Scottish Borders Local Association

Teachers to ballot for strike action

TEACHING unions have warned education chiefs they could have blood on their hands after voting through a controversial shake-up of schools in the Borders.

And now they are set to ballot for strike action.

Educational Institute of Scotland branch secretary Kay Miller spoke out after councillors on Scottish Borders Council approved over 100 recommendations contained in the Transforming Children’s Services report – including a reduction in the number of headteachers.

She believes it was a cost-cutting exercise which will do nothing to improve the education of children in the Borders and, with more shared headships, could lead to staff burnout.

Her comments follow the tragic death of Galashiels headteacher Irene Hogg who was found dead after school inspectors visited Glendinning Terrace Primary School earlier this year.

Speaking to the Border Telegraph after the meeting, Mrs Miller said: “Headteachers already have a stressful enough job without having to manage two schools and now that these proposals have been voted through I definitely think it’s going to lead to burnout of headteachers forced into this situation.

“I’m not surprised that councillors voted for all the recommendations – they are just following the advice of their officers.

“But I think there will be considerable problems when it comes to implementing them in schools.

“I think it’s already been a demoralising exercise. Headteachers are not particularly good at standing up for themselves and they have not been put in a particularly good position.”

But she added: “If there are to be any compulsory redundancies our union will initiate a ballot of members about taking industrial action – including strike action.”

It is estimated that the wide-ranging staff and structural changes will save the local authority just over £4million by the time they are implemented in 2010.

Despite the report taking two years to compile, councillors took just two hours to vote them through – with little opposition – despite concerns.

However, education chiefs warned had they not been approved school budgets would have been slashed and some rural schools could have been forced to close.

Council leader, Councillor David Parker said: “We think this is the right thing for taking education forward in the Borders.

“What we feel we need to do is monitor the shared headships and work with the headteachers who will be in that position. But we need to remember we already have eight shared headships which work very successfully.

“And I think a number of different councils up and down the country will actually copy what we’re doing in the Borders.”

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