools? will there be a loss of employment for the area, will people move away, will the local shops, post offices, and other businesses be hit. Will this not simply increase the downward spiral of our economy. What will be real cost?

 

Also to close a "new" school like Sandwick doesn't make sense unless the primaries like Dunrossness and Cunningsburgh are decanted there in future.

So although a certain SM councillor is anti-Sandwick he might be ****ing in his own nest.

 

Can't see the greenfly getting elected again.......................................

[trowie246]

Well said Urabug, they all have hell of a job to try and do .

 

If you're speaking about councillors here, I agree. But to make pledges in your manifesto which is a major vote winner and then do a u-turn, that is fraud in my book.

 

If you're speaking about SIC officers then I have no problem criticising someone who is earning £98,000 a year when I feel they're making a backside of it.

[engineer21]

Urabug is right, its there job!

i think we cannot blame the guys who are in power now for what they have to do to save shetland from southern control!

 

the choices as far as i can see are either close some schools, old folks homes, reduce the ferrys. now and have some money left for future or

continue as we are and in 5 yrs time scottish goverment who we all know care very little for shetland (case of the north boats last year) will come in and close alot more of our services! and many more council folk will face job losses in a very short space of time!

 

i dont wanna see anything stopped or closed shetland is a great place now but its not sustainable then it cant go on!

 

many wont aggree as they work for SIC but the workforce across the board from frontline to staff in offices all needs to be cut and yes some of my family members will be at risk but what can we do?? the sic should also look into its sick rate and problems arising from that,...why are there so many temporary contracts?

 

that oil money was ment for when the oil wealth stops! goodness sake shetland is hardly poor now we have a new gas plant being built SVT is still going strong, plenty jobs for folk in pvt sector

[engineer21]

i also aggree that the reviews are too frequent, if you review one year and dont close then how can u review the very next year!

this is very costly reviews and takes forever! this is somewhere iam sure the council are wasting money!

 

it going on and on is not fair for employees or kids etc!

[Ian_H]

The salary quoted by Trowie236 is more than the new Chief Executive will get (Shetland News report 3 weeks ago), so a director will be quite a bit less, and other staff a fraction of that. But that is all irrelevant –Urabug is right - everyone deserves to be treated with respect no matter what their job. I am sure all are doing the best they can, there is no point in shooting the messenger. Staff were given the task to report options to the Council, and that is what they are doing. Councillors set priorities, Councillors, not staff, make the decisions. But Councillors are in a very difficult position and need to face the reality that there isn’t the money to keep the schools open that local folk would like to.

 

If you think Children’s Services are over reacting, have a look at the Medium Term Financial Plan just approved by the Council (reported yesterday by the Shetland News, they give a link to the full document). The Children’s Services budget is to reduce from £45M to £38M over the next 5 years (pages 33 & 34). Many other budgets are to reduce by proportionally more. And that is to stabilise reserves at £125M, even with money coming in from TOTAL by that time. So there is no way that things can just go on as they have been.

 

One final comment. Consultation is what it says it is, an opportunity to find out what is proposed and put forward suggestions etc. Consultation is not a referendum. So at the end of the day Councillors have to make a balanced decision on the facts and options before them, even if that means a decision which a great many people don’t like.

[Spinner72]

Very good posts the last few. There is a lot of scaremongering just now and the local media don't help (calling the recent meeting a "school closure debate" for example).

 

Whilst I have been critical of Cllr Robinson in the past, I feel the knee-jerk reactions recently are very unfair as all he, along with others, have done is vote to consult on the proposals to close schools among other options.

 

It is only once that consultation is complete that he can take the stance promised in his manifesto, when the actual closure debate, if there is one by then, takes place.

 

For what its worth I have two real concerns over the current proposals - there appears to be no drive to find extra funding, and there seems to be a rose-tinted fantasy view of what ca be done using communications technology.

 

Remote teaching or more accurately lecturing, may be possible with more mature students who are disciplined enough to sit and listen and ask questions in an orderly manner, but as a way of teaching groups of students in their early teens or younger? I can't see it.