21 February 2012

On Monday 13 February the Scottish Government launched the Take Life On initiative to promote the benefits of children participating in 60 minutes of exercise each day.

The most recent Scottish Health Survey found that only seven out of ten children meet the minimum physical activity recommendations.

Dr Andrew Murray, the Scottish Government’s Physical Activity Champion said:

"As a day to day GP, I know that Take Life On is a fantastic investment in Scotland’s health.

"Getting your children active and keeping them active has huge and lasting benefits and can be great fun.

"Being physically active improves achievement and concentration at school, and also prevents heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer in later life.

"It is the single best present you can give your children.

"Just 60 minutes of physical activity per day will help your children become healthier, happier adults.

"I’d urge everybody to take life on today."

Shona Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, said:

"One of the most fundamental health challenges facing our nation is convincing young people to spend more time taking part in physical activity.

"The Scottish Health Survey shows more needs to be done to increase the number of children getting enough exercise.

"This year’s Take Life On campaign highlights to parents simple changes they can make to their children’s life to get them increasingly active and reduce the likelihood of illness later in life.

"But we recognise there is more we as a Government can do.

"That’s why we are investing in opportunities for young people to become more physically active in and around Scotland’s schools, such as the Active Schools Network, the delivery of 150 Community Sport Hubs across all local authorities by 2016, and action to help people make healthy life choices."

While the package of measures announced is welcomed and the campaign is laudable, it was a pity that Shona Robison was not talking to her SNP colleagues running the City Council.

On Thursday 9 February they bulldozed through their budget savings that will come into effect in April.

They insisted on cutting the team of visiting PE teachers that currently work in each one of our Primary Schools.

These teachers, with specialist qualifications, will be sorely missed.

It's surprising that the SNP group on the city council insisted on going through with this cut to the Primary PE teachers as Labour offered them a carefully costed alternative budget that found other savings to keep these teachers in the gym hall.

This required economies that are in some cases overdue such as reducing the number of chauffeur driven civic cars from two to one.

Apparently, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Another short term cut with the potential to do long term damage to the education and health of our children.

Now that the 33 period week has been abandoned in Dundee, parents and carers and members of the Education Committee need to know how our nine secondary schools will progress the new S3 which will run for the first time from August 2012.

We also need to know how the senior phase, S4-S6, will be structured.

The first students undertaking the new S4 on Curriculum for Excellence will begin their studies in August 2013.

This year of study will lead up to the examinations, National 4 and 5, in May 2013.

Although the new S4 was not strictly part of the consultation about the 33 period week, it was inquired about by parents at both of the consultation events I attended at Grove Academy and Morgan Academy.

The biggest bone of contention is the narrowed number of subjects that each pupil will apparently be able take in S4. Pupils will only be able to take a maximum of six subjects at National 4 or 5, the new exams, compared with a maximum of eight subjects at Standard Grade, which are being phased out.

While a model of the new 'senior phase' (S3-S6) has been sent to the Head Teachers in our nine secondary schools, there has not been a cheep to the Education Committee.

This should be remedied at the next Education Committee.

I have written to the Council requesting that this is added to the agenda of the next meeting of the Education Committee.

This narrowing of subject choice in S4 seems at odds with the stated aspirations of the Curriculum for Excellence which was supposed to provide a more comprehensive broad general education.

It seems we may have had all this upheaval to make S3 a general year with a wider number of subjects while postponing exams until S4 when there would be 25% fewer subject choices.

But not all these issues can be fixed on the spot in Dundee; some need attention at the national level by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Mike Russell.

For example, the slow pace of details being released by the Scottish Qualifications Authority about the new National Four and Five examinations is reducing the long term planning time in secondary schools.

This could be remedied by a one year postponement of implementing the introduction of the new examinations and continuing with Standard Grades for another year.

In similar circumstances in England, the government have been prepared to allow twelve months more for preparing for an important educational change.

Last week we learned that in East Renfrewshire, a Labour/SNP led council has decided to postpone putting its pupils in for the new exams by one year.

If we don't take this decision to postpone in the next few weeks, timetables will be written for next year and we will be saddled with a change that is being rushed in without the confidence of teachers, parents and carers that this is neither the right change nor the right timescale for the new exams.

If I met Michael Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, these are the four key questions I should want to ask him about making a success of the Curriculum for Excellence in Dundee schools:

Why, while advocating a broader general education via curriculum for excellence, is choice actually going to be decreased by a quarter in S4?

What has he got to say to the parents who have already complained about the effects of this reduced number of choices in S4 on the options for their child in meeting entrance requirements for some University courses?

Why has the Cabinet Secretary gone out of his way to antagonise teachers by cutting their conditions of work and their pensions at a time when he needs their undivided professional attention to make a success of implementing the Curriculum for Excellence and the new examinations?

Why has be allowed the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to get so far behind providing the documentation for schools and teachers so that they can adequately prepare themselves and their senior pupils for the new exams to be sat for the first time in May 2014?

Many parent are worried that their children are the unfortunate guinea pigs for all these changes.

Many secondary teachers feel they are under prepared and the changes in the Senior Phase (S4-S6) of Secondary Schools are being rushed.

Many parents have reservations too. Will he now provide another year of preparation time for the new examinations and review the limits on subject choices in S3/4?

5 February 2012

Speaking about Preparation for introducing the new school examinations in Dundee Secondary Schools, Labour's Education Spokesperson Councillor Laurie Bidwell said:

"Now that the 33 period week has been abandoned in Dundee, parents and carers and members of the Education Committee need to know how our nine secondary schools will progress the new S3 which will run for the first time from August 2012.

"We also need to know how the senior phase, S4-S6, will be structured.

"The first students undertaking the new S4 on Curriculum for Excellence will begin their studies in August 2013.

"This year of study will lead up to the examinations, National 4 and 5, in May 2014."

"Earlier this week, East Refrewshire Council announced that they had decided to delay by a year putting their secondary pupils in for the new National 4 and 5 Examinations.

"Current S2 pupils in Dundee will be amongst the first to sit these in June 2014.

"Teachers' leaders have also voiced concerns that many secondary teachers do not feel adequately prepared for the next phase of implementing the Curriculum for Excellence.

"This is not a vote of confidence in the Scottish Government’s plans for the Curriculum for Excellence which frankly seem to be unravelling."

"In Dundee we need to know whether the Education Convener, Liz Fordyce has a Plan B for our secondary schools?

"More specifically, will she give an absolute guarantee that the resources are in place and that teachers in all our nine secondary schools will be ready for the next phase of the introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence and preparing their pupils for the new examinations?

"If not, will she stand by her pupils and give their teachers an additional year to carry on with Standard Grades?

"This would allow one more year of preparation for secondary teachers.

"While I appreciate that she is standing down as a Councillor in May, I hope, for the sake of the pupils involved, she is looking further ahead."

"It's not Liz Fordyce's education which is at risk, nor mine.

"We can’t afford to gamble with the education of our children."

30 January 2012

30 January 2012

Key Decisions taken at Education Committee

At the Education Committee last week (Monday 23rd January 2012) we took three key decisions.

The first was to approve the school holidays for the 2013/14.

This follows the new pattern of holidays which incorporate the October holiday in the second and third weeks of October.

It is helpful to declare school holidays a long time ahead as these days many parents and carers make holiday arrangements a long time ahead.

This allows them to do so with the confidence that they know when they can arrange their family holidays without compromising the education of their children.

Secondly, the committee approved the four classroom extension to Kingspark School at a cost just exceeding £1m.

Thirdly, the Education Committee were advised that following a period of consultation, the proposal for a standardised 33 period week in each of our nine secondary schools had been dropped because it had failed to persuade parents, carers and teachers of its merit.

Incorporated in this design was a proposal for a daily twenty minute period of Tutor time where pupils would met their, Tutor or Key Adult.

This is defined as follows in the documentation for Curriculum for Excellence:

I asked for reassurance that the provision of each pupil's entitlement for a Key Adult would be honoured in each of our secondary schools notwithstanding the 33 period week proposal falling

Councillor Laurie Bidwell, Labour spokesperson for Education on Dundee City Council has responded to the assessment of the prospects of Dundee this year in the Agenda for Cities report.

He commented,

"While the Cities Outlook Report 2012, makes it clear that Dundee is suffering in the current economic recession, there are two positive statistics in the report which shouldn't be lost; the qualifications of the population and recent population growth."

"One prominent and favourable statistic for Dundee in the Agenda for Cities Report is that our city is amongst the top ten cities in the UK for educational qualifications."

"Over one-third of the adult population has a university degree, higher degree, diploma or its equivalent."

"This shows the very high skills base that Dundee possesses to attract potential businesses and to drive the city’s future economic growth."

"Another promising feature recorded in the report has been the turn-around in the city’s population."

"Over the past two years the city has achieved an encouraging increase in population of over 2,000."

"Our well qualified population and our increase in population are both positive indicators which should help the city make the best of the economic recovery when it comes."

Dundee is 10^th. in the Top Ten of cities in the UK with the highest professional qualifications ( degree, advanced degree, diploma and above )

The 10 cities with highest percentage of professional qualifications

1 Oxford 53.7%

2 Cambridge 50.7%

3 Edinburgh 47.4 %

4 Brighton 44.1 %

5 Aberdeen 43.5 %

6 London 40.9 %

7 York 39.9 %

8 Cardiff 39.8 %

9 Reading 39.6 %

10 Dundee 36.5 %

Population of Dundee in 2010 - 144,290

Population of Dundee 2008 - 142,270

Source - Registrar General for Scotland

16 January 2012

At next week's Education Committee (Monday 23rd January 2012) there is a report about responses to the consulation about the 33 period week.

This consultation was about a proposal to standardise the school week across the 9 secondary schools in Dundee.

It is clear from the committee report that this proposal neither persuaded parents and carers nor teachers.

With such a mixed response, it is not surprising that the proposal has been withdrawn.

There are however a number of crucial and urgent questions which are not contained within the report and require answers at the Education Committee.

In the presentation which was used at the consultation events, the preferred timetable had thirty one periods of 50 minutes with the addition of one daily twenty minute period, called Tutorial, which combined the functions of registration and some roles connected with guidance.

Attenders at the consultation were all told that Tutor Time was necessary as part of meeting the new pupil entitlement in the Curriculum,for Excellence.

More specifically that each pupil should have one teacher that knows her/him particularly well.

How will this entitlement be met for every one of our pupils in her/his secondary school?

Now that the 33 period week has been abandoned, we also need to hear how our nine secondary schools will timetable examination classes in S4 (the new National 4 and 5 examinations).

Although this was not strictly part of the consultation about the 33 period week, it was inquired about by parents at both of the consultation events I attended.

The biggest bone of contention is the narrowed number of subjects that each pupil can take in S4.

Pupils will only be able to take a a maximum of six subjects at National 4 or 5, the new exams, compared with a maximum of eight subjects at Standard Grade, which are being phased out.

While a model of the the new 'senior phase' (S3-S6) has been sent to the Head Teachers in our nine secondary schools, there has not been a cheep to the Education Committee.

Parents and carers together with some subject teachers have expressed concerns about the consequences of the narrowing of subject choices at S4.

For example, it may limit the chances of pupils in Dundee who cannot undertake three sciences at National 4/5.

As a consequence, these pupils may find it more difficult to meet the university entrance requirements for a clutch of the professions.

It does seem perverse that Curriculum for Excellence in practice will apparently usher in a narrowing of curriculum entitlement when its advocates have claimed that it would lead to a broader general education.

It is long overdue that the Education Committee are fully informed about what will go into the timetable rather than the way the timetable hours are divided up into periods.

The consultation about the 33 period week was really a big distraction.

What is more much more important is the breadth of subjects offered to our school pupils in each of our senior schools.

14 January 2012

Councillor Laurie Bidwell writes :

The announcement of the Council's planned cuts of £0.7 million in Education in 2012/13 is to be regretted.

13 January 2012

Councillor Laurie Bidwell writes :

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