So cute! But can £800 of teddy bears REALLY boost school standards?
Education fund used to buy ‘comforting’ toys for class
IT was intended as a flagship £120million fund to drive up attainment in Scottish schools.
But hundreds of pounds of taxpayers’ cash from the SNP initiative has been spent on teddy bears.
Schools in West Lothian said they bought the soft toys to ‘create a culture of positivity and openness’, fuelling concern over how schools are using the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF).
Scottish Conservative education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘There is an expectation from parents that PEF money should first and foremost be directed at improving literacy and numeracy, most especially in schools where there is a higher percentage of pupils from deprived backgrounds.
‘Other initiatives may help but literacy and numeracy must surely be the main focus – something that was supposed to be Nicola Sturgeon’s number one priority.’
After receiving their PEF cash, the West Lothian schools devised a ‘teddy bear policy’, with each class from P1 to P7 receiving one of the soft toys. Some some nursery classes were also thought to be involved. The bears cost around £25, with four schools in West Lothian spending about £800.
Named, dressed and treated as a member of the class, the teddies are said to help pupils ‘express themselves and find comfort’.
The stuffed toys have also been used in ‘emotion works’ lessons, with pupils writing problems on a piece of paper and putting them in a box beside the bear.
Eileen Brennan, the headteacher of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Blackburn, told the General Teaching Council for Scotland magazine: ‘Not only does this allow pupils to let their feelings out by projecting them on to the bear, it also brings the class together so that they can help and support each other.’
All four schools using the bears reported a ‘decline in disruptive behaviour’, as well as ‘more open and caring pupils’.
But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘Standards in Scottish schools are in serious decline. Teddy bear teaching techniques are unlikely to solve the problem.
‘This latest initiative is wellintended but indicates desperation. Too many educators these days see themselves as therapists rather than teachers, but this is the direction in which things are moving.’ The Mail revealed this year that Miss Sturgeon’s disaster-prone education reforms, including the PEF, were to be investigated by public sector watchdog Audit Scotland. Education Secretary John Swinney has claimed that the fund ‘unleashed a creativity and innovation in our schools which is absolutely breath-taking’. But critics believe that some PEF money has been used to make up for budget cuts and to supplement teachers’ wages. A West Lothian Council spokesman said: ‘PEF is additional funding allocated directly to schools, which they can use to help close the poverty-related attainment gap. ‘Headteachers make the decision on where PEF money is best spent based on the specific needs in their schools.’ The spokesman said the ‘only costs for the project were the purchase of the bears at around £200 per school in 2017, with minimal costs for any new or replacement bears since then’. A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We should rightly trust schools to make the decisions about the spending of PEF as they are best placed to know the needs of their pupils. ‘We are pleased to see that the schools taking part in this scheme report positive benefits for pupils.’
‘Standards in serious decline’