New Stretch of One Way Traffic Restriction in Seafield Road Broughty Ferry

New Section of One Way Traffic in Seafield Road

Earlier this week Broughty Ferry's latest stretch of one way street was introduced on the southern end of Seafield Road between Grove Academy and Davidson Street. This narrow section of Seafield Road now only permits traffic driving north.

Traffic driving south down Seafield Road from Balgillo Road will find that at the cross roads with Davidson Street their path direct ahead is now "No Entry" and they need to turn right or left down Davidson Street.

Temporarily, there is also no turn available along Davidson Street heading west as this leads to Claypotts Road which is currently closed for complete resurfacing work.

As my photograph taken at twilight shows, the new short section of one way traffic begins by the back entrance to Grove Academy.

This traffic change came from recommendations made by a short life working group. This was formed to address concerns about pupil safety in anticipation of the move of Eastern Primary School to the refurbished old Grove building next door to the new Grove Academy. Chaired by the Chief Executive David Dorward, this group involved Head Teachers and members of the Parent Councils of Grove Academy and Eastern Primary Schools, senior members of staff from the Council's Education and Transportation Departments and Tayside Police and Ferry Councillors.

It is hoped that this measure will divert traffic towards the front entrance of the school on Claypotts Road and reduce the number of vehicles exiting Church Street onto Queen Street. The one way was deliberately introduced during the summer vacation so that residents could get used to this before the school runs resume on Tuesday 12 August.

SNP Councillors Halved the Representation of Parents in the Planning of New City Schools

I was disappointed that at the Policy and Resources Committee on Monday night, SNP Councillors conspired to vote for a reduction in parental representation on the Project Boards that will be planning the new schools in Coldside, Menzieshill and Strathmartine. I think it is really important to have strong parental voices in these Planning Boards.

At the Policy and Resources Committee, I argued that we should retain having two members of the Parent Council of each school in the relevant Project Planning Board for the replacement schools and community facilities. This would have been in line with what has been the practice at the Project Planning Boards for the Balgarthno (Lochee-Charleston) and West End shared campus replacement primary schools. I was disappointed that what had been proposed in the report to the committee was a reduction to one Parent Council member per school. Despite my offering a constructive alternative to their proposal they would not budge.

I also pointed out to the Committee that when it comes to the appointment of head teachers, the law of Scotland provides that Parent Councils have a right to two members on an appointment committee selecting a new Head Teacher for their school. So if it is good enough for head teacher appointments it should also be the continuing standard of representation for the Project Boards planning our new schools in the city.

I was pleased that the Committee agreed with my proposal to involve pupil council members of the project boards but I remain puzzled why the non Labour members of the Committee should want to reduce the participation of parents.

While the Committee Convener said that the Project Boards can use their discretion to bring more people on, I have my doubts that they will do this if so many Councillors have expressed this level of resistance to my proposal.

Additional Members of Education Committee Denied a Vote

At the meeting of the City Council on Monday night 20 August 2012, SNP Councillors blocked attempts to give voting rights to the proposed three additional members of the Education Committee. 

Councillors had been asked to approve proposals for two parental members drawn from the Parent Councils (one from nursery and primary school Parent Councils and one from the secondary school Parent Councils. Additionally, one senior Pupil drawn from the members of the city wide Pupil Council were to be invited to join the Education Committee. 

In the the Agenda Note before us, it was pointed out that 
"Having regard to the non-statutory status of the parent representatives and the pupil representative, they will be non-voting members of the Education Committee." 
In questions to the Senior Council staff, it became clear that there was no statute or regulation to prevent the proposed additional parent and senior pupil members of the Education Committee having a vote. It appeared that this form of words had been an attempt to deflect the blame for not granting voting rights from the majority SNP group of Councillors to some legal restriction.

In the light of this revelation, I asked the Education Convener, Councillor Hunter, to reconsider his stance and retain an equality between all the members of the Education Committee. As he was not willing to change his stance, I proposed an amendment that 


3(b) COMPOSITION OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE (AN140-2012)

The parent representatives and the pupil representative will be voting members of the Education Committee.

I made the following contribution to the debate:

"Convener, I welcome your proposal before us this evening as far as it goes but it is falls short in one key aspect.I think it is a sound idea to provide a pupil voice and more parental voices on the Education Committee. Our pupils are at the sharp end of many profound changes as a result of introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence and SQA examinations and it is a progressive idea to make a clear link between the City Wide Pupil Council and the Education Committee. While some Councillors are also parents of children currently in our schools, I think it is right to increase the number of parental voices on our Education Committee and through them make links with the multiple viewpoints from our network of parent councils. Convener this is very close to your sentiments published in the local press earlier today.

Of course, I could not but welcome this extension to the membership of the Education Committee, because a very similar proposal was contained in the Dundee Labour Manifesto, which we put before the voters in May 2012 elections in Dundee. I am glad that the SNP administration have been prepared to seek out good ideas, wherever these reside.

Where we differ is over the voting powers of these new additional members. The motion seeks to deny the additional members the opportunity to vote on matters of importance. I am worried that your proposal will disappoint the potential participants who may be loath to be second class members of the Education Committee. 

I once heard the accusation that some local government participation schemes might be likened to a toy phone. You may speak or shout down the phone but as it's not connected it does make much of a difference, it just allows the speaker on the phone to get whatever is perplexing them off their chest but of course it remains unresolved. 

Your proposal amounts to that kind of participation, appearing to be opening up avenues of influence for our parents and pupils but ensuring that on the 

occasions where we vote on an issue their views will not count.

I ask you therefore to support our amendment and make this a better proposal."

Unfortunately, all the SNP Councillors and the Conservative Councillor voted together and had enough votes to defeat the Labour amendment. The new additional members of the Education Committee will still have their places on the Committee but have been denied their votes.

Commenting on Proposals for Additional Pupil and Parent Members of the Education Committee

At the Full Council Meeting on Monday 20 August 2012, there is a proposal to extend the membership of the Education Committee by adding three further members; two parent council members and one senior pupil. 

One of the parents, would be nominated from the members of Nursery and Primary School Parent Councils while the other would be chosen from the ranks of the members of the Secondary School Parent Councils. The senior pupil member would be nominated from the members of the City Wide Pupil Council.

I think it is a sound idea to provide a pupil voice and more parental voices on the Education Committee. Our pupils are at the sharp end of many profound changes as a result of introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence so it is a good idea to make a clear link between the City Wide Pupil Council and the Education Committee. While some Councillors are also parents of children currently in our schools, I think it is right to enhance the voices of parents at the Education Committee and make a link through them with multiple viewpoints from our network of parent councils. 

Of course, I could not but welcome this extension to the membership of the Education Committee, because a very similar proposal was contained in the Dundee Labour Manifesto which we put before the voters in May 2012 elections in Dundee. I am glad that the SNP administration have been prepared to seek out good ideas, wherever these reside.

I do however have a question about the way the proposal has been framed. I wonder for example what these three additional members will think about their status as the only non voting members of the Committee unlike the two trade union and three religious representatives on the Committee?

  

I also think that to make a success of this development, we will need to think more about the agendas and the formality of the meetings. 

Often the Education Committee agendas are very thin and avoid matters that are really crucial. For example, the Agenda of the Education Committee on Monday night contains only two items; the approval of a £10,00 grant to the Prince's Trust Fairbridge Programme in Dundee and the reporting of contracts for school taxis which has already been approved during the recess. Important as these are, it's not very compelling stuff to come in for or what parents and pupils might most aspire to influence. Why isn't there a report on Monday about the SQA examination results in our schools? The pre-appeal statistics are apparently available and were quoted in the press by the Education Convener more than two weeks ago but are not being presented to the Education Committee on Monday. Now items like that might really interest and engage the parental and pupil member of the Committee.

I think the Council should also give consideration to relaxing the formality and procedures in our meetings if we want to really involve the new additional members. The way standing orders are rigidly enforced by Conveners often seems to be designed to stifle rather than facilitate a rigorous examination of proposals and a lively debate.

Adding a Pupil and Parental Voice on the Education Committee

I have written to Leader of the Administration, Ken Guild, whose position was confirmed at the Council meeting on Monday night 21st March 2012. While all eyes at the meeting were on which Councillors were made Lord Provost  and Committee Conveners, the Council was also invited to approve the two trade union and three religious representatives that are also members of the Education Committee. 

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that children and young people have a right to have their views taken into account in decisions made about matters that affect them. At a time when the voice of our young people in decision making in our City is facilitated through the Dundee Youth Council and the City wide Pupil Council, is it not time we took one more step further by inviting a nominee from our senior school pupils to join us in the Education Committee?

Scottish Labour in Dundee were convinced of the merit of this idea and put this in our manifesto for the local government elections. We proposed that the Education Committee should co-opt a parent representing the citywide group of Chairpersons of Parent Councils together with a senior pupil nominated by the City wide Pupil Council.

I would think there should be cross party support for this because two senior pupils were invited to join the Education Review Group by the last Education Convener and of course the SNP have been arguing for the inclusion of 16 year old voters in the forthcoming referendum on the  proposed separation of Scotland from the UK. Likewise there are compelling reasons for a stronger parental voice on the Education Committee. I have already checked with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on the Council and he has confirmed that there is no legal impediment to what I have proposed.

I didn't want to be divisive so I  wrote to Ken Guild to propose this and invite him to bring forward a proposal to the Council meeting yesterday or the next Education Committee on 25 June.

In his reply to me Councillor Guild thanked me for my email and said:

"I am not hostile to the proposals which I think could be looked at as a review of the business of the Education Committee.  I have asked officers to gather information concerning non-elected membership of Education Committees or their equivalent in other Scottish local authorities."