Fears for pupils over ‘postcode lottery’ timetable switch
THOUSANDS of pupils are missing out on weeks of vital teaching because of a timetable ‘postcode lottery’.
Research by The Scottish Mail on Sunday has exposed huge inequality in the classroom – at the end of a school year that has already witnessed unprecedented disruption.
In some parts of Scotland, schools are, as usual, using the end of this term to begin teaching classes from the next academic year.
In other parts, however, schools are following Scottish Government guidance and will not begin teaching the new courses until after the summer. Last night, experts warned that many youngsters were being put at a disadvantage.
After exams were scrapped this year, a temporary system which sees pupils assessed by teachers was introduced.
To give teachers time to complete that work, the
Scottish Government said high schools could start the academic year after the summer holidays instead of in June as normal. However, some have started preparing pupils for next year. While many more are due to start new timetables tomorrow, pupils in a quarter of the council areas will not begin new courses until August. Scottish Conservative education spokesman Oliver Mundell said: ‘The last thing pupils need is a postcode lottery-style arrangement of when they will be starting new timetables. Pupils are only going to fall further and further behind their peers as a result.’
This newspaper asked all 32 councils when their secondary schools were introducing new timetables.
Some in East Renfrewshire switched to new timetables as early as June 3, while Aberdeenshire and Moray started on June 7, which was when schools in Dumfries and Galloway were also allowed to change.
Aberdeen schools started their new timetables last week and those in Argyll and Bute have also moved onto new timetables.
Twelve councils said at least some, if not all, schools would start tomorrow, while six said it was up to individual schools.
But a quarter indicated all or some schools would move after summer – Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Fife, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire.
Jo Bisset, organiser for parents’ campaign group UFTScotland, said: ‘This chaos is completely selfinflicted by the Scottish Government and will cause more harm.’