Pupil Equity Funding for Dundee Schools

The Scottish government has announced details of how much money each school in Scotland will receive to close the attainment gap in 2017-18.

It was Scottish Labour which first put closing the attainment gap with extra funding onto the agenda in the Scottish Parliament – but we would have paid for it by asking the richest 1 per cent to pay a little more with a 50p top rate of tax. Instead, the SNP is taking it by perversely cutting the pre-existing schools budget.

The SNP sums simply don’t add up on schools funding. Ministers cannot cut the gap between the richest and the rest while they slash £327 million from Council budgets across Scotland.

Head teachers will see this new funding alongside shrinking budgets, so it’s simply SNP spin after £1.4 billion of cuts since 2011.

Labour has a better plan to close the attainment gap – our MSPs will table amendments to the Scottish budget to use the new powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop these cuts and invest in education instead.

Allocation of Pupil Equity Funds for Dundee Schools 2017-18

Primary Schools

Ancrum Road Primary School £116,400

Ardler Primary School £79,200

Ballumbie Primary School £193,200

Barnhill Primary School £31,200

Blackness Primary School £57,600

Camperdown Primary School £147,600

Claypotts Castle Primary School £200,400

Clepington Primary School £165,600

Craigiebarns Primary School £76,800

Craigowl Primary School £159,600

Dens Road Primary School £130,800

Downfield Primary School £150,000

Eastern Primary School £60,000

Fintry Primary School £152,400

Forthill Primary School £44,400

Glebelands Primary School £82,800

Gowriehill Primary School £49,200

Hillside Primary School £76,800

Longhaugh Primary £154,800

Mill Of Mains Primary School £81,600

Our Lady's RC Primary School £54,000

Rosebank Primary School £57,600

Rowantree Primary School £205,200

Sidlaw View Primary School £120,000

St Andrew's RC Primary School £108,000

St Clement's RC Primary School £88,800

St Fergus' R C Primary School £57,600

St Joseph's RC Primary School £60,000

St Luke's and St Matthew's RC Primary School £135,600

St Mary's RC Primary School £118,800

St Ninian's RC Primary School £62,400

St Peter and Paul RC School Primary £142,800

St Pius' RC Primary School £102,000

St Vincent's RC Primary School £126,000

Victoria Park Primary School £76,800

Secondary Schools

Baldragon Academy £122,400

Braeview Academy £117,600

Craigie High School £126,000

Grove Academy £70,800

Harris Academy £182,400

Morgan Academy £182,400

St John's RC High School £175,200

St Paul’s RC Academy £201,600

Commenting on Additional Attainment Challenge Funding for Dundee Schools

Earlier this week, I welcomed the news that Dundee Schools will share an additional £5m of government funding for financial Year 2017/18 to help to close the attainment gap. I am advised that every one of our schools will gain some of the funding which will be shared out according to to the number of pupils in each school entitled to free schools meals. This was originally a Scottish Labour proposal in early 2015 which has since gained all party support. But the original proposal was for additional funding rather than funding to partly compensate for cuts to main stream budgets for our schools.

There are however a number of details yet to be announced which I think Head Teachers, Parent Council members and members of the Children and Families' Service Committee will want to know.

For example how long is the funding likely to last? Will the money be distributed direct to schools or via the Council? How will the spending be monitored and will the schools or the Council be held responsible for this investment? What can our Directorate and Children and Families' Service Committee members do to support our schools?

Notifying head teachers with only a matter of weeks before the spending can commence is potentially a recipe for rushed planning and delayed spending. We saw the latter in the City with the delayed appointments to new posts created by the first tranche of Attainment Challenge projects. Although the Council received approval for its scheme in late August 2015 some staff were still to be appointed in April 2016.

Finally, the Convener of the Children and Families' Service Committee should also clarify the scale of the Council cuts to the mainstream schools budget for 2017/18. If I were a Head Teacher, before I celebrated the additional funding coming from one hand, I should want to also know what funding my school might be losing from the other.

Commenting on Weapons Confiscated from Pupils in Dundee Primary and Secondary Schools 2011-16

The five year figures from Dundee City Council, of school pupils having an offensive weapon in School show a worrying increase in these incidents from none recorded in school year 2011-12. Additionally, Police Scotland have revealed that between 2013 and 2015, there were 11 incidents recorded across nine high schools in the city where Police had been been informed of a dangerous weapon at school.

Children should not be carrying weapons anywhere — let alone into schools. Even one occasion is too many as the the tragic death of the Aberdeen schoolboy Bailey Gwynne has demonstrated.

When the Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Death of Bailey Gwynne was issued in October last year, I wrote to Michael Wood, the Executive Director of Family and Children's Service,  asking when he would be coming forward with a report to Committee mapping out how best we should respond in Dundee to the recommendations in the Inquiry Report in order to try to prevent such a fatality in our schools.  He confirmed that the Directorate were in the process of considering the various recommendations in full discussion with headteachers.  He also committed to bring a report to committee.

I think parents and carers as well as City Councillors need to know more about how our schools are responding to the Independent Inquiry into the Death of Bailey Gwynne and the incidents behind these statistics about pupils, albeit a very small minority, who have been found taking potentially offensive weapons into our schools. We have all been kept waiting long enough for this report to appear. I am calling on the Executive Director and the Convener of the Children and Families' Service Committee to make sure this report appears before the end of this month.

Link to my earlier posting about the Independent Inquiry into the Death of Bailey Gwynne which was issued in October 2016

Implications of Recommendations of Independent Inquiry into the Death of Cults Academy Pupil Bailey Gwynne

The Report of the Independent Inquiry into the death of the senior pupil of Cults Academy in Aberdeen City, Bailey Gwynne, was launched on 11 October. The report made 21 recommendations.

Unfortunately, after the publication of the report, one recommendation dominated the news, "The Scottish Government should improve the resilience of schools to the threat posed by weapons and give consideration to amending the law in relation to searching pupils." I was contacted by the press about whether I was in favour of this or not.

Having read about this tragic case, I am convinced that the real challenge for our schools and pupils is how we develop pupil - teacher relationships that enable pupils to reveal to teachers that a pupil at school is carrying an offensive weapon. In the case of the pupil who stabbed and killed Bailey Gwynne, the Inquiry learned that he was known by several pupils to have had a knife on his person at school on numerous occasions, including the day of his altercation with Bailey Gwynne. This, I recognise, means overcoming pupil fears about being labelled as 'clypes'.

This is a copy of my response to the press:

"Labour's Education Spokesperson in Dundee said:

I am sure that our Executive Director of Family and Children's Service, Michael Wood, will be coming forward with a report to Committee. I should expect that this will provide a comprehensive response to the recommendations from Andrew Lowe's report which map how best we can respond in Dundee to try to prevent such a fatality in our schools. The inquiry report's recommendation about enhancing the right of senior teachers to search a pupil is clearly marked for the attention of the Scottish Government and is for the future.

I note that the inquiry reported that the death of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne might have been avoided if those who knew his killer carried weapons had reported it to school staff. This suggests to me that we shall need to consider how effectively our schools are promoting an ethos of openness to communication between pupils and teachers to support such disclosures."

More recently, the Director of Children and Families' Service, Michael Wood, has confirmed that after liaison with staff and trade unions, he will indeed be reporting to the Children and Families' Service Committee with recommendations about how we should respond to this tragedy in our schools here in Dundee.

Commenting on Future Targeted Cash for Dundee Schools

 

Last week there were reports attributed to the Scottish Government that extra cash generated by an increase in the Council Tax for householders with properties in the top three council tax bands would be distributed directly to schools. This would be awarded per pupil of parents or carers on low incomes. This is my press response:

"I am cautious about giving this proposed extra cash for schools an unqualified welcome. Whoever made this announcement is getting ahead of themselves. Before any of this extra cash can be distributed to schools, it has to collected in the Council Tax for the next financial year beginning in April 2017. The details of the scheme are also very sketchy. For example, what is the per pupil premium amount? £300, £750? Over how many years might this extra cash be available for schools to spend? 

While extra cash from one Scottish Government hand is welcome, it may be more than wiped out by another reduction in the Council's block grant from another hand of the Scottish Government. This latter funding will not be revealed until December and might not be agreed in the Scottish Parliament until January 2017 and it is this cash that will continue to fund the greatest share of the expenditure in our schools. 

I think most parents and carers want reassurance from the SNP Administration of the Council that the overall cash for their children's education in our city schools will not be cut again in 2016-17."

Dundee Pupils Excel in Barnum at Dundee Rep

On Friday night I was at Dundee Rep where I thoroughly enjoyed a very entertaining and 'professional' performance of Barnum.

Senior pupils from our eight secondary schoools, who make up the company of Dundee Schools' Music Theatre, were the actors, singers and dancers who combined so wonderfully on stage.

Marceli Guziewicz played the demanding role of Phineas Taylor Barnum. He was on stage for most of the night with a confident presence and credible characterisation. Other stand out performers were Ava Hickey who played Charity Barnum, Jessica Sommerville who played the ringmaster and Tobenna Ogwuda who sang so brilliantly.

The company however all deserve praise for their dancing, singing and their juggling, clowning, acrobatics and other circus skills.

Even by the high standards of Dundee Schools' Music Theatre, this was an outstanding performance.

Commenting on Attendance, Absence and Exclusion in Dundee Schools

The Report before the Children and Families' Service Committee on Monday 22 August 2016 about Attendance, Absence and Exclusion in our schools has some progress to report. I think it is important to recognise that the trends on attendance rates and exclusions are at last moving in a positive direction.  

There is however, clearly much to be done particularly in reducing the rate of exclusion of looked after children in our City.   In the latest figures, the exclusion rate for looked after children is 15% compared with non-looked after children at 2%. This cannot be right.  On Monday night therefore, I want to hear more about how we are going to narrow this gap.

One of the other issues which is not mentioned in the report is about lateness. Unfortunately persistent lateness is still an issue for a significant number of pupils in our primary and secondary schools. I know some of our schools have specific initiatives to try and break the cycle of starting school late and thereby disrupting learning several days in every week. In future, I think lateness should also be reported along with attendance, absence and exclusion.

Finally, I think parents and carers whose children attend regularly and punctually and are not excluded would like to know more about how our schools are providing constructive alternatives to exclusion within school in a way that does not disrupt the learning of the majority of pupils who want to learn.

John Swinney Announces Step Towards End of Council Responsibility for Schools

Earlier today the Cabinet Secretary for Education, John Swinney MSP launched the Scottish Government's new plan, Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education.

In his plan John Swinney takes a further step towards removing the role of local councils in our schools by announching a consultation in the early Autumn:

 "We will launch a Governance Review alongside the Programme for Government in September 2016. 

This review will examine the system changes required to deliver our commitments to empower schools, decentralise management and the support through the encouragement of school clusters and creation of new educational regions. 

The reforms are designed to ensure that parents, colleges, universities and local employers can better support efforts to raise attainment and ensure that young people progress intopositive destinations. Our clear objective is to devolve decision making and funding to schools and communities. This process will run in parallel with the review of the impactof the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 by the National Parent Forum of Scotland."

Braeview Academy Wins Scottish Education Award for Enterprise and Employability Across Learning (Secondary)

Congratulations to Braeview Academy for winning the Scottish Education Award for Enterprise and Employability Across Learning (Secondary). This national award was announced at a ceremony held in Glasgow yesterday. 

The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.

The Enterprise and Employability Across Learning award is recognition for Braeview's strategy to develop pupils' employability skills by offering careers education, opportunities for vocational courses and work experience. One of the impressive features of this has been their well developed partnership with Michelin in Dundee.

Braeview's enterprise and employability strategy will be a key part of their school delivering the entitlement for all pupils to be supported in their progression from school to a positive and sustained destination.

New 33 Period Week Timetable for Dundee Secondary Schools Beginning Tuesday 31 May 2016

Parents, carers and pupils are reminded that the new 33 period weekly timetable begins with effect from Tuesday 31 May 2016 in the following Dundee Secondary Schools:St John's RC High School, Baldragon Academy, Morgan Academy, Braeview Academy, Craigie High School and Grove Academy. 

I am informed that Menzieshill High School and Harris Academy will not be running a 33 period week until August and that St Paul's Academy will be running with one or two small modifications to the new timetable (see above) between now and August for transport purposes.

If in doubt, I recommend that parents and carers check with these schools for the details of the specific arrangements that will apply.

The new School Day for the six secondary schools making the change immediately begins Monday to Friday at 08:45. 

School ends at 15:40 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

On Thursday and Friday school ends at 14:50

Lunch times are also staggered.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday lunch will run 13:10-14:00. 
On Thursday and Friday the lunch break will be 12:20-13:10.

Commenting on Continuing High Levels of Pupil Absence in Dundee Schools

Being at the bottom of a national league table for pupil absence is not where we want to be in our schools and our city. Days lost through absence from school are days lost from learning.

Of course it is important to recognise that average attendances mask the fact that a majority of our pupils have excellent attendance at school. On the other hand, a relatively small proportion of pupils may have a very poor record of attendance which depresses the average attendance in a specific school and across the city. However we interpret them however, there is a job to be done to raise the average citywide attendance.

When we look for solutions, I have misgivings about putting too much reliance on short term projects employing temporary staff. When their project is over, after two or three years, the initiatives they have begun may well be unsustainable by the remaining core staff in a school. 

The reduction in the number of Guidance staff in Secondary Schools and the number of Depute Head Teachers in our Primary Schools will not have helped our schools focus on tackling non attendance. These cuts have reduced the senior staff who would directly follow up these issues with pupils and their teachers as well as parents and carers.

Just now the Council is consulting on a plan to reduce by a third the number of places for pupils in our three small scale Education Centres which offer an alternative to secondary pupils who are disengaged from their secondary schools who often have multiple additional support for learning needs. Currently many of the pupils who transfer to one of these centres experience a dramatic improvement to their attendance and participation in learning. I am concerned that the vague alternative and much cheaper services the Council are discussing will make matters worse not better for these pupils and less effective in promoting their attendance and participation by these pupils.

If we are going to tackle a low average attendance in our schools, relative to other Councils in Scotland, I think we need to stick with what currently works and promote initiatives that have the backing of staff and parents and carers, rather than impose more short term initiatives from the centre.

Commenting on the Report on Staffing Levels in Dundee Schools - Education Committee Monday 26 October 2015

The report from the Director of Children and Families' Service paints a varied picture. It is positive that at a time of shortage of teachers across the country the Council has managed to compete more effectively for potential staff. It also positive that the 1412.5 teachers in post is more than the 1407 teachers counted in 2014. But the fact remains, this is still a significant drop from September 2013 when the Council had 1436 teachers in post.

The report is also selective about what it reveals. On class sizes it does not for example identify the number of classes currently being taught at maximum. In relation to ongoing shortages of supply teachers, neither does the report refer to how secondary schools are having to improvise supply cover nor how primary schools are covering the non contact time of primary teachers which they use towards preparation and marking.

At the meeting on Monday 26 October, we shall want reassurance that strategies are in place for Dundee to recruit the teachers it needs as competition for teachers sharpens between councils. Councils in the Highlands and Islands have recently had a summit with Angela Constance and have agreed to work together on recruitment and promoting alternative routes to teacher qualification. What are our plans for Dundee?

This performance is not what the SNP promised at the May 2011 elections to the Scottish Parliament. 

In their Teachers' Manifesto May 2011, they committed to:

'Bring stability to teacher numbers by ensuring councils stick to the agreed minimum number of posts.'

It is significant that here in Dundee, this is the first year since 2011 that a year by year reduction in teacher numbers has been halted. It will take more than one year to be convinced that our SNP led Council now really means business on maintaining teacher numbers in our schools.

Head Teacher Selection Short Leeting and Interviews

Earlier today (Wednesday 2 September 2015), I was involved in a selection panel short listing applicants for a Head Teacher post in the city.

As part of my role as Labour Education spokesperson, I am invited to selection panels along with the Education Convener or his nominee, the Director of Children and Families' Services, a peer Head Teacher and two members of the Parent Council of the school for which a head teacher is being selected. In addition to these six voting members, there are two advisers to the panel; one from HR and the Head of Secondary or Primary Education as appropriate.

I think it is an important responsibility being part of the process of selection of the learning leaders of our schools.

Commenting on Continuing Teacher Shortages in Dundee

According to the latest figures, Dundee Schools have begun the new school year with vacant teaching posts. While it is positive that, the figure is apparently less than this time last year, these shortages will undoubtedly put additional demands on our teachers as they provide cover. 

While the Director of Children and Families' Services and his staff should be congratulated for their efforts over the summer, it is clear that the supply of newly qualified teachers is currently insufficient to meet the demands in Dundee and throughout Scotland. 

The responsibility for this mess rests principally with the Cabinet Secretary for Education, in the Scottish Government, Angela Constance MSP. She will point to her recently increasing the intakes to teacher training courses, but she and her predecessors acted too slowly. As a result our teachers and pupils in our schools are paying the price.

Our pupils and teachers deserve better.

Guys and Dolls - Another Remarkable Performance from Dundee Schools' Music Theatre

Last night at the Gardyne Theatre, S3 and S4 pupils from Dundee Secondary Schools gave an entertaining, polished and toe tapping performance of the classic Broadway musical, "Guys and Dolls".

This heartwarming musical follows some loveable gangsters desparately trying to win the next big bet. But one gets more than he gambled for......! 

This is the first time I had seen "Guys and Dolls", although, as it progressed, I realised I was already familiar with the popular songs "Luck be a Lady Tonight" and "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat".

Once again the pupils involved in Dundee Schools' Music Theatre (DSMT) have delivered a wonderful ensemble performance combined with some remarkable standout performances.

As one member of the audience remarked at the interval, DSMT are one of the jewels in Dundee's crown. 

School Leavers' Performance Information for all Secondary Schools in Dundee now Available Online

Parents and carers, in fact any member of the public, now has access to a set of 'results' based on the performance of school leavers from S4-S6 in 2014.
 
For the first time, alongside details of each school's SQA examination results there are figures for pupil destinations and a measure by measure comparison with a 'virtual comparator school'.

"Considering these measures alongside data on a sample of school leavers from other parts of Scotland allows schools to compare their performance. The sample group is made up of school leavers who are similar to the school's own school leavers, in terms of factors that are known to influence educational outcomes (such as social context and additional support needs). This sample group is called the virtual comparator." Education Scotland.

This information has been published on Parentzone Scotland. It aims to give parents and carers more information about schools alongside other resources such as school websites and handbooks.

The new information, which covers all secondary schools in Scotland, can be found by visiting Parentzone Scotland and searching by school name. Scroll down to the foot of a secondary school's page and select View Performance Data.

Link to Grove Academy Performance Data

Grove Academy 17th in Sunday Times Top 50 State Secondary Schools in Scotland 2014

Click on table to enlarge

Congratulations to the pupils and staff of Grove Academy which has once again been identified as the top performing state secondary school in Dundee and Tayside. 

In a ranking of the top 50 state secondary schools in Scotland published by the Sunday Times on 23rd November 2014, Grove came in at 17th on the list. This is up from 22nd place in 2013.

Grove have consistently achieved a top 30 place in these ratings over the last five years. Note there are over 350 state secondary schools in Scotland.
The Sunday Times published their list of the top fifty state secondary schools in Scotland on Sunday 23 November 2014.

Commenting on Supply Teacher Shortages in Dundee

The reported shortage of supply teachers in Dundee is putting additional pressure on Headteachers and their staff in our schools to cover classes when colleagues are absent.

The current supply shortage is a result of a very unfortunate combination of factors which have served both to increase the demand for 'supply teachers' and at the same time restrict the supply.

Firstly that the age profile of teacher until recently was skewed towards those approaching retirement. Their replacement with recently qualified younger staff in a profession where women are more numerous has meant that there has been a concurrent increase in the number of staff on maternity leave in any given school year. This year I understand that there are more than 45 teachers in Dundee on maternity leave, all of whom need replacement.

Secondly, there has been a rise in the number of rising five year old children in our city entering Primary School each year; about 300 extra children per year equating to 18 additional classes alll needing a teacher.

Thirdly, one of the SNP's most damaging cuts in education was to reduce the national rate of pay for short term supply teaching. This initially restricted the daily rate of pay for up to five days supply teaching to the lowest rung of the salary scale. For experienced supply teachers, this made short term supply work much less attractive so understandably some supply teachers withdrew from the supply list or became selective; avoiding taking short term supply work at the lower rate of pay.

This has put a strain on teachers and management teams in schools as they cover classes. When this repeatedly happens this takes them away from other roles and tasks that they would be otherwise undertaking. In secondary schools the internal 'please take' cover may be by a teacher who is not qualified in the subject taught. While this cover is satisfactory, if not ideal, for an occasional lesson, this it is not a satisfactory longer term solution for pupils in a class preparing for SQA examinations.

After several years of difficulties securing supply teachers throughout Scotland, the Scottish Government has finally agreed to establish a national task force to look into and come up with some solutions that increase the pool of supply teachers. The sooner this group report, the better.

In the meanwhile, we are exploiting the goodwill of our school teachers and understandably this is wearing thin. Parents I am sure will be anxious that the education of their child does not suffer as a result of these shortages.

Significant Changes in S4 Subject Choices in Dundee Secondary Schools

I raised this issue on the Agenda of the Education Committee on Monday night because I believe we should be monitoring and responding to the effects of switching from Standard Grades to the new National 4 and 5 examinations.

I want to make it clear that my observations should in no way be seen as a criticism of the examination results of our pupils nor their teachers in our schools. My comments should be seen as issues we should acknowledge and respond to in the current school year.

What was noticed when the changes to the examinations were first flagged up to pupils, parents and carers was the reduction in 25% of the subjects that our young people could enter in their S4 examinations. Whereas an S4 pupil could undertake 8 standard grade courses, with the new National 4 and 5 examinations only 6 subject courses could be followed throughout S4. This reduction seemed to be at odds with the aims of Curriculum for Excellence promoting a broad general education. Some of our secondary teachers had concerns about the effect on fewer choices on the number of senior pupils electing to take their particular subject. Many parents were concerned that this reduction in choice would involve not being able to gain the necessary breadth of qualifications to undertake a particular career.

Now we have some figures it is possible to see that some subjects have suffered from very significant reductions in pupil numbers in S4. Comparing 2012/13 when pupils last took Standard Grades with the first year of taking the new National 4 and 5 examinations, there has been a very big reduction in our young people taking a modern language. An 86% reduction in French, 65% reduction in German and a 21% reduction in Spanish. 666 pupils in classes taking a standard grade modern language (General and Credit classes) in 2013/14 as against 171 taking a National 4 or National 5 class in 2013/14. Changes like this are likely to have a profound effect on the number of young people taking a modern language at Higher. Advanced Higher and subsequently at University. It will also have an effect on the number of language teachers we can maintain in our schools; weakening rather than strengthening this area of the curriculum.

The second issue arises from recommendations from the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board Report This working group reviewed the experience of the first year of the new qualifications and produced a report with recommendations for teachers, local authorities and national bodies about tackling the 'significant and unsustainable level of over assessment (of pupils undertaking National 4 and 5 courses)in many parts of the system.'

With all these issues, I think that parents and carers, pupils and their teachers as well as members of the Education Committee are entitled to know how we will be supporting our secondary schools to respond to these issues in the current school year and beyond.                          

Congratulations to Dundee Pupils on their Exam Results

I warmly congratulate Dundee pupils and students on all their successes in their various SQA examinations and assessments. 

Like our medal winning athletes in the Commonwealth Games, this will not be a flash in the pan but based on hard work over a sustained period of time. And of course I should not forget to credit the support of the equivalent of the coaches and supporters. In this case, the inspiration and encouragement of the teachers and parents and carers as well as the wider network of friends and family will also have been part of the story behind these successes.

For those that are disappointed with their results, I would encourage taking to heart the proverb that my late Father used to repeat on those occasions when I hadn't excelled: 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.' 

Later this week or next, analyses should be available from the Director of Education about how the results of our school pupils add up across the city and how these city wide results compare with previous years and with other areas in Scotland. I shall particularly want to find out how the new National 4 and 5 examination results compare with the previous Standard Grade results. 

But for today, the focus should be on celebrating the positive results of our pupils who deserve their day enjoying their successes; their equivalent of a podium finish at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.