Trust ‘lost’ in school reforms
Parents have ‘lost’ trust in Argyll and Bute Council’s consultation on the principle of collective leadership in schools, Oban Community Council heard last week, writes Sandy Neil.
The meeting was attended by Simon Easton, an education manager for Argyll and Bute Council, and a member of the team that developed the proposal, Dunoon Primary School head teacher Brenda Reid. Both hoped to leave people ‘at ease’ with the plans.
‘Sitting at the centre of this proposal is the children’s educational experience,’ said Ms Reid.
‘This is not a set of plans that have any reduction in teachers, or contact time with teachers,’ added Mr Easton. ‘Actual collectives have not been identified. If [the principle is] approved, which is the key decision, only then would more consultation begin on the design of school collectives.’
Listing the problems the proposal aims to solve, he added: ‘We have challenges recruiting to some areas. We have leaders who do not have the time to lead, because we have head teachers who are teaching a good proportion of the week.
‘Excellence in leadership is key in school improvement. The teaching will be left to teachers, and the leading will be left to leaders. Beyond improvement happening more quickly and more effectively, I do not think the parents, carers and the community would notice a great deal of difference on a day-to-day basis.’
Tracy Mayo, a founder of campaign group Wise4All, said: ‘We can’t say that because you didn’t give us any information or any detail. There are too many contradictions and not enough evidence. We have just got the skeleton. We have not got the meat.
‘You were not willing to consult with us. In terms of working collaboratively and effectively to find the best solutions, chairs are not feeling included in the process.’
Recently, Ms Mayo added, a parent council chairperson asked an official why they had not been engaged sooner: ‘They said it was about leadership and, well, basically you wouldn’t understand. There has been quite patronising language used to chairs. These are people who very much understand the complexities of education.
‘There is a lot of stress and sleepless nights...They want to be fair to the parents, but they also don’t want to mislead.
‘You have put out a flyer and a promotional video. It is not balanced. It feels like marketing, and education is not a business. Education is a necessity. They think you are selling us something, and you don’t sell education. You have got to get their trust and at the moment you’ve lost it.’
Ms Reid said: ‘We can’t go back in time and redo this process. We are losing a really good model. I would hate to think that it’s the process you’re rejecting, as opposed to the model you’re rejecting.
‘I am a head teacher. If I didn’t feel it was something that was going to work or would be detrimental to education, then I would not support it.’
Mr Easton said: ‘Everything in this is based on extremely sound, accepted international thinking and research.’