Scottish Borders Local Association

Education 'D-Day' is postponed

Published Date: 6 November 2008

By Andrew Keddie

A DECISION on sweeping changes in Borders schools, including a reduction of headships and principal teaching posts, has been postponed for a month.

Scottish Borders Council was due to consider the vast Transforming Children's Services (TCS) review on Thursday, November 20, after a period of public consultation which covered the summer holidays ended on October 27.

The changes will now be determined on December 18 to give education officials time to amend proposals which have attracted "several hundred responses" from concerned teachers, parents and parent councils.

But Councillor Catriona Bhatia, executive member for education, confirmed implementation of TCS is still scheduled for May of next year: a timescale condemned as "totally unrealistic" by the EIS teaching union which claims morale and recruitment will be adversely affected.

The blueprint, which has 115 appendices and runs to thousands of pages, includes a reduction of primary heads, who will be relieved of teaching duties, and secondary depute heads. Principal teaching posts will be slashed by more than 100, social work will take responsibility for children with additional needs, and the traditional nine high school catchments will be replaced by six new learning communities.

In an SBC press statement on Tuesday, education director Glenn Rodger said the postponement was "in order to fully assess the responses (to the consultation) and any educational and financial consequences".

Both he and Mrs Bhatia were keen to stress how "impressed" they were with the number of submissions.

"The quality and volume of responses demonstrates that the extensive and lengthy engagement process was effective," said Mr Rodger. "I have been very impressed by the thoughtfulness and professionalism demonstrated in many of the ideas that have come forward."

Mrs Bhatia revealed: "Some of the proactive and innovative proposals (from consultees) will now be assessed in full and I expect there will be several changes to the TCS recommendations.

"It is clear that the issue of the quality of services we deliver to our children is a top proprity for many: a view which I share."

An internal TCS project board was commissioned last year with a brief to improve children's services in line with the Scottish Government's so-called Curriculum for Excellence, while, at the same time, saving SBC around £4.5million a year.

Mrs Bhatia said such savings would not now be realised, although any that are achieved will mitigate the need for further "efficiencies" in the devolved budgets of individual schools.

"With a project of this size and the huge range of views expressed, the outcome is unlikely to satisfy everyone and councillors will need to make informed and balanced judgments on the recommendations, which will be finally presented to the council on December 18," she said.

Ask to quantify the expected savings, she told us: "This is work in progress and will depend on the final recommendations.

“However, there are significant financial constraints on all council services.”

The delay means a demonstration planned for November 20 by a new anti-cuts action group will also be postponed.

PACE (Parents Against Cuts In Education), led by solicitor Rory Bannerman, chair of Hawick High Parent Council, was due to lobby councillors and then present a petition which has already attracted more than 2,000 signatures.

Mr Bannerman welcomed the postponement. “I hope this signals a rethink of priorities by SBC and that they now realise that budgetary constraints should not cause cuts affecting our kids’ education.”

But opposition councillor Sandy Aitchison (Borders Party) blasted: “Of course this is a U-turn. We have always said the timetable was unrealistic and that the stress levels imposed on council officers and head teachers is unacceptable. This is a small battle won for all the people so upset that they bothered to respond to the consultation, but the war is not over.”

In October, Borders Party leader, Councillor Nicholas Watson was outvoted 18-6 in a bid to have any decision delayed until December 18.

“I am certainly not gloating, but I am not at all surprised, judged on the scale of the project, unease among teachers and the volume of consultation responses,” said Mr Watson.

“The pace was largely driven by the budget process, but that was frighteningly amateur and process should never come before principle.

“I hope every effort will be made to engage with teachers and other professionals to make maximum use of the extra processing time.”

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