Developing Visions and Values in Our Schools

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www.angusreid.co.uk

Many of our schools are developing or revising their statement of their vision and values.  These statements are both a source of inspiration as well as a reference point to guide expectations and behaviour. The process of arriving at what is recorded should be inclusive so that pupils, teachers and parents and carers are all on the same page. 

I know that Grove Academy are currently going through this process, which has involved a number of rounds of consultation with staff and pupils. It was referred to in the Head Teacher's recent report to the Grove Parent Council.

At St Thomas Of Aquin's High School in Edinburgh, freelance artist Angus Reid has worked with a group of  S4 pupils to explore what a statement of values means to them, and how it affects their whole relationship to the school. His novel approach led to the adoption of a short statement which pupils produced and which has now been displayed on the wall of a stairway for all to see. The full statement the pupils produced is available on this link. (Note you will need to scroll through the images to find the specific pictures from St Thomas Of Aquin's High School.)

I wonder whether the Grove statement will read like this and where it might be re-presented?

Paving the Way for Falls Prevention in Broughty Ferry

Click on image to enlarge

Earlier this week, a sprightly constituent over retirement age contacted me about her unfortunate fall. She had tripped on an uneven stretch of pavement on the western side of Claypotts Road just north of the junction with Brook Street and just south of the railway bridge. As a result, she had broken her nose, and had sustained heavy bruising around her eyes and the rest of her face. Frankly she looked as though she had been mugged or had lost a boxing match. Where she tripped the concrete pathway has sections where the surface is crumbling away and this has made the pavement uneven and over time deeper holes have been developing.

I have reported this to the Roads Maintenance Partnership. 

In the last fortnight, I have reported numerous stretches of roads and pavements in The Ferry which are rutted and/or have potholes. While this usually leads to some filling in of those that staff judge to be the worst, some of the patching does not last very long. I think the Council are losing the battle with stretches of roads and pavements falling into disrepair faster than they can be given a temporary fix.

Uneven pavements and potholes are not only a source of potential danger for members of the public but they are also a costly issue for the NHS.

A report on falls and health, published by the Scottish Government in May 2012 confirms this point:

"With an ageing population, falls and the consequences of falls are a major and growing concern for older people."

"Falls and fractures, in people aged 65 and over, account for over 18,000 unscheduled admissions and 390,500 bed days each year in Scotland."

"In addition, in the over 65 population, falls cases are the largest single presentation to the Scottish Ambulance Service (over 35,000 presentation each year)."

Despite these statistics, falls are not an inevitable consequence of old age. I think the Council needs to take its share of responsibility for the cost to the NHS of falls and a serious reduction in the quality of life of those older persons that sustain more serious injuries such as bone fractures.

Quotations above extracted from:

Up and About or Falling Short? - A Report of the Findings of a Mapping of Services for Falls Prevention in Older People Published by the the Scottish Government, 23 May 2012

Dundee University Almost Top of the Class Again

Dundee University come very close to the top of the class again in a student satisfaction survey. They achieved a 90% level of student satisfaction and came second only in Scotland to Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh in the 2012 UK wide National Student Survey. 

This follows a first place in the UK in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey published back in February 2012.

This a consistent and creditable performance.

Here is a table of the overall student satisfaction levels at Scottish Universities in rank order drawn from the results of the National Student Survey 2012:

1. Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh – 91%
2. Dundee – 90%
3. St Andrews – 90%
4. Aberdeen – 89%
5. Glasgow – 89%
6. Strathclyde, Glasgow – 89%
7. Robert Gordon, Aberdeen – 87%
8. Stirling – 87%
9. Glasgow Caledonian – 85%
10. West of Scotland, Paisley – 85%
11. Edinburgh – 83%
12. QMU, Edinburgh – 83%
13. Edinburgh Napier – 82%
14. Glasgow School of Art – 77%
15. Abertay, Dundee – N/A

Broughty Ferry Library Seeking Friends' Group

On Wednesday evening I attended a consultation event about forming a Friends' Group for Broughty Ferry Library. This followed an afternoon meeting earlier in the month.

Sandra Westgate, our Branch Librarian, gave an overview of the library and shared some statistics about library usage.

Did you know that the Broughty Ferry Library opened in October 1928 as a library and reading room and is consistently the busiest branch library in the city? Here is a selection of its vital statistics for the last year:

• 144271 visitors
• 8943 members
• 98136 items were issued 
• 2006 users of the computers
• 4756 attendances at the Baby Rhyme Time
• 201 events for children
• 4 adult reading groups
• 532 events for adults

It is hoped that a Friends' Group for Broughty Ferry Library would not only be able to help extend the reach of the library into more community events but also help with funding. The library is part of Leisure and Culture Dundee which is an organisation working at arms length from the Council with charitable status.  As such, new forms of funding should be available for additional services or activities.

Both consultations were well attended and a keen group of supporters have indicated their interest and potential support. They will be invited to a follow up meeting but there is room for more folk to come on board. It's therefore not too late to declare your interest in supporting or being part of the Friends of Broughty Ferry Library Group by contacting Sandra Westgate:

Broughty Ferry Community Library

Queen Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, DD5 2HN

Phone:  01382 436919

Email: broughty.library@dundeecity.gov.uk

Website: www.dundeecity.gov.uk/communities/

Welcome for Funding Commitment for Rebuilding Baldragon Academy

I welcome the announcement made yesterday, by the Scottish Government, that the rebuilding of Baldragon Academy has been approved as part of the Schools for the Future programme. I know this will be welcomed by the Baldragon staff, pupils and  parents.

The current Baldragon Academy buildings are over 50 years old and pupils in the North West of the city deserve a Secondary School that is fit for the 21st Century. The original proposal by the Council included the replacement of Sidlaw View Primary School on the same campus and I hope that is part of what has been approved as well.

This really is a school for the future announcement as the government's letter makes it clear that Baldragon will not be among those schools with an accelerated start over the next 18 months. That might have been possible as the rebuilding of the school will be on another part of the Baldragon site. Unlike Harris Academy, there will be no need to decant pupils during the building of the replacement Baldragon Academy.

Ward Councillor Kevin Keenan said:

"As a local Councillor, I am very pleased that a new build Baldragon Academy received the approval of the Education Minister yesterday as part of the Government's Schools for The Future programme.

"I am, however, a little disappointed this Project is not within the first phase of funding, which would have seen a construction start within 12 to 18 months - delivering much needed jobs for Dundee's construction workers.

"It remains great news for the pupils, staff and parents along with the wider community as this new build will deliver a much improved learning environment and is therefore very welcome."

'Crisis' Looms as Staffing Levels at City Schools near 'Breaking Point'

This post reproduces a substantial part of an article which was published in the Evening Telegraph on Tuesday 25 September 2012 written by Reporter Philip Sim.

Teachers in Dundee have warned of an impending "crisis" in staffing levels at city schools.

The number of teachers available to cover classes has been badly hit by staff taking maternity leave, among other factors, and a local union representative warned that the system is nearing breaking point.

At a meeting of the education committee (held on Monday 24 September 2012) discussing the department's new service plan for city schools, Arthur Forrest of the EIS teaching union told Councillors that there were serious issues with the number of available teachers.

"We have extreme problems in schools trying to get supply, and it's moving towards crisis," he said.

"We're unable to find teachers to take classes - we have support for learning
teachers being taken from young people to cover classes."

"The motto is 'get it right for every child', but how can we when the (support for learning) teachers identified to work with the children are taken away to teach classes?"

"Often teachers speak to me and say they're spending too much time fire-fighting, covering classes." Mr Forrest added that "head teachers and senior management teams often didn't have time to work on implementing the "ambitious" changes outlined in the service plan because they had to cover classes."

"Senior management, who should be leading the changes, are unable to do so
because they are fire-fighting," he said.

"It says in the report that this will be delivered by a lead officer, but everyone knows that the changes take place in the schools and it's the head teachers and their teams who lead it."

"It's vital we're aware of the pressure on schools."

"I'd like an assurance from the Director that the people who are put in to lead speak to the real leaders to take account of reality."

Education Director Michael Wood admitted there were currently 56 teachers on
maternity leave from the city's schools, but said the authority was striving to bring in more support. "We were interviewing over the course of last week and we're interviewing this week for 20 more primary teachers," he said.

"Before the holidays we will have an open advert for staff."

"In all of our schools we're making sure we prioritise so we don't have a situation where children are disadvantaged due to a teaching issue."

"In terms of our head teachers, their voice is crucial. Our head teachers are the key drivers for improvements within our schools."

"The plan is a five-year plan, it allows us time to adapt and regroup in the light of experience."

"I'm out in schools on occasion doing supply work, as I want to see the schools and how the work is done.

"The reality is we don't know what's happening out in the field unless we get out there - we have people at the pumps."

When asked if he was happy with the director's response, Mr Forrest said: "I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm happy, but I heard him."

National Go Home on Time Day

Today is National Go Home on Time Day. The reason why I am featuring this is that I think many folk who are in work are working excessive hours. This is especially true following significant reductions in staff in many private, public and third sector organisations.

In our Council I know from my direct experience that many of our Senior staff are working long hours whether they are still at their desks in Dundee House or continuing to work outside the office on their smart phones and home computers. In the last few days I have had emails from senior members of  City Council Staff with the following times:

• Saturday 22 September 2012 09:18
• Tuesday 25 September 2012 08:17
• Tuesday 25 September 2012 21:34

While I applaud their dedication, this does not suggest we are promoting a good work life balance for our staff. I also think that their long hours are evidence of the mounting pressure of their papering over the cracks which are opening up following widespread early retirals.

Christmas Lights with £19,000 Worth of Health and Safety

Click on image to enlarge

At the City Development Committee meeting last night, a report had been added to the agenda recommending acceptance of a tender:
Christmas Lights 2012 - Erection of Trees, Lights and Decorations

Of the £159,093.75 cost of the contract, £25,968.75 was for allowances of which 19,968.75 was for Professional Services ie 12.5% or one eighth of the overall cost.

Incidentally, I received this report in my mail tray on the afternoon of the meeting which left no time for advance questions to senior members of staff.

The proposed contract involved "the erection and connection of the Christmas lighting equipment and features with supply cables as required at:
Dundee City Centre, Westport, Seabraes, Stobswell, Lochee High Street and bypass roundabout, Whitfield Police Station, Broughty Ferry Library and Brook Street including the erection of main City Centre Tree and associated satellite Christmas trees and garlands." 
This list indicated the same locations as last year. I also knew that the Council had purchased some new lights for the City Centre in recent years.

This is what I asked at the meeting and the reply I received:

My Question
"I welcome this report and the repeat programme of Christmas lights and trees that is proposed throughout the city, including Broughty Ferry, for this Christmas. These are much appreciated and enjoyed by residents and visitors to our city. I am puzzled however how in this report £19,000 worth of technical services is justified for what is essentially a repeat programme? It will be the same lights, and decorations, same locations to put up the Christmas decorations. How can this be justified?"

The answer I received from the Director of City Development was that there was a considerable volume of health and safety matters associated with this work to plan and supervise. 

After the meeting it occurred to me that it had a been a good thing that health and safety regulations had been a little more lax when the Innkeeper in Bethlehem offered Mary and Joseph overnight accommodation in the stable.

Notwithstanding that thought, I will be pursuing this with Mike Galloway, Director of City Development. I shall also be complaining to the Chief Executive, David Dorward, about late circulation of reports which hampers the scrutiny by Councillors.

Dead Branches Overhanging Open Space in Forthill Road Reported

A constituent has alerted me to the large dead branch of a tree overhanging the open space on Forthill Road. 

More worrying, in the picture you can see the part of the tree is cloaked by ivy. When ivy spreads to the canopy of a tree it adds to the risk of  the risk of branches or the entire tree being lost in high winds. It may be that more than the branch should be removed in the interests of public safety. 

I have asked the Council's Forestry Officer to have a look at this tree and refer any work that needs to be done to the owners of the land on which the tree is growing.

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. 

Cyclists and Pedestrians Need to Show Mutual Consideration on Shared Coastal Pathway

Diverse traffic on the coastal pathway
 at Grassy Beach - click to enlarge

I think many of my constituents are aware that I enjoy walking along the coastal pathway between Douglas Terrace and the Stannergate. Most days I take our dog Milli for a walk along this pathway. Milli enjoys chasing a ball on the beach and a swim off the slipway at Grassy Beach. On my walks, I usually encounter other dog walkers, joggers, folk out with children in the buggy, walkers, drivers of mobility scooters and of course cyclists; all of whom have the right to use this pathway.

Some walkers I have encountered resent the presence of cyclist using the pathway. I usually point out that it was the charity Sustainable Transport (Sustrans) which made substantial grants towards the upgrading of each of the sections of the pathway so that that it could remain open. The walkers accept that if this was the price of retaining the pathway so be it. 

But several walkers have expressed their concern that the mixed modes of human traffic sharing this pathway is 
"an accident waiting to happen". 
They point out how frightening it can be when a cyclists comes up behind them and passes them at speed. But it's not just the cyclists who may offend other path users. I sometimes witness dogs running out of control and in front of cyclists. I have also seen walkers and joggers engrossed in their music and unaware of other traffic on the route.

So the issue I want to raise is the need for all those who use this pathway to show more consideration to each other. This means cyclists ensuring they have a bell or other warning device and make use of this as they approach pedestrians up ahead. It also means that they should moderate their speed when approaching walkers especially when the pedestrians are blind sided.  For walkers it means their avoiding getting engrossed with their music or their conversation so that they don't step out in front of an approaching bike. Dog walkers should also try to keep their dogs under control and clear up their dog's mess and dispose of this in the bins provided.

I have also written to the Head of Transportation to see whether the walkway hard surface might be divided into two lanes; one for pedestrians and one for cyclists. I am hoping this may be possible when the final section of the pathway is rebuilt later this financial year and the pathway has a more uniform width.

No Extra Places at Dundee College in Draft Scottish Budget Yesterday

Yesterday afternoon, John Swinney MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance delivered his statement to the Scottish Parliament on his draft budget 2012/13.

In his statement John Swinney announced:an extra £17 million for colleges to maintain student numbers and support (in financial year April 2013- March 2014 and underlining is my emphasis)

This is effectively putting back into the budgets of the Colleges money he had previously announced would be cut from their budgets next year. This additional cash means that places will be frozen at this year's level. It should mean that that there won't be any further reductions in places available next year.

Earlier this week, I had identified a big difference between the rising number of applicants for further education courses at Dundee College against recruitment targets that had been limited by reductions to the College's budget for this financial year. 

A spokesperson for Dundee College has confirmed:

'that currently we have 523 applicants who are fully qualified that we have had to put on a a waiting list. We also have 342 applications on the waiting list but these are people who have conditions to be met.'

I note that many offers of places to undertake a course at College will be conditional on achieving entrance standards such as achieving passes in examinations at school.

These figures, released by the College, show that there are already 865 applicants waiting for a place at Dundee College. Of these 523 are good to go but there is no place to start now.  Just over a third are applicants who are working towards meeting the entrance requirements of their course.

When our pupils leave school in June 2013, those that want to extend their qualifications at Dundee College will likely find that they are in competition for  a place with applicants who are already on the waiting list from this year.

I hope that John Swinney can be persuaded to increase further the budgets of the FE Colleges beyond the £17 million already on the table. This would be fair to the applicants marking time on the waiting list.

Dundee Peer Educators Share their Project at Scottish Learning Festival

Yesterday I attended the Scottish Learning Festival 2012 in Glasgow. This annual event aims to inspire and transform learning and teaching to help improve the life chances of all young people.

I was delighted to find that one of the innovative developments in our city; Peer Education Project: Health Buddies in Schools was one of the seminars in the programme. This involved Teaching and Community Learning staff along with six of the peer educators, pupils from Braeview Academy and Morgan Academy. This was I think the only seminar that day that involved pupils being an integral part of the presentation. 

Amy Burnett from Braeview Academy presenting

Our Council staff from Schools and The Corner gave an informative overview of why and how the project came about. Then six of our senior pupils, three each from Braeview and Morgan offered insights into their experience of undertaking their training and then delivering a health education message to young people lower down in their schools. 

The six pupils were excellent ambassadors for the city and our secondary schools exhibiting in their presentations an abundance the four capacities enshrined in the curriculum for excellence:
"to be: 

• a successful learner, 
• a confident individual, 
• a responsible citizen and 
• an effective contributor."

Brian Cox Filming Bob Servant Independent on Douglas Terrace

Click on this image to enlarge

Yesterday, while I was out on my regular dog walk along the coastal pathway, I came across Brian Cox and a film crew hard at work. They were filming outside the cottage hard by the railway bridge at the end of Douglas Terrace. 

The film crew were here in The Ferry to make the next three episodes of Bob Servant Independent for BBC Four. The series will be televised in the Spring. 

Judging by the sunny weather while they have been filming, The Ferry should be shown in a very good light. 

Once the series is televised, I think there would be scope for some Bob Servant themed walks round Broughty Ferry. Perhaps that might be something for the Broughty Ferry Development Trust or an opportunity for one of our Broughty Ferry Traders?

Anton Drive Residents Impatient for Replacement Retaining Wall

In early July, following torrential rain, the City Engineer decided that the weight of water above a retaining wall in Anton Drive was potentially in danger of collapse and was to be fenced off as a precautionary measure. As this retaining wall was built on Council land managed by the Housing Department, it turned out to be the responsibility of the Housing Department to fix. 

At the same time, following my request, a commitment was given to Ferry Councillors and the residents of Anton Drive that we would all be involved in examining an appraisal of different ways of replacing the wall. Two options had been identified; either rebuilding the wall with a better construction than the wall that is being pushed over or re-landscaping the bottom of the slope with the loss of the existing pathway. 

The residents in Anton Drive are concerned that no discernible progress has been made ten weeks after this announcement. In the meanwhile, the residents of Anton Drive have had the usable width of their road reduced by the safety fencing. This has led apparently to their parked cars being damaged by passing vehicles such as bin lorries with several residents either losing wing mirrors or having paintwork on their cars damaged.

I have written to the City Engineer and his colleague in the Housing Department as well as the Housing Convener, Councillor Black to ask them to hurry things up.