Commenting on Dundee School Leavers' Destinations

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On Friday the Scottish Government published a snap shot of statistics about the 'destination' of school leavers from the last complete school year: August 2011-June 2012. Based on information available in September 2012, these figures provide some insight to how our school leavers are doing. More specifically they let us know how many and what proportion of our school leavers in Dundee went from school into 'a positive destination'; a job, a place at University or College or work based training such as an apprenticeship.

While more detailed figures will be published in June this year, the picture emerging from the provisional figures shows that Dundee has the third lowest proportion of school leavers going directly to University. At the same time, it has the highest proportion of young people leaving school and going on directly to Further Education College. From previous experience we know that a proportion of those young people who leave school and go to College will later gain the qualifications and the confidence to progress to University. 

Overall nine out of ten of our school leavers in Dundee are going into work, training or education upon leaving school. This is very marginally above the Scottish average of 89.9 per cent.

There is clearly no room for complacency in our schools. It would be good to see more of our school leavers having gained university entrance qualifications right first time.

If you want to read the full national picture you can read or download the two published tables using the following link
Initial School Leaver Destinations 2011-12

Footpath Upgrading in Broughty Ferry

I am delighted that the Council's programme of adopting footpaths is continuing this year and that the following pavements in The Ferry will be upgraded:

Belsize Road

Albany Road - North footway between Fairfield Road and Grove Road

Deepdale Place

Ferndale Drive

Invermark Terrace

Navarre Street

I have been informed by the City Development Department of the Council that,

'it is expected that the work will commence on these schemes on a phased basis starting approximately one month from now once the actual programming of the works has been discussed and agreed with Tayside Contracts as part of the Roads Maintenance Partnership.'

I know that the residents in these streets will be particularly pleased when their pavements are brought up to standard. This will not only improve the underfoot conditions on the pavements concerned but also mean pedestrians are not tempted to walk in the road when the pavements are like a quagmire.

SNP Councillors vote down £379,000 for Dundee Schools they had cut by £4.1 M

At the Council's Budget meeting on Thursday 10 February, the SNP group of fourteen Councillors, with the support of the Lord Provost, voted down the Labour amendment. We proposed to use savings we had identified, to restore more than a third of a million pounds to the Education budget.

Our proposals would have have made this a better budget by ensuring that:

• no class lacks a supply teacher when a teacher is absent and when a school's budget for supply cover is exhausted;

• curriculum for excellence developments will not be held back by reductions in the school's classroom expenses budget and

• no pupil is denied access to an examination as a result of the cut in SQA examination fees for dual presentations because two examination certificates are better than the risk of none.

We believed that the best way to achieve our priorities was to pass these funds to the discretionary budgets of our head teachers so that they might have spent this on the most important priorities in their schools. In this way, teaching and learning in our schools would have been protected from the most damaging effects of the SNPs programmes of more than £4 million cuts.

Unfortunately, our school children and their schools will have to suffer because the SNP insisted on protecting the budget for two civic cars and not one as we proposed. They also voted to protect money for beer and sandwiches for hospitality. They also voted to retain an unallocated bus route development fund. Why we would want to invest more money from the council tax to boost the profits of the bus company in Dundee beats me. I think most council taxpayers in Dundee would think this would be throwing good money after bad given the recent botched reorganisation of bus routes in the city.

So as the dust settles after our prolonged budget meeting, why does our SNP led Council prefer to retain the £379,000 savings we had identified and not shore up the Education budget they had raided? Why are beer and sandwiches and civic cars on the council tax more important than the Education of our children?

Dundee nursery, primary and secondary schools deserve better.

Budget Options for our Schools should be Scrutinised by the Education Committee

In yesterday’s Courier, the Education Convener, Councillor Liz Fordyce, denied that school closures and mergers were being considered. This denial was called into question by an email from the Director of Education received by Political Group Leaders yesterday morning. This confirmed that the Education Department had received detailed alternative budget savings put forward by Head Teachers and Depute Head Teachers in Dundee Schools forwarded by the Dundee Primary Head Teachers’ Association. The Director also confirmed that these had been submitted as part of their consultation on the budget cuts.

The Dundee Primary Head Teachers wrote:

‘In closing, as senior managers in schools ……. There remains a strong feeling that school rationalisation should have been and must be considered. We appreciate the proposed savings (we have identified) are Revenue budget savings but would suggest that some of these could be offset by Capital savings.’

Since one assumes that the views of these senior teachers' in our schools have been read and studied and weighed by the Directorate and the Education Convener, it follows that their options have been or are being considered.

Yesterday, the Education Convener once again resorted to personal insults in relation to the issues I had raised about the budget cuts in Dundee schools. I think that people who resort to lashing out like that have lost the argument. Another technique she has used to shut down debate is to deny opportunities for the Education Committee of the council to discuss her cuts before they are presented to the Budget meeting next Thursday

I have consistently claimed in the council chamber and the press for an opportunity for the Education Committee to examine the SNP's budget reductions in Education. The Education Committee should be the place where these issues are scrutinised by Councillors alongside members of the Committee drawn from the teaching profession and religious leaders in the city.

Why is the Convener afraid to present her budget proposals to the Education Committee? What has she got to hide?"

Still Time for a Rethink on Budget Cuts in Education?

In the last week, Councillors and the Education Directorate have received numerous written representations about the proposed education cuts. This has included communications from Head Teachers and Depute Head Teachers in the City, representatives of the Church, Teacher Unions and parents.

These people and organisations have without exception been registering their grave concerns about the package of savings proposed for our schools in Dundee.

It seems from my mailbox that the Education Convener, Councillor Liz Fordyce, is the only person in Dundee who thinks that the SNP’s programme of £4.1 million cuts will improve education in the city.

One recurring issue from the representations I have received is about the unfairness of the impact of the proposed changes in education. There is concern that about where the impact of these cuts will be hardest felt. It seems likely that it is in the areas of the city with the highest levels of poverty and unemployment that the proposed cuts will bite hardest, especially by reducing the number of teachers in local primary schools.

The Head Teachers and Depute Head Teachers have not only identified their concerns but also have identified their own alternative budget savings including merging smaller primary schools and moving smaller primary schools to share premises with a local secondary school.

I understand that the Administration is currently considering these alternative savings and has not ruled out school closures and mergers. While Labour would not support school closures, I think parents, teachers and members of the Education Committee should be allowed to discuss the Education cuts and potential alternatives before they are adopted in a block at the Budget meeting next week. If that means a delay in the budget process, so be it. I think the public would expect their politicians should leave no stone unturned in finding the least damaging reductions in Education in the city.

Will SNP's £4.5 million Education Cuts make the city's education service better?

Councillor Liz Fordyce, the SNP's Education Convener in Dundee yesterday made a startling statement to the Evening Telegraph about her 19 separate cuts in Dundee schools.

She "insisted budget cuts of more than £4million will make the city's education service better."

By her own logic, I wonder why she's holding back and not cutting the education budget by £8 million to make our schools even better!

Today, I want to examine, 'the city campus' idea for senior secondary pupils. This would see a narrower range of higher and advance higher classes offered in some secondary schools with pupils moving around the city to take subjects not offered in their own schools.

I fear that "the city campus" will make many of our secondary schools less comprehensive by siphoning off their pupils in the fifth and sixth years. This could lead to two tier secondary schools and a reintroduction of junior secondary schools by the back door.

The SNP have clearly not thought this through. Yesterday, their Education Convener revealed that she had yet considered the transport arrangements and costs of moving pupils round the city. This morning she admitted that the timetabling necessary between the nine secondary schools in the city had yet to be worked out too.

Half-baked and misguided or what?