Violent Incidents Against Dundee School Staff 2009/10

A comprehensive set of figures for violent incidents against school staff in Dundee have been supplied by the City Council in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from D C Thomson:

The headline figure is a total of 557 violent incidents against School staff, mainly teachers.

This is broken down by types of establishment as follows
Pre-school centres of education - 6
Primary schools - 283
Secondary schools - 112
Special schools - 146
Offsite centres - 2
Behavioural support - 8
Total 557

I am surprised and alarmed about three aspects of these figures.

Firstly there is more than a doubling of reported incidents compared with previously figures released to DC Thomson in 2009 which were as follows:

2009/10 - 557
2009 - 276
2008 - 245
2007 - 345
2006 - 353

This apparent surge in reported incidents is very concerning. Unless I can be convinced that this has been caused by changes to the system of recording of violent incidents, it is hard not to conclude that we have a growing problem in our schools. A steeply increasing number of violent incidents against school staff is unacceptable, although I concede that this still involves only a minority of our pupils.

In addition, I am very concerned that a majority of the incidents recorded were in our primary schools (5-12 year olds). This does not bode well for the future.

I also notice that the Police were only notified 5 times from those 557 incidents. Does this indicate that our schools are overly reluctant to involve the police? I wonder how many of these incidents, had they taken place on the street, would have been deemed to be common assaults.

We don't want a blackboard jungle in our schools. What measures will the Education Convener, Liz Fordyce, introduce to respond to my concerns, which I am sure are shared by many parents in the city?

Call for Action to Protect Council Employees Caught by Changes to Tax Credits

In George Osborne's Comprehensive Spending Review last week, there were a number of complex changes to Tax Credits. Tax Credits are paid by the government through the payroll, to workers on low incomes.

Under the new qualifying conditions, from April 2012, couple households with children will need to be engaged in 24 hours or more hours of work per week (compared to the current 16) and one of the couple will need to work at least 18 of the 24 hours. As claimants of Tax Credits with children (single parent or couple) can also receive 80% of their child care costs (to be reduced to 70% in April 2011) the length of working hours of employees in fractional or part time posts may mean that many Council employees are disqualified from access to these benefits. That is why Councillor Richard McCready and I are calling on the Council's Policy and Resources Committee to adopt our resolution to review the position of part time post holders working for the council who may be affected in these changes. Their resolution also call for working hours to be considered as the Council restructures in the light of the Con-Dem cuts.

Councillor Laurie Bidwell said:
A significant number of Council staff job share or undertake part time work. It will make a significant difference to couples with children if their working hours prevent them from continuing to claim Tax Credits and the related child care costs. While this change is more than a year ahead, it is not too soon for the Council to investigate the impact of these changes on its own staff and what maybe done to help staff retain their entitlement to Tax Credits. I think this is the least that the Council can do as a major employer. Maximising the income of staff from wages and benefits is not only good for our staff and their families abut also good for the economy of the city.

Councillor Richard McCready said,
The Council has a duty to ensure that employees are rewarded for their efforts and that parents are able to work to support their families. I am very concerned about these changes to tax credits. I also think that the council should be considering moving towards providing a Living Wage, set at around £7 an hour.

There Is a Better Way Demonstration Edinburgh

Earlier today, I attended the There is a Better Way march and rally in Edinburgh to protest at public sector cuts imposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government. Organised by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) the protest attracted more than 20,000 demonstrators representing trades unionists, churches, voluntary organisations, pensioners and political parties who gathered in front of the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens.

Labour Leader, Iain Gray MSP, who attended the event, said:
"The turnout at this march shows that the people of Scotland do believe there is a better way. The coalition cuts are too deep and too fast, putting 100,000 jobs at risk."

George Samson, of the Dundee Pensioners Forum, said:
"We're here to defend public services. Pensioners depend on these services, and these cuts that are forthcoming are going to affect us adversely."

Before the march, STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said:
"We launched this campaign to dispel the myth that there is no economic alternative to these cuts. There is an alternative. Get people back to work, get the economy growing again, and the public finances will largely take care of themselves. We also launched this campaign to expose the lie that it is those with the broadest shoulders that will bear the brunt of the cuts."

Continuing Support for Balmossie Fire Station

The recent flurry of newspaper articles about Balmossie Fire Station draw on email correspondence between SNP politicians with an interest in the then proposed downgrading of the station. Their views were revealed under freedom of information requests.

On 7 January this year, Broughty Ferry Councillor Ken Guild and Leader of the City Council emailed Councillor Ken Lyall, the Convener of the Tayside Fire and Rescue Board to state he was

"very disappointed at the timing of this controversial proposal in a key sector of a marginal seat in the run up to an election."

This was the then approaching UK General Election subsequently called for Thursday 6 May 2010 when the SNP's Stewart Hosie was anticipating facing the electorate in Dundee East.

I want to make it clear that I am not a fair weather supporter of the retention of Balmossie Fire Station. I have consistently been outspoken in my support for the retention of our fire station on the grounds of public safety for the communities served by our fire station, primarily Broughty Ferry and Monifieth and their landward areas. It should also be remembered that our fire station crews are an important part of back up support for serious fires, floods, chemical spills and road traffic incidents in Dundee and Angus.

Whatever their motivation, I am relieved to learn that any reconsideration of the future of Balmossie Fire Station is off the agenda for at least two years.

Concert Programme in Broughty Ferry

St Mary's Scottish Episcopal Church, Broughty Ferry has recently launched a Saturday lunchtime concert series.

Saturday 23rd October
Liam Lynch (violin) and Joseph Fleetwood (piano) playing Debussy Sonata and Beethoven Spring Sonata

Saturday 20th November
Mariko North (piano)
programme to be decided

Saturday 18th December
Michelle Cressida (soprano) with Joseph Fleetwood (piano)
including songs by Richard Strauss

All concerts take place at
St Mary's Church, Queen Street, Broughty Ferry DD5 1AJ
beginning at 1 pm.

Events last about 1 hour.

Suggested donation £5

St Mary's Epsicopal Chruch in Broughty Ferry - OSCR No. SC001750

Exhibition of Designs for V & A at Dundee

FREE Admission to Exhibition

Wednesday 29 September to Thursday 4 November
Abertay University Library, Bell Street, Dundee DD1 1HG

Opening Hours

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 09.00 – 21.00
Wednesday 09.00 - 17.00

Ed Miliband Elected Labour Party Leader

Earlier this afternoon at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, the results of the Labour Party leadership ballot were announced. Ed Miliband was elected leader of the Labour Party narrowly defeating his brother, David Miliband.

In his victory speech he said: "The Labour Party in the future must be a vehicle that doesn't just attract thousands of young people but tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of young people who see us as their voice in British politics today."

He paid tribute to his predecessors Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, but added: "We lost the election and we lost it badly. My message to the country is this: I know we lost trust, I know we lost touch, I know we need to change."

Ed was in Dundee for a campaigning rally at Discovery Point on Friday 10 September 2010

SNP's Mistaken & Meanest Cut of All?

Surely, one of the meanest and most mistaken cuts so far anticipated in Dundee has been set in train by the SNP led City Council. They have initiated a short term review of welfare rights services in the city. This is part of the Changing for the Future measures they devised to identify savings to deal with the anticipated £20 million shortfall in the council's budget for the next financial year.

Recent news on the Dundee economy have made for grim reading. Rising levels of unemployment, combined with job losses at Realtime Worlds and low vacancy rates. And the prospects are not looking good with alarming levels of combined public sector cuts in the city amounting to 1000 jobs disappearing. Add to that the impact on low income households of proposed cuts in social security benefits announced by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition. Already some agencies such as CAB in Dundee are reporting that demand for welfare benefits advice and debt counselling are stretching their resources.

Councillor Laurie Bidwell said:

"At a point when many Dundee folk are exposed to the negative side effects of the bankers' excesses, why do our SNP councillors think that there is any scope for significant savings to be made in welfare rights agencies in Dundee? As a council, I think its our civic duty to protect the citizens of Dundee when they experience reductions in household income. If we don't have a vibrant range of free and independent advice agencies in the city, we can't guarantee the rights of our citizens when they are experiencing financial hardship or treated unfairly by public bodies and private organisations. Without access to free and independent advice services, these rights would only be reserved for people who can afford to buy their own financial and legal advice from solicitors and accountants. It's also common sense that if you maximise a household's income by helping them claim the welfare benefits they are entitled to, it not only raises the household's income but also increases the money circulating in the local economy in Dundee. It's a 'no brainer' that the demand for debt counselling and welfare rights advice in our city is likely to escalate rather than reduce in the near future. Why are the SNP being so unsympathetic to our citizens at times in their lives when they are experiencing real hardship?"

Councillor Richard McCready said:

"I am outraged at these proposals. The welfare rights services across the city offer a diverse service to a diverse group of users. We need to ensure that there is as much support as possible for those who need welfare rights advice. I think that proposals which might lead to a diminution of the service available to the people of Dundee are misguided. Our top priority must be prosperity and we need to do all we can to promote jobs in the city and for those who need welfare rights assistance we need to support the best service possible."

Notes

As part of the wide ranging 'Changing for the Future' package of measures, approved at the Policy & Resources Committee of Dundee City Council on Monday 23rd August, there was a Review of Welfare Rights provision.

Link to the Policy & Resources Committee Agenda and Papers which run to 204 pages. NB you will only need to examine/print out pages 7 - 16.
http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/reports/agendas/pr230810-1.pdf

The Review of Welfare Rights was one of the reasons why Labour Councillors voted against the 'Changing for the Future' agenda but the SNP group pushed ahead using their majority on the Council.

There is a thirteen week time frame for the review, led by the Assistant Chief Executive, Chris Ward, concluding at the end of November 2010.

Outreach Antenatal Care

The report Pregnancy and complex social factors: A model for service provision for pregnant women with complex social factors, commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, details the poor health outcomes for mother and baby when there is little or no antenatal care. To counter many of the women from these client groups not attending traditional antenatal care in health centres, they propose outreach care in a number of locations. In relation to school aged young women, they propose antenatal classes might be run in schools.

While the report is focused on the NHS in England, I am sure it has some pointers for midwifery in Scotland. In Dundee we do have a high level of young mothers of school age and provision already exists to support mother and baby at the special unit at Menzieshill High School. This report suggests starting that support before birth. If it improves the health of mothers and their babies, I think it should be considered carefully.

It is interesting that the news coverage about this report has focused on the recommendations for the enhanced antenatal care for school pupils. Many of the other women with complex social factors featured in the report, including those with drug and alcohol dependence are apparently not being reached by traditional antenatal care. Given the worrying level of drug misuse in our city, I suspect that is probably more of a priority issue in Dundee right now.

National Express Bypasses Key Parts of Broughty Ferry

In early November, National Express buses will no longer pass through central Broughty Ferry when the No 5 circular bus is re-routed. The No 5 bus service will no longer cross the railway line and travel through central Broughty Ferry removing convenient drop off and pick up points in the central shopping area.

Many older residents, including some who live in sheltered housing, have approached me with their concerns. They complain, for example, that elderly residents will now have to get off the bus at the Post Office Bar and walk along Queen Street to the post office at the top of Grey Street, then walk across the rail crossing to get to the main shops within the Ferry. When these residents have finished their shopping, they will need to carry their messages up the steep incline to reach the bus stop at the foot of Forthill Road.

Likewise, residents in Dundee Road/Broughty Ferry Road remain inconveniences and cut off by the withdrawal of their bus services since the end of June.

I think both sets of bus users are very reasonable in asking for a solution to the withdrawal of bus services that they have come to rely on. Come on Travel Dundee, you can surely do better than this!

Big Changes Ahead for Dundee Teachers and Schools - How Will These Help To Deliver Enhanced Pupil Attainment?

Education Conveners from local councils up and down Scotland have recently been meeting Mike Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Education at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in Edinburgh. They reportedly agreed to abandon many aspects of the terms and conditions of work of our teachers that were established following recommendations made in the McCrone Report.

Changes apparently supported by Convener of Education Liz Fordyce include:

• increasing contact time with pupils by reducing paid preparation and marking time;

• increasing the number of rungs on the salary scale so that teachers take many more years to reach the same top point of their salary scale;

• reducing the rate of pay for supply teaching and

• abandoning the Chartered Teacher programme.

At a local level, Councillor Fordyce and her SNP colleagues are also planning to close smaller primary schools and reorganise the management of the Education Department with other services. Since the number of pupils in a single class are protected by legal limits, they plan to focus on reducing teaching posts outside the classroom but which currently enrich the curriculum and support teaching and learning.

What impact does Councillor Fordyce think these changes will have on education service she is responsible for?

How will she maintain the steady rise in SQA examination results achieved in recent years following the introduction of the 'Learning Together in Dundee' initiative and a new management structure in the Education Department to facilitate this?

How will she ensure that the impact of these changes will not fall disproportionately on pupils from disadvantaged households already under-performing according to the analysis in the recently published 'Better Odds at School' report from Save the Children Scotland?

Last Week to Comment on Proposed Renewable Energy Plant in Dundee Docks

Forth Energy has made an application for permission to develop and operate a 'renewable energy plant' (also referred to in the press as a biomass power station) in the Dundee docks. Forth Energy submitted its application to the Scottish Ministers on 17th August 2010. Comments on the proposals should be made directly to the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit, by Friday 24th September 2010.

Forth Energy believes that its proposed Dundee Renewable Energy Plant will be a valuable step in tackling the global challenges of climate change and the national challenges of increasing the amount of energy to be generated from renewable sources. In addition they believe that the project will contribute to addressing the potential generation capacity shortfall and security of energy supply issues.

Alternative views are available from the RATTS Action Group in Dundee.

What do you think?

More Information - Dundee Consent Application
Read/download the Non Technical Summary of the Application

How to comment on the application...

Email directly the Scottish Government at:
EnergyConsents@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Or

Post Your Comments to
Scottish Government
The Energy Consents and Deployment Unit
4th Floor
5 Atlantic Quay
150 Broomielaw
Glasgow
G2 8LU

Road Closures Fort Street and Gray Street B/ferry Wed 22 & Thurs 23 September

Next week there will be two one day road closures in central Broughty Ferry sanctioned by Dundee City Council.

On Wednesday 22 September, for one working day, to facilitate Scottish Water inspection works being carried out, the driving of any vehicle in Fort Street (from Fisher Street to King Street), Broughty Ferry will be prohibited.

On Thursday 23 September, for one working day, to facilitate Scottish Water inspection works being carried out, the driving of any vehicle in Gray Street, (from Beach Crescent to King Street), Broughty Ferry will be prohibited.

In both cases, a pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles will be signposted.

For further information contact (01382) 433168.

Better Odds At School

Save the Children Scotland have produced a thoughtful and penetrating policy briefing 'Better Odds At School'. In this report they point out that children from Scotland's poorest families make less progress than their classmates from better off households.

The achievement gap in Dundee that the 'Better Odds At School' briefing reveals is a matter of great concern to me. I am a supporter of equality of educational opportunity and if this report is right, the difference between the SQA exam results in secondary schools in our city of pupils in receipt of free school meals compared with those pupils not in receipt of free school meals is very worrying and worthy of further investigation.

I call on Education Convener, Councillor Liz Fordyce to:

• ask the Education Department's statistician to check the analysis used by the report's authors and report back to the Education Committee;
• prepare a report for the Education Committee based on applying the Save the Children Scotland's analysis to the 2010 SQA examination results;
• invite Save the Children Scotland to give members of the Education Committee a briefing about their report and the analysis on which it is based and finally
• commit to applying a rigorous equality impact assessment on each of the cuts in Education she is planning for next year so that these will not impact unfairly on children from households with the lowest incomes."

Sign the Save the Children Scotland's Online Petition

10 days Left to Respond to Consultation on Eastern Primary School Move

The City Council's Education Department propose to move Eastern Primary School from its present site in Whinny Brae to the buildings previously used by Grove Academy on the south side of Camperdown Street with effect from August 2011. These buildings were previously earmarked for conversion into office accommodation for Council staff.

There are only ten days left for members of the public or parents to send in their comments about these proposals to the Education Department.

Click on this link to read or download the full proposal paper.

Written responses to these proposals should be sent to
Mrs Lina Waghorn
Head of Primary and Early Years Education
Floor 8, Tayside House
28 Crichton Street,
Dundee, DD1 3RJ
lina.waghorn@dundeecity.gov.uk

by the close of consultation on Tuesday 28 September 2010