Budget: Fears over proposed cut in Fife nursery posts.

fife: Union blasts plans to cut number of nursery teacher posts across region

A teaching union has expressed fears over plans to reduce the number of nursery teacher posts in Fife.

Fife EIS said staff would be directly impacted by proposals outlined in today’s budget to develop the peripatetic model to deliver access to a teacher in nurseries.

While the exact number of posts being axed remains unclear, the approach aims to save around £850,000 over the next three years.

“Aside from the issues around travelling and engaging with different sets of children, parents and staff this directly dilutes the contact our children in early years will have with a teacher,” said EIS publicity officer David Farmer.

“That is not a positive. Why would you expand this unproven model? Where is the educational validity for this? Where is the common sense?”

He also questioned why parents have not been asked how they feel about such a change.

“Do they not have a voice in the future of their children? Value is a much misused word in education.

Questioning what the budget proposals mean for EIS members, Mr Farmer said: “Our initial view would be bigger classes and less supply cover with the concomitant impact on teacher workload and stress.

“Much has been made by Fife Council about vacancies and recruitment. We now understand they intend to dispose of these vacant posts. The impact is bigger classes, greater workload and greater teacher stress, not to mention the impact on future recruitment.”

Head of education Jacqueline Price said: “As we move forward to 2020 it is clear that Fife Council will have to work with an increasing number of partners such as playgroups, private nurseries and childminders to provide all eligible children with their entitled allocation of early learning and childcare which will increase to 1,140 hours per year.

“Therefore we are considering ways to redesign our services to make sure all children have the highly beneficial access to a teacher.

“One of the ways we are working towards building our early years workforce for 2020 is the introduction of 28 additional graduates who will be supporting the learning and development of those children in areas of highest deprivation.”

Meanwhile, Fife Council co-leaders David Alexander and David Ross hit back at Tory claims the Government kicked the Levenmouth Rail Link project “into the long grass”.

As part of their budget the Tory group wants to hire a dedicated Levenmouth rail link officer at £75,000 per year as part of its budget proposals.

Mr Ross said spending £75,000 on a dedicated officer “would not add anything” given consultants had been hired by the government.

Where is the educational validity for this? Where is the common sense? DAVID FARMER

Picture: Getty. Fife EIS said the plan “directly dilutes the contact children have with a teacher”.

Picture: Steven Brown. David Alexander has hit back at the Tories over their budget proposals.