School Attendance Friday 3 December

On Friday 3 December six of the nine Secondary Schools reopened in the city following inclement weather which had closed all of the schools in Dundee. The following attendance figures have been supplied by the Director of Education, Jim Collins:


Craigie High School
150-200 pupils (21%) and 63 teachers (93%)

Grove Academy
500 pupils (47%) and 75 teachers (92%)

Harris Academy
400 pupils (36%) and 83 teachers (92%)

Morgan Academy
190 pupils (21%) and 67 teachers (91%)

St John's High School
100-150 pupils (14%) and 59 teachers (83%)

St Paul's Academy
80 pupils (8%) and 74 teachers (96%)

In addition
142 teachers from the three closed schools were able to report to the above schools.

Statement to the Education Committee - blanket school closures & staged reopenings

Earlier today I wrote to the the Education Convener, Councillor Liz Fordyce.

I wrote:
"Given the exceptional weather last week and the blanket school closures and the staged re-openings on Friday and today (Monday) I think it is important that you make a statement to the Education Committee tonight. In particular, I think parents and the members of the Education Committee want reassurance that lessons have been learned and solutions applied from last week and today which will improve how our schools operate tomorrow.

I have received numerous complaints this morning from parents across the city directly or passed on from my Labour Group colleagues. These have focused on the dangerousness of roads and paths outside our schools, the absence of school crossing patrollers and limitations on the scope for their work because of snow accumulations

More specifically I think parents will want to know:

• how the safety of our children is ensured in the environs of schools including pavement clearing and gritting and the attendance of crossing patrol staff or when they are missing police officers;
• processes of communication with parents and staff of arrangements for the closing and reopening of our schools and other education establishments and
• use of the GLOW intranet for engaging pupils in their learning during a period of one week's lost schooling."

Liz declined to do make a statement to the Education Committee.

All Dundee Schools Intend to Open on Monday 6 December

Dundee City Council is intending to open all nursery, primary and secondary schools on Monday (December 6). This is dependent on weather conditions over the weekend.


Gritting and snow-clearing will continue over the weekend. Priority routes in the city are all passable and intermediate routes around schools are being treated.

Six City Secondary Schools to Reopen on Friday

In a press release this afternoon, Dundee City Council have indicated that: "Six (out of nine) city secondary schools will open tomorrow (Friday December 3). They are:

• Craigie High,
• Grove Academy,
• Harris Academy,
• Morgan Academy,
• St John's High and
• St Paul's Academy.

All other Dundee schools will remain closed on Friday. Pupils at schools which remain closed have an opportunity to work online through their Glow account where educational resources are available."

Apparently, teachers employed at the remaining three secondary schools in the city:

• Baldragon Academy,
• Braeview Academy and
• Menzieshill High School,

have been temporarily redeployed to the nearest secondary school to their home address until their schools reopen.

Further updates will be posted on the council's website www.dundeecity.gov.uk and through the council's Twitter feed

http://twitter.com/dundeecouncil

All Dundee Schools Closed on Thursday for Fourth Day on the Trot

In an update on their website at 5.30pm Wednesday 1st December, the City Council announced that:



"All Dundee City Council schools will remain closed tomorrow (Thursday December 2) because of the continuing severe weather conditions, the forecast of more snowfall and issues with safe access."

Perhaps recognising that this closure will almost complete a week of lost schooling and some pupils will be sitting their 'prelims' soon, they added:
"Pupils have an opportunity to work on-line through their Glow account*."

I wonder whether our housebound teachers are expected to take advantage of accessing their Glow accounts* too?

Updates
Updates will be posted on the city council's website and via the city council's twitter feed http://twitter.com/dundeecouncil

Glow*
Glow is the world's first national intranet for education that is transforming the way the curriculum is delivered in Scotland.

Schools Closed Wednesday and Council Update

All Dundee City Council schools will remain closed tomorrow (Wednesday December 1) because of the continuing severe weather conditions.

The following social work services will also be closed to service users on Wednesday: family support centres, learning disability centres and the Oaklands Day Centre for Older People.

The city council will be unable to make any bin collections tomorrow.

The Mitchell Street adult learning centre will be closed on Wednesday.

Gritting and snow-clearing will continue overnight. Additional employees will be redeployed during tomorrow to support the snow-clearing operations.

A total of 260 employees from waste management, Dundee Contract Services and leisure and communities will augment the clear-up.

Further updates will be posted on the Council's website http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk and through the council's Twitter feed http://twitter.com/dundeecouncil

School Closures and Disruption to Sevices Tuesday 30 November

All Dundee City Council schools will remain closed tomorrow (Tuesday November 30) because of the continuing severe weather conditions.

The following social work services will be closed on Tuesday: Family Support Centres, Learning Disability Centres and the Oaklands Day Centre for Older People.

There will be no bin collections on Tuesday.

Further updates will be posted on the council's website www.dundeecity.gov.uk
and through the council's Twitter feed http://twitter.com/dundeecouncil

Press Release Date: Tuesday 30 November 2010

Severe Weather - Dundee School Closures Monday

Following a period of severe weather conditions and the forecast of continuing snowfalls, a decision has been taken to close all Dundee schools on Monday 29 November.

Dundee City Council Press Release Date: Sunday 28 November 2010

Further information on the status of school closures will be updated as decisions are taken.