Council launches strategy for education

A DOCUMENT outlining the educational vision of Argyll and Bute was launched on Monday this week.

The council was among the first in Scotland to launch a strategy meeting the requirements of the National Improvement Framework (NIF).

A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said: ‘The strategy, Our Children, Their Future, strengthens the council’s determination to ensure that Argyll and Bute is the best place in Scotland for children to grow up, incorporating a vision of partnership working to deliver equality, excellence and ambition.’

Talking at the official launch at Tarbert Academy, the council’s spokesman for education, Councillor Rory Colville, said: ‘This is a very important day for education services in Argyll and Bute.

‘The Scottish education sys- tem is going through a period of significant change and the expectations of staff working with young people has never been greater.

‘Our Children, Their Future makes our strategy clear to realise the national visions for Scottish education but also our local visions for our young people.

‘ We have taken these important national building blocks and brought them together to produce a set of policies for our children that deliver an equality of educational opportunity and improve attainment for all.

‘Our aspiration is to ensure that Argyll and Bute is the best place in Scotland for our children to grow.

‘This starts from the work we do with families before a child is born all the way through to making sure our young people move on to positive destinations at the end of their school career.’

Pictured at the strategy launch with Tarbert Academy pupils are, left to right, Ann Marie Knowles, executive director of community services; Neil McKnight, head teacher at Tarbert; Councillor Rory Colville; and Anne Paterson, head of education.