Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont MSP Expresses Concern that Council is Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

© Dundee Courier Tuesday 4 March 2014

Click on image to enlarge

Yesterday, I accompanied Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont MSP and Jenny Marra MSP to two meetings about the plight of the Early Years Practitioners that currently work in twenty two Primary Schools in Dundee. In the Council's budget meeting last month, SNP Councillors bulldozed through proposals to move these staff from working in P1-3 classes so that they could make up the numbers of staff required in nursery schools. This was despite Dundee Labour Councillors proposing a budget amendment which would have kept the Early Years Practitioners in their Primary School posts.

The first meeting was at St Andrew's RC Primary School where Johann met Michael Wood, Director of Education; David Dorward, Chief Executive, Lina Waghorn, Head of Primary Education and Avril Barnett the Acting Head Teacher at St Andrew's. Following that meeting, Johann's response to the Courier is detailed in the article above. 

In the early evening, Johann Lamont, Jenny Marra and I attended a meeting with the Early Years Practitioners at a meeting convened by UNISON. What struck me was how highly motivated and dedicated these Early Years Practitioners are. Unlike many disputes, this group of trade unionists are not campaigning for their jobs, rather they are campaigning for the continuation of their roles in Primary School classrooms. While they have been promised continuing employment working in nursery classes from August this year, their concern is for the children with whom they currently work who will miss out when they are withdrawn from their primary schools at the end of June. Their removal will represent a cut in the front line staff working directly with children in primary school classrooms. 

I am sure that pupils, parents and carers and class teachers will notice the difference when their Early Years Practitioner is withdrawn. Link to the list of twenty two Primary Schools that will lose their Early Years Practitioner in June 2014. The last word should go to Johann, "I don't think this kind of 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' is the way to address our education provision."

Labour Budget Proposal Can Retain the Early Years Practitioners Based in 22 of Our Primary Schools

At the Council's Budget Meeting this afternoon (Thursday 13 February 2014), the alternative budget savings Labour Councillors have identified will allow us to propose an amendment to the budget brought forward by the SNP Administration of the Council. 

I am relieved that we have found a way to stop the removal of the Early Years Practitioners who work in twenty two of our Primary Schools in the City. These practitioners, many educated to degree level, make an important contribution to pupils learning by, for example, taking reading and maths groups in P1-3 classes.

I trust that the SNP Administration will recognise the weight of public opinion against this damaging cut and support our amendment.

Since the SNP took over the administration of the Council in April 2009, they have removed staff from our Primary Schools year after year.

In successive budgets they have cut a Deputy Head Teacher from each of our Primary Schools, removed the team of visiting teachers of PE and Music from working in all our primary schools and increased class sizes.

This time I hope they will step back from imposing a damaging further cutback in our Primary Schools, which we have shown can be avoided.

Revealed the 22 Dundee Schools Which Will Lose their Early Years Practitioners in Proposed Budget Cuts

The Head of Primary Education in Dundee has confirmed that the following 22 Primary Schools in Dundee will lose their Early Years Practitioners (EYPs) as proposed by the SNP administration of the Council. These staff will be removed from every one of of these schools in the proposed budget cuts for the year April 2014-March 2015.

These twenty two schools were previously chosen for these appointments on the basis of the challenge that many of their pupils experience in their learning. I think parents and carers whose children have a reading or maths group taken by an EYP will want to know how that work will be covered once their valued knowledge and skills are removed. 

Despite claims to the contrary by members of the Council Administration, these cuts will clearly reduce front line services in each of these schools:

1. Ardler
2. Craigowl
3. Sidlaw View
4. St Andrew's
5. St Fergus
6. Ballumbie
7. Fintry
8. Longhaugh
9. St Luke's and St Matthew's
10. Rowantree
11. Claypotts Castle
12. St Vincent’s
13. Camperdown
    
14. Gowriehill
15. St Clement’s
16. St Mary’s
17. Ancrum
18. Dens Road
    
19. Rosebank
20. St Peter and St Paul
21. Clepington
22. Our Lady’s

Commenting on the Proposed Loss of Early Years Practitioners from 22 Primary Schools in Dundee

On Monday Councillors received a copy of a letter sent by the Early Years Practitioners who work in 22 of our Primary Schools in Dundee. They are very concerned that as a budget saving their jobs in Primary Schools will disappear from June this year. 

In the SNP's budget proposals their jobs they will be cut from the primary schools and they will transferred to work in the nurseries to support more nursery hours for 3-5 year olds. This seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I think the Early Years Practitioners are right to be concerned on our behalf about a significant reduction in front line staff who work directly with children in our Primary Schools. The Early Learning Practitioners, many of whom are educated to degree level, work with reading groups and support children who otherwise might fall behind with their learning. On my recent visits to Primary Schools, I have seen at first hand the positive contribution they make supporting the teacher and the learning in our primary classrooms. For example; taking P1 reading groups involved in the new Read Write Inc reading programme. Some of these posts were established under the Raising Early Attainment in Dundee as long ago as 1997.  

This proposed cut will make it much harder to believe that the Council is committed to its Fairness Agenda and getting it right for every child.

Unfortunately, the SNP administration have a poor record on Primary Education. In their recent council budgets year after year they have removed teachers and staff concerned with children's learning in our Primary Schools.

I hope the letter from the Early Years Practitioners prompts the SNP administration of the Council to think again and find a way to withdraw this damaging 'saving' from their budget proposals.