Dingwall parents urge council to ditch ‘absurd’ plans to remove primary school principal teachers
PARENTS of pupils at Ross-shire’s largest primary school are lobbying Highland Council to ditch plans to remove principal teachers as part of cost-cutting measures.
The move by Dingwall Primary School’s Parent Council have been supported by a Highland councillor who brands the proposal “absurd”.
In February 2024, a Highland Council budget was passed which included the removal of 70 principal teacher posts across Highland primary schools. The move would save £495,000 within three years.
As the largest Highland primary school with “a complex structure and wide-ranging needs”, Dingwall Primary School’s Parent Council have banded together to make an “urgent request to keep principal teachers”.
“These teachers will stay in the classroom, but will no longer have extra leadership responsibilities,” said Dingwall Primary School Parent Council. “As parents we want Dingwall Primary to keep our principal teachers because our school is big, complex and needs strong leadership to support our pupils.”
Dingwall Primary has 498 pupils in the main school, 56 children in the on-site nursery, 18 children in the Gaelic-medium early years provision, 18 mainstream classes, a SEBN unit, Highland Deaf Education Unit and over 100 staff members working across teaching and support roles.
The letter states: “We need more leadership than a regular primary school. Principal teachers are essential for making sure our school runs smoothly and that all of our pupils get the support they need.”
The county town’s primary school has four different principal teachers: Claire MacDonald who covers Digital Learning, Additional Support Needs (ASN) and Early Level Attainment; Eilidh Mellon who covers Health and Wellbeing, Family Centre and Second Level Attainment; Jo MacSween who covers Gaelic Curriculum, Gaelic Medium Education Integration and Gaelic Attainment; and Linda MacGregor who covers Reading Schools, STEM and First Level Attainment.
The parent council continues: “Without these roles, the headteacher and depute would have to take on even more responsibility, which could increase stress and risk burnout among school leaders, reduce support for ASN pupils, disrupt the Gaelic-medium education we offer, lower staff morale making it harder to keep good teachers and create gaps in the curriculum.”
It wants the school to be exempt from the plan to remove principal teacher posts and suggests considering a different staffing model for large and complex schools, as well as talking to the school community before making final decisions.
Aird and Loch Ness councillor and Highland Council education committee member, Helen Crawford, said: “This [plan to remove principal teacher posts] was approved without, in my view, sufficient scrutiny, detail nor assessment of the likely impact on our teachers, staff morale and pupil attainment. I spoke against this at the time.
“I had always understood the post of principal teacher to be one to which many teachers would aspire. To lose that professionalism, without due consideration of the impacts, is of great concern to me and we are now starting to see the impact in the likes of our much loved Dingwall Primary School and many others. We need to find solutions to financial constraints but the removal of principal teachers is absurd.”
Earlier this year, Invergordon’s South Lodge Primary School Parent Council also shared their dismay for the proposal, stating: “The impact to our school will have a massive detrimental effect on our children, especially those with ASN.”
It is understood that a meeting between Dingwall Primary Parent Council and the Highland Council was due to take place after the Ross-shire Journal went to press. Highland Council have been contacted for comment.
