Sport / Active Schools ‘concern was wrong’, councillor admits
A LERWICK councillor has apologised for causing a “degree of alarm” last year by suggesting a cost benefit analysis should be carried out on the Active Schools programme.
Speaking in a council meeting this week after an update on Active Schools was presented to members, John Fraser said he had the “humility to say that my concern was wrong”.
Last year Fraser said in the council chamber that he was concerned about a possible “duplication of effort” between the Active Schools programme and the existing sporting activity in Shetland.
While he praised the positives of the programme and said he did not want to sound like “Ebenezer Scrooge”, the Lerwick South councillor had questioned if the scheme added “proportionate value”.
Active Schools is a national programme which is jointly funded through sportscotland and local authorities.
Between October 2022 to September 2023 the Shetland programme cost £451,000, with sportscotland providing £238,000 towards this and Shetland Islands Council covering the rest.
Its aims are to provide opportunities for pupils to participate in sport and physical activity in extra-curricular time, to enhance and encourage leadership skills and to develop a network of volunteers to support the delivery of the programme.
In 2023/24 a total of 1,364 people participated in the programme – equating to 42 per cent of the school roll – in sports from table tennis and rugby to archery, cycling and boccia.
Currently the Active Schools programme, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, is run locally by a manager with six coordinators spread across Shetland.
After a report on Active Schools’ 2023/24 achievements was presented to a meeting of the SIC’s education and families committee on Monday, Fraser said he wished to apologise for his “rather forthright” approach on the topic last year.
“I’m actually very conscious that that had an effect upon people that are employed within Active Schools and raised a degree of alarm, which was not my intention,” he said.
“I’m going to take this opportunity to apologise for creating that concern.”
The councillor added that the “excellent” report was in some ways effectively a cost benefit analysis in itself.
“What I can take from this report is that we see a huge variety of activities the length and breadth of Shetland,” Fraser added.
He said this included targeted sessions, promotion of inclusion, volunteering opportunities and building of life skills.
“My approach was wrong and I never meant to cause alarm,” the councillor continued.
“I know that I did, but I will take this opportunity to absolutely congratulate [Active Schools manager] Louise Jamieson, [SIC sport and leisure manager] Neil Watt and their respective teams for this phenomenal work that takes place in the Active Schools team – and I congratulate you, I salute you and I thank you.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
