WE WON’T STOP P1 TESTS
Storm as education chiefs ‘defy will of City Chambers’
EDUCATION bosses are refusing to scrap testing of Primary 1 pupils despite a majority of councillors voting for it.
Glasgow City Council decided the motion was an opinion, not an instruction, because it used the word “should”.
Opposition councillors accused SNP education boss, Chris Cunningham of ‘playing with words’ to thwart the will of the council.
COUNCIL education bosses have refused to scrap testing of primary one pupils despite the passing of a motion a motion calling for it to be ended.
Labour, the Tories and Greens at Glasgow City Council united to back a call for standardised testing not to be used in city schools.
But legal advice on the wording has meant the council’s education department is not taking any action.
The motion passed noted that the Scottish Parliament had voted against standardised testing and stated: “Council therefore resolves that these Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSAs) should not be used at the Primary 1 stage in Glasgow.”
But the council’s SNP Education Convenor, Chris Cunningham, confirmed to the council yesterday that the test will be used this year as they were last year.
He said that the motion was an “expression of an opinion” not an instruction to officers.
The decision to continue with P1 testing hinges of the use of the work “should” and not, for example, shall.
Mr Cunningham said he had taken legal advice after the motion was passed last month.
He said: “The use of the word ‘should’ is conditional and not absolute. It, therefore, indicates that further action is required to implement the desired action.
“This is reinforced later in the resolution where it expresses the Council’s ‘opposition’ to testing, which strengthens the fact that a view is being expressed.
“However, what it does not do is constitute an instruction to the Executive Director for Education to ‘cease and desist’ these assessments.”
He told councillors that no action has been taken by the Executive Director of Education on Primary on testing but the Chief Executive has written to the Scottish Government making the council’s stated position known as directed in the motion.
He also said it would need to decide if the council could instruct officers to ‘cease and desist’ the assessments, if that instruction would be competent.
He added: “That would need to be determined by the Solicitor to the Council.”
He also warned against instructing head teachers what they can and can’t do.
The opposition parties were furious by the Education Convenor’s explanation.
Euan Blockley, Conservative Councillor who moved the original motion said: “Councillor Cunningham is dancing round the issue.
The use of the word ‘should’ is conditional and not absolute
Members are not happy that a play on words is being used to stop the will of the chamber.
“He knew full well the chamber’s will was to have the tests stopped.”
Jon Molyneux, Greens councillor, said it is an affront to the council democracy.
He said: “If you speak to every opposition member who voted their intention was clear, we wanted P1 standardised assessment to cease.
“I don’t understand how Councillor Cunningham could stand there with a straight face and tell us we voted for something else.”