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

Class Size Reduction in Primary Schools - Another SNP Broken Promise on Education

“The announcement this morning by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, that she will introduce a legal cap of 25 pupils on P1-3 class sizes will leave parents wondering about the competence of the Cabinet Secretary at mental arithmetic. There is clearly a big difference between the SNP's May 2007 Manifesto Commitment to reduce P1-3 class sizes to 18 with the Cabinet Secretary's announcement of a legal maximum of 25. No amount of spin can remove the 18 or less pledge from the 2007 SNP manifesto. The question that SNP Government ministers must answer is when will 18 or less be met.

As Labour Education Convener in Dundee, until April this year, I was clear that class size reductions were particularly desirable in the early years of schooling but could only be achieved in all Dundee Primary Schools if the government in Holyrood was committed to finance the cost of the extra teachers and classrooms. The government has not given councils one extra penny to pay for the P1-3 class size of 18 policy so not surprisingly progress on reducing class sizes is very slow.

Without extra classrooms and cash to employ more teachers and to erect more classrooms, a legal cap of 25 might reduce parental and carers choice when they find that their local school is full and cannot accommodate all of the placing requests from the school's catchment area.

I think, many parents, carers and teachers will be disappointed that this is another extravagant electoral promise about Education that the SNP government is now conceding it cannot keep.”

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.”

Qualified Welcome for Subsidised School Visits to Bannockburn, Culloden and Burns’ birthplace

Dundee Labour Councillors Laurie Bidwell and Richard McCready today provided a qualified welcome to the announcement, on 10 September, by the Scottish Government of funds to encourage school pupils to visit Bannockburn, Culloden and Burns’ birthplace. Both councillors recognise the importance of promoting Scotland’s history, but they believe that there is much more to Scotland’s history than Bannockburn, Culloden or Robert Burns and more appropriate ways of funding this.

Councillor Laurie Bidwell said:

“Visits to museums and sites of historical significance are an essential part of the education of every pupil in our schools. At first glance it seems commendable that the Scottish Government has provided conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland with additional £180,000 funding to subsidise school parties visiting Bannockburn, Culloden and Robert Burns' birthplace. This is, perhaps, better understood as a back door bailout to National Trust for Scotland which has recently acknowledged financial difficulties and has been discussing the mothballing of some of their properties. If the government want to encourage school visits, I think it should remain true to the spirit of the concordat with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) and local councils. A key plank of this agreement was an end to ring fencing of funding. This is another example of the SNP government in Holyrood breaking that agreement. It would be better to stick to the Concordat and give the cash to local authorities so that our history teachers can arrange visits to places that they judge best fit in with the history curriculum in their schools.

Councillor Richard McCready said:

”I welcome this announcement and the opportunity that it gives for pupils to visit Bannockburn, Culloden or Burns’ birthplace but there is much more to our country’s history than these sites. I think that it would be good if the Scottish Government also supported visits to other important historical sites. In order to understand Dundee’s history, a visit to Verdant Works or Discovery Point would be appropriate. It is impossible to understand Dundee's 19th century history without understanding the industrialisation of Dundee and Verdant Works and Discovery Point help to do this.”

Temporary Bus Diversions - Service 8X during A92 essential roadworks between East Marketgait & Greendykes Rd, Dundee from Tues 8 Sept

BEAR Scotland will be carrying out essential road maintenance works on the A92 between East Marketgait and Greendykes Road, Dundee from 8 September for approximately 10 weeks.
As a result National Express Dundee service 8X to Broughty Ferry, will be temporarily re-routed as follows:
Service 8X
Normal route to Riverside Drive. From Riverside Drive buses will run via West Marketgait, Yeaman’s Shore, Union Street, Whitehall Crescent then normal route from Shore Terrace
( Dock Street). Buses towards Barnhill are not affected
Affected bus stops will display details of the diversions.
Due to changes in traffic flow around Dundee as a result of the road closure between East Marketgait and Greendykes Road, bus services in general may be subject to delays, particularly at peak times.
Lawrence Davie, Director National Express Dundee, said: “National Express Dundee will be working with Bear Scotland and Dundee City Council to keep bus services running as smoothly as possible, while the essential road works are taking place on the A92 East Dock Street. However, we are advising passengers to allow extra time for their journey, particularly if travelling during the morning or afternoon peak times as there may be changes to traffic flow around Dundee. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and ask passengers to please bear with us whilst BEAR Scotland carry out necessary resurfacing and reconstruction work on the A92 trunk road.”
Full details of service changes are available on www.nationalexpress.com/dundee on the ‘service changes’ pages.

Evening Classes at Grove Academy 2009/10 - enrolment night Mon 31 August

The new programme of evening classes organised by Broughty Ferry Education and Recreation Association (BERA) will commence on Monday 14 September 2009 at Grove Academy. Public enrolment will be held at Grove Academy on Monday 31 August 2009 at 7pm-8.30pm via the entrance on Seafield Road. Check out the full programme of classes.

More Details South Marketgait, East Dock St & Broughty Ferry Rd reconstruction beginning 8 September 2009

Journeys between Broughty Ferry and Dundee city centre will be subject to delays from 8 September as South Marketgait, East Dock St & Broughty Ferry Rd (up to Greendykes) is reconstructed. Diversions will be in place but we should anticipate longer journey times.
For maps and full details, download/view the BEAR Scotland leaflet.

Camphill Road B/ferry - Proposed Temporary Road Closure to Facilitate Pavement Resurfacing

Dundee City Council propose to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating footway resurfacing works. The Order is expected to be in force for four weeks from 9 September 2009. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months.

The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in that section of Camphill Road between Whinny Brae and Bughties Road, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.

Pedestrian thoroughfare is maintained and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible.

An alternative route is available via Queen Street / Monifieth Road / Reres Road / Bughties Road.

Please forward any comments you may have regarding this proposal to Mark Cobb, Network Management Team, Planning and Transportation Department, Tayside House, Crichton Street, Dundee, no later than five working days prior to the commencement date.

If you have any queries please contact Mr Cobb on 433082.

Significant Case Review: Brandon Lee Muir

Following the death of Brandon Muir, those charged with leading and managing child protection services in Dundee commissioned two separate reviews. A significant case review was commissioned in line with national guidance to examine the particular circumstances surrounding the child protection issues, and the role of the various authorities involved. Separately, an independent review was commissioned by the Chief Officers Group to ensure validation of the Significant Case Review, but also to address wider issues which may emerge, not necessarily related to the death of Brandon.

The two Reports were published on Wednesday 19 August.
Significant Case Review: Brandon Lee Muir
I attended the briefing for elected members with the two authors of the jointly published reports.

Summary of Joint Report Findings

4 The Significant Case Review concludes that the violence of Robert Cunningham towards Brandon Muir could not have been predicted. In the period of less than three weeks that Cunningham became part of the family grouping with Heather Boyd and her two children, child protection staff had quickly embarked on a process of assessment and information gathering which would have led to a Case Conference on 18th March 2008.

5 In that time, both social work and health staff had seen Heather Boyd, Robert Cunningham and the children on a number of occasions, visited the home, and Heather had cooperated with a medical examination on Brandon in relation to a query about his gait.

6 The focus of attention in preparation for the Case Conference centred more on the well being of the children against the context of concern about Heather Boyd’s wider parenting skills and the home environment, rather than the threat of violence from Robert Cunningham.

7 The Significant Case Review explored in considerable detail the information known to the authorities about Heather Boyd and her children, and about Robert Cunningham. The authorities had sought to offer Heather Boyd support in her parenting role. She never utilised this to any great degree, preferring to make use of the support offered her by her parents. While she had come to the
notice of the police in the past, nothing was known of her activities in prostitution, and she had no recorded history of drug misuse. Experienced staff found no evidence of either a chaotic household or lifestyle that suggested she had a dependence on substances.

8 Both health visiting and social work staff consistently stated that Heather and her children did not stand out as giving great cause for concern. Whilst there were ongoing concerns, these never reached a threshold which prompted consideration of more formal intervention until shortly before Brandon’s death.

9 Robert Cunningham had also come to the previous attention of the police, but more significantly in this case he was known to the police, social work services and to the Children’s Reporter through his alleged involvement in domestic violence towards a previous partner.

10 The Significant Case Review explains what has changed in Dundee since the death of Brandon Muir, and where appropriate reference is also made to the Improvement Plan which has been developed in response to the recent HMIE joint inspection.

11 However, in examining the particular circumstances of the case, the two reviews identified a number of issues which have a continuing consequence for child protection policy and practice in Dundee, and some of which are of wider national interest.

Warning - Roadworks East Dock Street from 8 September for 10 weeks

Transport Scotland and Dundee City Council have formed a partnership to deliver an improvement Project comprising resurfacing and reconstruction of East Dock Street; installation of traffic signals to the Trades Lane/City Quay junction with South Marketgait; and construction of Rising Main Chambers in Trades Lane as part of the future Flood Prevention Scheme.

These works are due to start on Tuesday 8 th September for a period of 10 weeks.

What's Coming up at The Ferry Local Community Planning Partnership?

The Ferry Local Community Planning Partnership (FLCPP) will be meeting on Thursday 27 August at 17:30. If there is an item on the agenda (see below) which interests you, you may either attend the meeting and/or ask me to convey your comments on a specific issue.
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The Ferry Local Community Planning Partnership

Meeting

Thursday 27 August 2009 in Panmurefield Village Church Hall

at 5.00 p.m. for buffet with a 5.30 p.m. start

A G E N D A

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Previous Minute and Matters Arising

3. New Developments

- Home Insulation Scheme - Heather McQuillan (Housing Dept)

- Sandy Park - Councillor Rod Wallace

- Grove Office Redevelopment

4. Local Community Plan Update

-Castle Green Master Plan Review

- Development Trust

- PRC Cluster Consultation

- Community Plan Monitoring Document

- Impact Assessment Exercise

5. Department/Agency/Organisation Update

6. Open Forum On Community Issues

7. A.O.C.B.

(a) LCPP Review

(b) Cycle Parking in Central Broughty Ferry (Councillor Laurie Bidwell)

8. Date, Time and Venue for Next Meeting

V & A In Dundee – Comments by Laurie Bidwell, Labour Education Spokesperson on Dundee City Council

"The announcement this morning progressing the development of the Victoria & Albert Museum offshoot in Dundee is most welcome. Not only will this bring economic and cultural benefits to Dundee but it will also be very positive for art education in our city. This museum and art gallery will bring national and international exhibitions to Dundee which will make these much more accessible for our school pupils and their teachers. This will help to inspire more of our pupils to engage in the arts and crafts and aspire to work in the related creative industries. This is also very positive news for Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. This will reinforce their place as one of the top six research led Art and Design higher education institutions in the UK."

Commenting on the Publication of Statistics on Violent Incidents in Dundee Schools Involving Parents

“I am disappointed to hear that that three violent incidents reported in Dundee schools during April and May 2009 involved parents and carers because three is too many. Parents and carers should be backing up the authority of our schools and setting a good example to their children. They should not be resorting to behaviour that undermines school discipline and threatens the health and safety of teachers and other staff. We should however get this in proportion and acknowledge that this a small minority of parents and carers. Most parents support the work of their children's schools. They are conscious of the need to model appropriate behaviour to their children by resolving disputes constructively.”

Car Ditched in East Home Street as Temporary Bridge over Pavement Trench Collapses

Professor Steve Partridge got a shock when he was parking his car in his garage off East Home Street in Broughty Ferry on Wednesday evening. As he carefully drove on plastic bridging sheets over the trench dug by Tayside Contracts, the side of the trench gave way and the offside front wheel of his car became stuck in the trench. Careful jacking by a garage he called out helped to extricate the car.

He said,

“While being delighted that the pavement has been adopted, the minor disruption to daily routine has now turned serious. The trench that has been dug in preparation for the installation of the kerbs means that either we risk driving over inadequate plastic ramps and our cars falling in (as happened to me this evening), or leaving our cars on the street in direct contravention to our insurance companies' instruction.

Either adequate ramps of greater length should be supplied, or the trench should be filled in until the delivery of the radius kerbs, which have clearly been holding up the work. I should also like to know from Tayside Contracts if they will compensate me for the garage callout and if the underside of my car has been damaged?”

Councillor Laurie Bidwell, who was also called to the scene said,

“I think residents with garages accessed on the south side of East Home Street will be very nervous about crossing this trench. Like Mr Partridge, I think they will want to know when the pavement upgrading will be completed on their side of the street so that they can access their homes and garages easily and safely.”