SNP Condemn Tory/Independent Moves to Increase Class Sizes as "Ill-Conceived and Shortsighted"

Moray SNP Councillors have today [Wednesday] opposed a proposed increase in class sizes by Moray Council’s Independent/Tory Administration.

The proposal was made in light of pressures on roles in Elgin Primary Schools and pressures on recruiting teachers.

SNP Opposition Education Spokesperson Mike Shand expressed his serious concerns on the negative impact such proposals would have on attainment and would seriously hamper recruitment.

Cllr Mike Shand said:

© The Moray Council

“The decision to increase class sizes for some schools in Moray is a backwards step. It is ill-conceived and short-sighted. I believe it devalues even further the role of teachers in Moray and will make our challenge of teacher recruitment to the region even harder.

“There is a serious risk that this short-termism will, in fact, exacerbate the problem rather than providing any kind of solution.

“The Council should be putting a major effort into making teaching in Moray an attractive proposition and pro-actively targeting qualified teachers in areas of Scotland where there is not a shortage rather than undermining the role and making that recruitment even harder.

“It is telling that the reduction in Classroom Assistants, which the SNP opposed, is now coming back to bite them and they are putting £100k back into those posts. It is also long overdue now that they reinstate Principal Teacher posts - the removal of which we strongly warned would be detrimental and that has proven to be the case.”

SNP Councillor for Elgin City North Kirsty Reid said:

© The Moray Council

“I have spoken to parents and teachers who are extremely concerned about the impact this will have on the attainment of their children and on the morale of staff. Where is the incentive to work at a school where class sizes have just increased? This is the wrong decision.

“Today’s report and recommendations were based on outdated research and failed to address many of the risks that the Council’s education department will face as a result of this bad decision.”

Moray Labour and Independent Councillors Fail Teachers Test in Budget

SNP Opposition Leader in Moray Council, Cllr Pearl Paul, today [Thursday] proposed an amendment to the Independent/Labour budget. The amendment being that Principal Teacher posts should be reinstated in Moray primary schools with nurseries attached and primary schools with over 150 pupils.

In a close vote the amendment was defeated by 13 votes to 12 with the SNP critical of the Council’s Independent and Labour Councillors for missing the opportunity to take immediate action that would help address significant pressures in primary schools and improve teacher career prospects and by doing so helping to address the urgent recruitment issue facing Moray.

Speaking after the vote SNP Group Leader Councillor Paul said:

“The SNP opposed the removal of Principal Teachers 2 years ago and the concerns that we raised at the time have been borne out. At this year’s budget we put forward a reasoned and evidenced argument on the reintroduction of these posts and the Council’s Tory Convener, Independents and Labour have failed the teachers test and chose to sit on their hands.

“What is very clear to the SNP Group is that leadership capacity in schools is compromised by the reduced support that Headteachers have with no Principal Teachers to ease the pressure, in addition recruitment is not helped by a poor career structure in Moray.

“The Administration and the Opposition Labour Group had a clear opportunity and they passed it up.”

SNP Opposition Education Spokesperson Cllr Mike Shand said:

“I regularly speak to parents, teachers and other education professionals and the view is very strongly that the removal of Principal Teachers was a big mistake and this was backed up by reports from Council officers just last week. That is what we said at the time and the negative impact of this type of change is also clearly backed up by various independent studies.

“This was an opportunity to act decisively, effectively and, most importantly, without delay, but Labour and the Independents failed that test.”

Moray Libraries U-turn is bitter-sweet say SNP Councillors

Opposition SNP Councillors say today’s u-turn by Independent and Tory Administration Councillors on library closures is a bittersweet moment with three of the original seven libraries to be closed now being saved.

SNP Councillors have been full square behind the retention of all libraries, which are very much the front desk of the Council’s services in their communities.

At Wednesday's meeting of The Moray Council Opposition SNP Spokesperson Mike Shand, seconded by Speyside Glenlivet Councillor Mike McConachie put forward a motion to stop the closure of all seven libraries that were under threat.

However, following debate and a vote, the Council’s Independent and Tory Administration pushed through by only one vote a reduced proposal from their original plan which will see four of the original seven under threat now closed.

Speaking after the debate Cllr Mike Shand said:

“The SNP has been absolutely clear on the importance of our libraries right from the start when the closures were first proposed during the Council’s budget in February.

"The closures are nothing short of destruction of well performing services at the heart of communities.

“Library campaigners in Moray have shown a tremendous spirit and unity of purpose. They have fought the library closures tooth and nail and while they have succeeded in making the Independent and Tory Administration think again on the closures it remains bittersweet with four of the original seven still set for closure.

“The situation for libraries in Moray is better than it was before the debate but we are still losing valuable community assets in a short-sighted move from a Council Administration that does not carry the same values as the communities they represent.”

Cllr Mike McConachie added:

“Three of our communities in Moray have been spared the loss of their libraries, which is a partial victory, but four of our communities will still be losing a much loved service which has been respected across Scotland as being one of the best.

“The choices being made by the Independent and Tory Administration on The Moray Council are ill-considered with the Council’s Leader telling us that so-called ‘salami slicing’ of services rather than a strategic set of priorities is somehow a good thing.

“There will be many people upset today in the four communities losing their libraries and the three communities that have had their libraries saved will have mixed feelings at seeing their own service saved but not those of the friends they have campaigned shoulder to shoulder with in recent weeks.”

Tory / Independent Budget Failing Moray's Children

COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION FAILED TO DEAL WITH MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
The SNP Opposition Group in The Moray Council says that the budget pushed through by Independent and Tory Councillors fails Moray’s young people.

SNP Spokesperson on Children and Young People Councillor Mike Shand warned against the education cuts in the recent budget, which was opposed by Scottish National Party councillors in Moray. Since the budget he has further discussed his concerns with teachers and parents who have grave concerns about the impact on the ability of Moray’s Schools to deliver Curriculum for Excellence.

Meanwhile the SNP Opposition Leader, Cllr Pearl Paul, says she is appalled by the lack of awareness of the Independents and Tories in the Council’s Administration of the impact of their decisions and for failing to address the shared services agenda, which has the potential to generate substantial savings that wouldn’t be from frontline services.

Commenting on the impact of the education cuts Cllr Mike Shand said:

Ward 6

Elgin City North

“The question I asked of the Independents and Tories during the budget debate was what is the reasoning behind these cuts? What is their assessment of the impact of these decisions?

“Everyone I have spoken to about the education cuts have confirmed my worst fears, that the removal of principal teachers and classroom assistants will, in the words of a highly respected and experienced teacher, make it ‘impossible to deliver Curriculum for Excellence’.

“In addition the removal of Principal Teachers is taking away fundamental support for children transitioning from pre-school to primary school and from primary school to high school. It also removes members of staff who have key responsibilities for delivering the ‘Getting It Right For Every Child’ [GIRFEC] framework, which underpins critical early intervention work, supporting our most disadvantaged children.

“Let’s be clear about this - Curriculum for Excellence is the only game in town and if The Moray Council cannot deliver that for the children of Moray then they will be seriously disadvantaged compared to other children in Scotland and beyond. Either the Administration didn’t understand the impact of these budget lines, which would be bad enough, or worse, that they did understand but don’t care!

“You simply cannot pay lip service to the curriculum that is the fundamental basis for every child’s education while at the same time ripping away Classroom Assistants and Principal Teachers who are critical to delivering it.”

Speaking about the alternatives SNP Opposition Leader Cllr Pearl Paul said:

Ward 1
Speyside Glenlivet

“The Independents and Tories have been speaking for years about share services as a way to save substantial sums of money and we have supported that. We have spoken to colleagues in other councils who are also supportive but what has the Administration done in all that time to take the issue forward?

“What serious discussions have they had? SNP Councillors have shown a willingness to work with other councillors on shared services. The Council must maximise savings from management structures with less impact to frontline services but the Tories and Independents have failed to bring forward any serious proposals in this area.

“Most of the Independents and Tories in the current administration have been in the previous administration during the last 5 years so there can be no excuses.

“We opposed this budget because the Administration has failed to look seriously at other alternatives that could have saved substantial sums in backroom costs and better protected critical frontline services.”

Moray SNP Education Spokesperson Incredulous at Council's Crass Action

The Opposition SNP Education Spokesperson in The Moray Council, Cllr Mike Shand, has expressed incredulity at the Local Authority’s statement only a day after announcing the closure of seven libraries, that March is designated ‘libraries month in Moray to help showcase the range of services available in local libraries’.

SNP Opposition Spokesperson on Education, Cllr Mike Shand, said:

Ward 6

Elgin City North

"With the swingeing effects of this week’s Moray Council budget becoming more and more apparent, the people of Moray might be questioning whether or not the Tory/Independent Administration councillors really live in the same area.

“Despite pleas from communities, and despite evidence from the much-lauded communication workshops held throughout Moray, the Administration took the axe to almost half of Moray’s libraries. They devastated a library service that was one of the top performing in Scotland.

"A mere two days after that act of Philistine vandalism, the Tory/Independent administration has announced that March is to be designated as ‘libraries month’, supposedly to showcase the range of services available in our local libraries. You just could not make it up! The question is not ‘does this Administration live in the same area?’ It’s really, do they live on the same planet as the rest of us?

"The thirteen Administration councillors who took the decision to remove all library services from Burghead, Cullen, Dufftown, Findochty, Hopeman, Portknockie and Rothes now want those communities to celebrate reading. A sick joke on those communities."