Official Opening of Harris Academy - This is Their New Beginning

Earlier today I attended the official opening of Harris Academy. The ceremony was led by senior pupils from the school and the unveiling of a commorative plaque was undertaken by John Swinney MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

We were piped into the school and also enjoyed several well chosen and beautifully performed musical pieces by the school orchestra and bands. I was particularly impressed by Beth Wood, a senior pupil, and her song "New Beginnings". She had recorded her song and it was used as the soundtrack for the video tour of the school. Beth's chorus line "This is our new building, this is our new beginning" struck just the right chord.

It was clear from staff and pupils who worked through the three year decant to Rockwell that they were relieved to be back on the Perth Road enjoying their new school buildings and facilities. 

My only regret is that, from the feasability study completed in March 2009 that I had instructed in my time as Education Convener, it has taken seven years to realise our ambitions for a new Harris Academy. It is clear, however, that Councillors made the right decision to rebuild the school from scratch rather than refurbish the existing buildings from the 1930's and 1960's.

Commenting on Ministerial Visit to New Harris Academy Building Site Thursday 27 March 2014

I am disappointed to learn that Alasdair Allan the Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages only scheduled hinself for a half hour visit to a Dundee secondary school yesterday. Clearly he was not likely to meet many pupils and teachers going to visit the building site of the new Harris Academy for what appeared to be little more than a photo opportunity. 

Far from patting himself on the back for eventually allocating funding towards the much delayed rebuilding of Harris Academy, I think he should have been taking more time in Dundee to meet teachers from our Secondary Schools and parents and carers whose children in S4 classes are soon to sit their examinations. I think they would want to know how he and his government is responding to the mounting concerns about the flawed introduction of the new National 4 and 5 examinations. 

In addition, many parents and carers remain opposed to the extension of the Broad General Education to S3 and through this leaving only one year for preparation for the new examinations. This narrows the curriculum in S4 by limiting pupils' choices to six subjects.

Dundee expects more than this from a Government Education Minister.

Labour Seeking to Keep Smaller Classes for S1 and S2 Maths and English Classes in all our Secondary Schools

Later today Labour Councillors will be proposing our alternative proposals at the Council's annual budget meeting. In Education, we are proposing to reinstate classes of twenty for English and Maths in the first two years in five secondary schools in the City where the SNP administration are proposing to withdraw these. They propose to introduce larger classes for Maths and English - up to a maximum of 33 - in Harris Academy, Menzieshill High School, St John's RC High School, Morgan Academy and Grove Academy.

It seems common sense that English and Maths are central to success in examinations at school and beyond. In Secondary school, competence in Maths and English is required in order to engage with the rest of the curriculum. So smaller class sizes in these subjects makes sense in S1 and S2. In fact the SNP ruling group of Councillors agree with this assessment because they are retaining smaller claszses for Maths and English in St Paul's RC Academy, Baldragon Academy, Craigie High School and Braeview Academy. If it's good for the pupils in those four Secondary schools, surely it will make a negative difference in the five secondary schools where it is being withdrawn.

In recent years Dundee pupils have performed much better in Maths and English in SQA examinations. Six years ago a quarter of pupils were ending their schools days without English and Maths at Foundation Level in Standard Grade. Steadily this figure has improved in all of our secondary schools and our overall performance is now above the national average and on a par with our comparator councils. If our amendment to the budget is not accepted, we run the risk, that improvements in the overall examination results in our schools are halted and start to slide backwards. I don't think parents and carers with children in the five secondary schools that will lose out will think this is wise. Why are their children subject to cutting corners in Maths and English lessons?

I think parents and carers and teachers will be very disappointed if the ruling group of SNP Councillors won't accept our amendment to their revenue budget. We have uncovered a pot of cash which they had overlooked. Money set aside for paying DEROL (the operators of the incinerator at Baldovie)  for ash from the incinerator when none has been produced since the major fire shut it down in May 2012. Furthermore, there is no definite date for the DEROL reopening in the new financial year. So there must be up to £600,000 available. 

Out of the ashes, let's put some of that money to work paying for smaller class sizes in English and Mathematics in all our secondary schools.

No Extra Budget Cash for School Building in Dundee in 2013/14

In his Budget statement last Thursday, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance announced an additional £80 million for school building. This would, he claimed, boost the school building programme in Scotland by delivering 69 schools – 12 more than previously planned, and earlier than scheduled. At the same time as building more schools this would he claimed be a boost for jobs, especially in the construction industry.

This gave me the hopeful impression that some almost shovel ready school building projects in Dundee might be brought forward to the next financial year 1 April 2013- 31 March 2014. I had hoped that this would also have helped find jobs for those construction workers in our city who lost their jobs when Brown Construction went into receivership.

But research carried out by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has cast doubt on this part of John Swinney's spending plans. They say:
 “This involves an acceleration of Non Profit Distribution investment originally planned for 2015-16 and 2016-17 into 2014-15, and will not impact on capital investment in 2013-14."

It would now appear that getting an earlier start to construction of the replacement Harris Academy will not now be feasible. 

No Extra New Schools for Dundee in SNP Investment Plan

The SNP Government's Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011 was published on Tuesday. The section that deals with school buildings is entitled Scotland’s Schools for the Future. 

"The £1.25 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future (SSF) school building programme was announced in June 2009. The Government will provide £800 million funding support, from 2010-11 to 2017-18, with the balance coming from local authorities. The programme is being co-ordinated, managed and facilitated by the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT)."

(Infrastructure Investment Plans 2011 December 2011 page 77)

Disappointingly, no additional school building programme has been announced for Dundee in this plan. The plan merely re-announces the rather modest sized national school building programme that was first launched in June 1999. In September 1999 when the government announced some of the specifics, it promised two thirds of the funding for a replacement school for Harris Academy in Dundee. Dundee West MSP, Joe Fitzpatrick, went on Newsnight Scotland to defend his government's record and claimed that work on these new schools would start on site before the next election which was in May 2011. The last report to the City Council on the progress of Harris Academy predicts no start on site before 2013.

Based on their over four and half years in government, the SNP have been strong on bluster about their school building programme and announcing and re-announcing it but weak on action. Unfortunately, this plan comes with the same health warning in relation to the prospects for actual new school building funded by the Scottish Government.

Harris Academy - Education Committee Monday 28 November 2011

At the Education Committee last night Harris Academy was indirectly on the agenda.



The first item, The East Central Territory Hub, was about the arrangements for the continuing work to establish this organisation to procure capital projects such as new schools. Our immediate interest at the Education Committee in Dundee is the comprehensive refurbishment or replacement of Harris Academy. 


The East Central Territory Hub covers the huge area bounded by the former Tayside and Central regional areas and within that territory it will procure all major building projects for the 6 local councils, Police, Fire and NHS. This new set up is the Scottish Government's imposed way of purchasing capital projects like new buildings.


I hope something positive can come out of The East Central Territory Hub but I fear its been a giant smoke screen to disguise a lack of building projects from the SNP led government in Edinburgh. I am also concerned that it will lead to larger scale building contracts that will tend to exclude smaller local sub contractors based in the city.


Now a preferred Private sector Development Partner has been appointed, I had hoped that the rebuild of Harris Academy would be picking up from a snail's pace. 


The work on Harris Academy was begun by a feasibility study instructed in the time I was Education Convener May 2007 - March 2009. The SNP led Scottish Government announced their first tranche of school building in late September 2009 over two years after coming into office and Harris Academy was our one and only city school on their list. Two years later, and a start on site before 2013 seems unlikely. 


This is of course means that the SNP is millions of bricks short of meeting their manifesto pledge in the May 2007 Holyrood elections to match Labour's PPP school building 'brick for brick'. In Dundee, Labour's PPP programme built two new secondary schools and six new primary schools. In four years at Holyrood the SNP Government 2007/11 did not directly fund any new school building in Dundee.

Re-announcement of Harris Academy Refurbishment

Today's news from the Scottish Government, is essentially a re-announcement of the SNP government's future school building programme from which they will part fund the refurbishment of Harris Academy in Dundee. I am concerned to see that my earlier predictions about the delay in making this programme a reality are unfortunately correct and a start on site is disappearing into the future. Unfortunately, it would appear that a pupil entering Harris Academy in S1 in August will probably need to wait until they are in S5 before they enjoy the new facilities promised. Right now MSP for Dundee West, Joe Fitzpatrick, must be feeling rather silly since last September he was insisting on Newsnight Scotland that a start on Harris Academy would be made before May 2011. With my colleagues in the Labour Group, I remain committed to trying to find a way of beginning the rebuilding of Harris Academy sooner rather than later. Later this month the Director of Education has committed to bring forward his delayed review of the school building programme in the city. Perhaps that will have more detail and some options for us to examine?

West End Labour Councillor, Richard McCready, said,
"I want to see real progress on the refurbishment of Harris Academy, I know that people in the West End and beyond want action rather than re-announcements. The Labour Group has made a clear offer to assist the Administration to deliver the refurbished Harris Academy but we have yet to have our offer taken up. I look forward to seeing real progress. We need to see detail and ensure that we work together to deliver the best school possible for young people and teachers in Dundee. The former Labour-led Administration in Dundee had a proud record of investment in education, this needs to be matched by the SNP."

Minister Confirms No Funding Yet for Harris Academy Rebuilding

In yesterday's Evening Telegraph, it was reported that Mike Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Government was in Dundee. He took the opportunity to visit Kingspark School and comment on the funding of the refurbishment of Harris Academy.

Unfortunately, the Education Minister's comments about his government's part funding of the refurbishment of Harris Academy served to confirm that the start date may be further away than predicted.

I think many folk connected with Harris Academy will be concerned that Mike Russell not only confirmed that, seven and a half months after the announcement about Harris Academy, no overall budget for the project has yet been agreed. Furthermore, he also appeared to be introducing another reason why this project will be delivered late, when he said 'Exactly at what time the money will become available depends on the present financial circumstances, but I think you can take it that it’s going to happen.'

I am glad the Education Minister came to Dundee to admire the new Kingspark School; our school providing education for young people between five and 18, who have a wide range of additional support needs. I should like to make it clear that the new Kingspark Special School he viewed while in the city is not funded by the SNP government's programme of school building but was funded principally by prudential borrowing by the Council. Furthermore, the contract to build the school was brought forward by the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat administration in the city during the time I was Education Convener. In fact this plan to rebuild Kingspark first appeared on the Education Committee's agenda in June 2008 and two years later the school will be ready for occupation. I regret his government has insisted that the Harris Academy refurbishment will need to go through the, yet to be established, new Hub Co for its procurement. Our Chief Executive, David Dorward has confirmed in an recent email to me, 'I would envisage that for the Company to be in a legal status that it could procure construction contracts may be during mid to late 2012.'
I remain committed, with my Labour colleagues on the Council, to look at any reasonable way of speeding up the refurbishment of Harris Academy and await an approach from the Education Convener to engage in discussions that might ease the path of this project.

2 year Delay in Harris Academy Rebuild - Labour Offers Support to Speed Up Process

Commenting on the delayed time-scale for rebuilding Harris Academy in Dundee, three years later than forecast, as a result of the Scottish government direction that this contract is put through the East Central Territory Hub for procurement of schools and hospitals.

Seven months after the then Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Government announced, that Harris Academy is to receive Government funding for it major refurbishment, I am concerned that we are now no closer to starting work on this major building contract in the city. The Chief Executive, David Dorward, yesterday clarified for me that the new organisation for procuring schools and hospitals will not be set up and ready to progress this contract until mid to late 2012.

“I would envisage that for the Company to be in a legal status that it could procure construction contracts may be during mid to late 2012.”

This means that work is unlikely to start on site at Harris Academy until financial year 2012/13 with a finish unlikely before early 2014. This delay will be disappointing news for parents, carers and teachers at Harris Academy and for the building industry in Dundee. Education Convener in the city. Elizabeth Fordyce, should be confident of my support for any reasonable way of speeding up the rebuilding of Harris Academy. I know that the council's financial contribution to the rebuilding works is already committed in its capital plan, so I hope she can find some way of bypassing this procedure that the SNP government in Holyrood has introduced.

Jim McGovern Labour's candidate for re-election in the Dundee West parliamentary constituency said:
“I know how many parents have been looking forward to the rebuilding of Harris Academy. This would mean that the school's facilities would match its proud history and reputation as one of the leading schools in Dundee. I also know we need more construction opportunities in the city. I would be delighted to provide my support to any efforts to make an earlier start to rebuilding works to make Harris Academy's facilities fit for 21^st century teaching and learning.”

Harris Academy Rebuilding To Be Procured by Hub

At the Policy & Resources Committee on Monday, the City Council approved a report recommending the council's participation in one of five Hubs being set up in Scotland for clusters of public bodies in Scotland to jointly procure new buildings, and run public facilities and services. Our cluster will include, for example, Tayside Health Board, Tayside Police and Angus Council. According to the Scottish Futures' Trust, "The hub model has been structured to give the potential to deliver a wide range of facilities to improve the provision of community services. Projects could include community health centres, dental surgeries, doctor surgeries, debt and citizens’ advice facilities, employment advice and a range of other community services, primary and secondary schools and police and fire service facilities." The council has been informed that the Hub will be the mechanism for procuring the rebuilding of Harris Academy. The original ministerial decision on the funding of Harris Academy was announced on 28 September 2009. While this means that the rebuilding of Harris will now progress, the next step may be delayed by the process of negotiating and setting up the Hub, which is essentially a new Joint Board, and then setting up an arms length development company, HubCo with a single preferred private sector developer.

At the meeting on Monday, I made the following contribution to the debate:

"Convener, I am delighted that the rebuilding of Harris Academy is a step closer. This is good news for parents, carers, teachers and pupils associated with Harris Academy. It is also good news for the building industry in Dundee. I hope that the contract to rebuild Harris Academy can be our Council's initial project to put through the procurement Hub. My welcome however is qualified by a number of concerns.

Firstly, the Hub is essentially a Joint Board on which two members of Council staff will sit with delgated authority. They and colleagues from the partner authorities and a private sector company will set up a HubCo. This seems to exclude the involvement of elected members and potentially might undermine democratic accountability and proper scrutiny.

Secondly, the HubCo will engage with one main private sector contractor. The scale of joint capital (building) projects under the auspices of the HubCo would seem likely to favour larger UK contractors and therefore exclude small and medium sized local contactors who are more likely to employ local building workers.

Thirdly, the projected savings of 1.5% need to be offset against the start up costs of £1.4 million. This would mean that savings to the public purse would only appear when the HubCo had progressed projects with an overall value in excess of £150 million.

Fourthly, the rebuilding of Harris Academy has already been subject to delays. It is disappointing to remember that in May 2007 the SNP promised in their manifesto to 'match labour's school building programme brick for brick'. Three years into an SNP minority led government at Holyrood, and not a single school in Dundee has been procured by the Scottish Future's Trust. This is compared with the Labour led adminstration's PPP programme that delivered two new secondary schools (St Pauls and Grove Acaedmy) and six new Primary Schools (Craigowl, St Andrew's, Downfield, Rowantree, Claypotts Castle and Fintry). I hope that a start on the rebuilding of Harris Academy can be made before the end of the financial year as programmed in the council's capital plan.

Opening of Fintry Primary School – Questions for Keith Brown, Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Government

Today (Thursday 28 January 2010) is primarily about about celebrating the opening of the new Fintry Primary School; the sixth 21^st century primary school built by Labour's PPP school building programme in the city. The new school is built to barrier free design and accommodates the school, the language unit, which caters for pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties and the nursery. It has outstanding facilities for teaching and learning that will help staff deliver the new curriculum for excellence. I am sure that this school will serve the community of Fintry as a place for children to enjoy learning and celebrate their achievement and attainment. In addition, its provision of a Community Room and Sports Hall will mean that this school has the potential to develop into a resource for parents, carers and other adults to engage in community learning and recreation.

A celebration like this is also a time to look back and look forward. How did we get here? How are we ensuring that more communities in Dundee can also celebrate the opening of their replacement new or refurbished Primary School? Fintry Primary School could not have been built without the foresight and commitment of the Labour led administration of Dundee City Council. The form of funding available from the Scottish Government was to finance school building through a Public, Private Partnership (PPP). Had we listened to the carping of the then Opposition SNP Councillors in Dundee, no progress would have been made and this school and the other five Primary Schools and two New Secondary Schools in our city would not have been built. If you live in a community in Dundee not benefiting from this programme, you may well be wondering what plans are in place for your local schools.

Today is also a good opportunity to ask questions of Keith Brown, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, who will be joining us for the official opening of Fintry Primary School. In the May 2007 elections for the Scottish Parliament and Local Councils, the SNP promised to match Labour's PPP programme brick for brick. Furthermore, they claimed that they would introduce a cheaper way of financing school building under the auspices of the Scottish Futures' Trust (SFT). After a delay of over two years finding out what detractors forecast; that the SFT wouldn't work, a decision to partly fund the refurbishment of Harris Academy in Dundee was announced when Keith Brown was last it the city for the Education Department's Focus on Achievement Awards in September. Can Keith Brown confirm this is the extent of new investment in school building in Dundee by the SNP led government? Furthermore, will he confirm that work on Harris Academy is unlikely to begin before the May 2011 elections to the Scottish Parliament? Does he agree that, important though the rebuilding of Harris Academy will be, in practice this commitment will fall far short of matching Labour's PPP programme of two secondary schools and six primary schools? Finally, does he agree that his government's delay in getting on with a school building programme will consign many pupils and their teachers in Dundee to learning in worn out and unsuitable school buildings?

Dundee Misses Out on Scottish Government Cash for New Primary Schools

This morning the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning announced a list of Primary Schools to be built or refurbished with part funding from the Scottish Government through their Scottish Futures Trust. No Dundee Primary Schools were selected for this latest tranche of funding. Labour spokesperson for Education in the City, Laurie Bidwell said:

"I am disappointed that no Dundee primary schools have benefited from the SNP Government announcement on Primary Schools this morning. Unfortunately, this confirms my view that their three phase programme of school building will only part fund one school project in Dundee and that is the refurbishment of Harris Academy. Welcome as that decision was in September, it falls far short of the SNP manifesto commitment of May 2007 to match Labour's school building programme brick for brick. One Secondary school refurbishment falls far short of the Labour led administration's PPP programme which has delivered two new secondary Schools (St Paul's and Grove) and six new Primary Schools (Claypotts Castle, St Andrew's, Craigowl, Downfield, Rowantree and Fintry). Not only does this SNP school building programme fall far short in the number of new schools to be built in Dundee, but also its speed of working will not set the heather alight. Two months on from the fanfare of publicity on 28 September, when the refurbishment of Harris Academy was announced, the Director of Education, is still unable to confirm the amount of government cash to be committed to this project. The longer this takes to be confirmed the less likely it is that any work can begin on Harris Academy before 2012/13."

Refurbishment of Harris Academy - Some Lingering Concerns

In the Dundee Evening Telegraph on Wednesday 30 September, the Leader the the Administration, Councillor Guild, suggested that he is baffled that I should not heartedly welcome the government announcement of funding support towards the cost of refurbishing Harris Academy. He also has questioned my commitment to Harris Academy.
Harris has a long and distinguished history as a leading school in Dundee and certainly needs and deserves comprehensive upgrading. While I welcome the announcement and wish the development well, I have some lingering well founded reservations about the government announcement and the Council's expression of interest.

I have continuing concerns about the price tag that the council attached to the scheme they forwarded to the government. This feasibility study does not contain any allowance for professional fees for Architects etc. It does not include any provision for contingencies, which may be significant in a set of buildings that dates back to the 1930s. I have continuing concerns about the Goverment's silence about their percentage contribution to the project. If this was favourable I think they would have mentioned it in their press release. If the government's proportion of funding is lower and if the Council's costings are unrealistically low either the Administration's ambitions for the rehabilitation of Harris Academy might be trimmed and/or more money will need to be raided from another budget. I think that parents and carers in the West End, Whitfield and Lochee-Charleston who are waiting for their planned new Primary schools will notice that Councillor Guild only protected the new Council Offices and city Centre Swimming Pool, when the capital plan for big projects is reviewed in February. Does this mean that the new five new Primary Schools and three nurseries, the Labour led Administration brought forward for West End, Whitfield and Lochee-Charleston, might be delayed or deleted?

During my period as Education Convener, the Harris Academy feasibility study was instructed and undertaken. The study was concluded and dated March 2009 which precedes the SNP taking the Administration in early April 2009. Harris Academy would have been tackled earlier had the search for an alternative site for a new build replacement been successful. The feasibility study recognised that the search for another site within the Harris Academy catchment area should be abandoned and onsite alternative approaches should be explored and adopted. Following the announcement from the Scottish Government, on Wednesday 17 June, of a school building programme supported by £800 million of Scottish Government funding to be shared by all 32 local authorities in Scotland, I have consistently asked the new Education Convener, Councillor Liz Fordyce, to endorse Harris Academy as her first next priority for investment for school building in the city. She declined to do this until last week and did not feel able to confirm that an expression of interest had been forwarded to the government. I raised this in both at an Education Committee before the summer recess and in a press release that was reported. It was also published on my website in June 2009.
Harris Academy Should be Number One School Building Priority in Dundee
"Will SNP Education Convener Liz Fordyce now confirm that Harris Academy will be her number one priority on the Council's shopping list?"

I hope the public, if not Councillor Guild, will appreciate that, I am campaigning for a really comprehensive refurbishment of Harris Academy, because the pupils and teachers deserve 21st century facilities that are on a par with those that are evident in the Academies and High Schools that have already been rebuilt or refurbished in Dundee."

Harris Academy Funding - Too Early for Labour led Campaign to Stand Down

I welcome The announcement this morning by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, that Harris Academy is to receive Government funding towards its major refurbishment. This is hopeful news for education at Harris Academy. I am pleased that the SNP Government and the SNP Administration on the City Council have listened to our campaign. But many questions need to be answered about the details attached to the decision. Much more needs to be clarified before the champagne corks should be popping.

I have placed an item on the Education committee agenda tonight (Monday 28 September 2009). I shall of be asking for:

• confirmation of the timescale for the comprehensive refurbishment at Harris Academy. When can work start? Is the start date so far off that any current pupils will not enjoy the new and upgraded facilities?
  
• confirmation of the amount that the Scottish Government has committed. Is it £1 million or £20 million? That will make a make a huge difference to what can be achieved;
• clarification of how the council's share of the costs will be financed. The government announcement in June suggested 60% from them and 40% from the council. To finance the Harris Academy refurbishment would mean at least £8 million borrowing for the council to find. What other planned capital improvements may have to be delayed to make way for the refurbishment of Harris Academy? Will the Labour planned replacements of a new Primary School and Nursery in Whitfield, the two replacement Primary Schools and a Nursery for Lochee-Charleston, the replacement Schools for Park Place Primary School and Nursery and St Joseph's Primary School all need to go back down the queue?

I should like to thank all those people who have supported our campaign and petition over the months and weeks since my first press release about Harris Academy in June, but the campaign must continue until we are reassured that the comprehensive refurbishment is to be fully and speedily implemented.

Petition calls for Refurbishment of Harris Academy

A petition calling for the refurbishment of Harris Academy was launched today. The petition, which is sponsored by Dundee West MP Jim McGovern, Dundee-based MSP Marlyn Glen, Labour Education spokesperson on Dundee City Council Councillor Laurie Bidwell and local West End Councillor Richard McCready, calls for the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council to prioritise funding for the comprehensive refurbishment of Harris Academy.

Dundee West MP Jim McGovern said, 'I have said before that I think the case for Harris Academy being the next major school building project in Dundee is overwhelming. It is important that local people make their voices heard on this important issue. I would urge anyone who wants to see Harris Academy refurbished to sign the petition. '

Dundee-based MSP Marlyn Glen joined her colleagues saying, 'Harris Academy needs refurbished, I hope that the Scottish Government will work with Dundee City Council to find a means to refurbish it.'

Labour's Education spokesperson Councillor Laurie Bidwell said, 'Since I raised this issue in the press on Monday I have been inundated with messages of support and many people have asked what they can do to show support for the refurbishment of Harris Academy. This petition gives people the opportunity to make their views known. The former Labour-led Administration in Dundee had an ambitious programme of school building and refurbishment. The SNP said they would match Labour's building programme 'brick for brick' Labour has developed the proposals to refurbish Harris Academy, the plan is there, the question is do the SNP support investment in our young people.'

West End Councillor Richard McCready said, 'I am very keen to see Harris Academy refurbished. Clearly, Harris Academy would have been the previous Administration's next priority. Local people in the West End expect investment in Harris Academy. Investing in Harris Academy would be good for the young people who study there, it would be good for the teachers who work there, it would be good for the West End to have improved facilities there and it would be a welcome boost to the city's economy by providing jobs in the refurbishment process.'

The petition can be found on-line at www.harrispetition.org.uk

Call for Harris Academy Refurbishment in Dundee as Matter of Urgency

Laurie Bidwell, Labour’s Education Spokesperson on the City Council in Dundee has placed a motion on the agenda of the next Education Committee (Monday 28 September) demanding the declaration of the plans for the next phase of school building work in Dundee; especially the major refurbishment of Harris Academy. During his time as Education Convenor, a feasibility study was conducted by the City Council Education Department which examined options for improving or replacing the Harris Academy buildings. This was shared with members of the Harris Academy Parent Council and West End Councillors in Spring 2009. This study conceded that there was an urgent need to improve or replace the Harris Academy Buildings to bring them up to modern standards to meet the ideals of a 21st century school. Compared with the gleaming new St Paul’s Academy and the soon to be completed Grove Academy, Harris Academy has major deficiencies more particularly:
- The existing classroom dimensions, particularly in the 1930s block, are below an accepted minimum for modern teaching practices;
- The building falls well short in meeting the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) legislative requirements and is inadequate in satisfying the accessibility needs for pupils and staff with disabilities;
- There is currently no facility to allow expressive arts to be fully and satisfactorily integrated into the school curriculum;
- There are inappropriate and inadequate pupil social areas within the building and dining areas are insufficient;
- The location, distribution and condition of pupil toilets are not conducive to providing a safe, secure pupil environment, and are difficult for staff to supervise;
- Traffic and pupil movement around the school, and entering and exiting the school, creates hazards posing significant safety concerns particularly at the start and end of the school day and
- The Harris Academy campus presents significant challenges for fire safety.

In the absence of a suitable alternative site within the catchment of the school, the feasibility study concluded that the most practicable option was to comprehensively refurbish the existing school buildings at a cost close to £20M. The urgency of Harris Academy’s case is primarily educational, but if the refurbishment is tackled sooner rather than later, the spiralling cost of maintaining the existing buildings would be avoided.

Councillor Laurie Bidwell, Labour Education Spokesperson on Dundee City Council, said:
“I think it is important that the Education Convener, Liz Fordyce, urgently commits to secure funding for the upgrading of Harris Academy because, using the Scottish Government's School Estate criteria, Harris Academy buildings have been judged to be 'poor'. Following the opening of St Paul’s RC Academy last Tuesday and the imminent completion of the rebuild of Grove Academy as part of the PPP school building programme in the city, Harris needs to be upgraded to avoid the conclusion that there is a two tier set of secondary school buildings in Dundee; more specifically, the gleaming new St Paul’s RC Academy, the rebuilt Grove and Morgan Academies and the refurbished St John’s RC High School in contrast with the deficiencies in the Harris Academy buildings. A comprehensively refurbished Harris Academy will build on the valued traditions of the school and provide enhanced opportunities for teaching and learning.”

“I have questioned the Education Convener, SNP Councillor Liz Fordyce, more than once at the Education Committee inviting her to declare the council's priorities and programme for the next phase of school building in the city. She has consistently declined to do this. Why is she so shy declaring her programme of school building and refurbishment in the city? I thought that she would want to demonstrate that she was determined to make a reality of the SNP May 2007 electoral promise to 'match Labour's, school building programme brick for brick'? Declaring Harris Academy as a priority would be an important step towards this. Parents and carers in Dundee will want to know from Councillor Fordyce, whether she has any plans, for new schools and school refurbishment, beyond Labour's programme for Dundee?"

Dundee West MP, Jim McGovern, said:
“I think the case for Harris being the next major school building project in Dundee is overwhelming. I hope the Scottish Government will prioritise Harris Academy in the first round of work to be part funded by them via the Scottish Futures Trust. This will not only improve the education of children in the city but also help to secure jobs in the construction industry in Dundee.”

West End Councillor Richard McCready said:
“Harris Academy has a proud record promoting the attainment and achievement of generations of children. The feasibility study surely makes its own case. I have consistently supported the prioritisation of Harris Academy and will do so again at the Education Committee next week.”

Harris Academy Should be Number One School Building Priority in Dundee

On Wednesday 17 June, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Fiona Hyslop, announced a national school building programme supported by £800 million of Scottish Government funding to be shared by all 32 local authorities in Scotland .

Labour Education Spokesperson on the City Council, Laurie Bidwell said,

"The SNP promised a lion and have unveiled a mouse! In the SNP election manifesto in May 2007 they claimed they would 'match Labour's school building programme brick for brick'. This announcement will mean the SNP government will not commission and deliver one new school before the next Holyrood election in May 2011. In addition its scale will probably only help to deliver (by way of 75% national funding) one new secondary school in Dundee . In the Labour led programme in Dundee we delivered two new secondary schools (St Paul's and Grove Academies) and six new Primary Schools via a PPP project worth £90 million (£120 million at 2011 prices). In addition, our administration on the city council, commissioned five new primary schools Whitfield, West End (2) and Lochee-Charleston (2) and the replacement for Kingspark School using prudential borrowing. By any measure, the SNP offering falls very far short of matching our impressive school building programme.

Under my watch, as Education Convenor, a feasibility study was undertaken to rebuild or refurbish Harris Academy . That was recently completed and shared with the Head Teacher and Parent Council. The various strategies have price tags starting at about £20 million. Will SNP Education Convener Liz Fordyce now confirm that Harris Academy will be her number one priority on the Council's shopping list?"

Councillor Richard McCready said,
"Harris Academy is crying out for investment. I urge the City Council to make the case for investment in the Harris to the Scottish Government. People in the West End know that Harris Academy is a good school they also realise that it needs to be modernised. Action is required now."