Parents' outrage at teaching cuts
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CUTS to education will "break an already fragile system", worried parents in Fortrose have warned Highland Council.
Fortrose Academy’s parent council made the bleak assessment in a letter pleading with the local authority not to reduce staffing levels at the school, amid fears it will harm pupils’ career aspirations.
"The cuts will mean the loss of two teachers at our school which will mean fewer National 5 and Higher classes and very limited Advanced Higher options," warned the letter by Lisa Fox and Jo Anne Pugh, the parent council’s co-chairwomen. "Children will not be able to study their first choice subjects in S4-6.
"The school already has fewer teachers than other schools of similar size and a limited curriculum – with very little home economics, limited foreign languages, and no computer studies or drama. These planned cuts will now impact on "core" subjects.
"Teachers will face more stress because reduced staffing will certainly lead to a greater workload for those remaining. Head teachers have publicly stated the schools in our region are in crisis and that the planned cuts to staffing will break an already fragile system.
"Poor educational provision will make it harder for the region to recruit and retain key staff in services such as health, and certainly makes it less attractive for businesses to locate here. Parents with school-age children may choose to move away.
"Damaging schools damages the whole of the Highlands."
Kate Forbes, constituency MSP for the Black Isle, was also contacted by the concerned parents. She criticised the council for possible cutbacks when schools with similar pupil rolls elsewhere in the country already have more teachers.
"Parents are rightly outraged at the prospect of more teachers being cut at Fortrose Academy and Highland Council has nobody to blame but itself. As parents have pointed out, cutting yet more teachers will directly affect the number of subject options as well as vastly increase the stress and workload on teachers.
"I have crunched the numbers to show that schools outside Highland Council with an equivalent number of pupils as Fortrose Academy had up to 20 teachers more than Fortrose Academy.
"Fortrose Academy has 643 pupils on its roll and 47.6 FTE teachers, while Bucksburn Academy within Aberdeen City Council has 646 – only three pupils more – yet boasts a teaching staff of 67.5 FTE.
"There are financial challenges across the board but these figures demonstrate that something is grossly wrong if Highland Council cannot support education to the same extent as other council areas. Last week, Highland Council did a U-turn on cutting additional support need support, and I hope they recognise that there can be no justification for narrowing pupils’ choices even further at Fortrose Academy."
No decision will be taken on cuts to schools until after February 15.
Council leader Margaret Davidson said the council was working hard to find a way to avoid education cuts.
She said: "No councillor wants to see a reduction in front-line services, as a result of the Scottish Government’s cut in funding to the council. Even less so when it would disproportionately impact on some of the most vulnerable people in the Highlands.
"I share the concerns of the many parents who have highlighted the effect of any cuts. That’s why I’ve been working hard with the budget leader, Alister Mackinnon and the new chairman of the people committee Andrew Baxter to find a way of not implementing these proposals."
