News / Blueprint in disarray as primaries are saved
SHETLAND Islands Council has voted decisively against shutting two primary schools in Northmavine and removed the threat of closure from a further two small communities.
Elected members voted 12-9 to keep the tiny North Roe primary open, and by a decisively 18-3 margin to maintain Urafirth primary – going against the recommendations of the local authority’s children’s services department.
Immediately after taking those decisions on Wednesday, and with tempers running high among some councillors, members unanimously agreed to abandon planned consultations on shutting primaries in Burravoe and Sandness.
Political leader Gary Robinson said he saw little point consulting on schools with “more populous rolls” because he did not want to “waste any more” of officials’ time. Instead he wants staff to focus on getting the new Anderson High School built (see video interview below).
The news was greeted with delight by relieved Northmavine parents who had protested passionately against the closures. The council cannot attempt to shut those schools again for at least five years.
But it leaves the SIC’s much-maligned “blueprint for education” exercise – designed to shed millions of pounds from its budget – virtually in tatters.
Consultations on shutting or reducing provision in several secondaries are due to begin in 2015, but on Wednesday morning Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael and MSP Tavish Scott called for the council to abandon those too.
Scott said it was time to put an end to “damaging and divisive closure consultation hanging over pupils, parents and schools”. Yesterday SNP Highlands and Islands list MSP Mike MacKenzie called for a five-year moratorium on closures, describing the process as “irretrievably blighted”.
Education officials argued that pupils from North Roe and Urafirth would benefit from being taught in a larger, amalgamated school with more children of the same age.
But Shetland North councillor Andrea Manson said the small schools offered “wonderful learning opportunities”. She claimed losing them would “rip the heart out of” the remote areas, making them much less attractive places for young people to settle and start a family.
After three hours of questioning and cordial debate in Lerwick Town Hall, tempers frayed following the vote.
Shetland South councillor Duncan branded his colleagues “gutless” and “cowards” who were afraid of making difficult decisions. He called for deputy leader Billy Fox and education and families committee vice chairman George Smith to resign.
Smith responded by saying he was “not going to rise” to Duncan’s comments, but he felt it was important to respect the committee’s decision.
The committee’s chairwoman Vaila Wishart said closing schools was a “very emotional subject and we’re never going to get anywhere with rational arguments”.
Because there was “absolutely no appetite from any member” of her committee to shut Urafirth, she didn’t even propose going ahead with that closure. Wishart said this council was following the pattern of previous ones and “losing our bottle” halfway through.
Northmavine has three primary schools serving a population of over 800. Officials had proposed shutting North Roe and Urafirth and educating all of the area’s pupils in Ollaberry from August 2015, resulting in annual savings of £156,000.
Officials said there was space for 68 pupils at North Roe, which is operating at 7-8 per cent capacity. Urafirth had room for 52 pupils and is at 25 per cent capacity, while Ollaberry could accommodate 59 pupils and is at 24 per cent occupation. Lerwick member Allan Wishart noted that meant there were six times as many places as pupils in the three schools.
While secondary education spending is much higher than in comparable islands, in 2012/13 the average primary pupil in Shetland cost £8,527 to educate – similar to Western Isles (£8,516) and Orkney (£8,132). The national average is £4,751 per pupil.
Robinson had reminded members that in 2012/13 the SIC received £29.5 million from the Scottish Government for spending on education, but actually spent £48.5 million.
Education official Audrey Edwards said the schools service would have to go back and look at what cuts to make, but it was already “quite a lean service” and head teachers are “quite battle-weary and concerned for the future if we have to take more from them”.
With lots of efficiencies in areas like cleaning, support staff and teaching resources already having been made, Lerwick councillor Amanda Westlake was worried about the impact of any further cuts.
Lerwick South member Jonathan Wills felt one primary school for the catchment area seemed reasonable. He accused those defending the schools of talking “well-meaning waffle” and failing to come up with alternative savings measures.
Wills was dismayed at members taking “irrational, emotional” and “shameful” decisions. “We cannot afford to continue to run lots of small schooles,” he said. “Is that really complicated? Apparently it’s too complicated for our education committee.”
When Wills said he would not be seeking re-election in 2017, it prompted the loudest stamps of approval from parents watching proceedings upstairs in the town hall.
Councillors on both sides of the debate again offered warm praise to Edwards and other staff for their hard work, knowledge and expertise.
But with their professional advice being ignored by councillors, Wills said he wouldn’t blame education officials if they got on the phone to Petrofac for a more comfortable job where they wouldn’t have to work with “such idiots”.
During questioning, Edwards confirmed the blueprint for education had cost the council just short of £640,000 since 2008.
After the meeting, Mrs Manson said: “I think the blueprint was never realistic in that there always had to be far too many cuts made, cuts that the communities couldn’t accept, and cuts the county can’t afford.”
She added: “There is an awful lot of positive things that have come out of this as well as all the negativity, the stress, the strain and the worries that all the bairns and the community have had.
“One of the positive things is the realisation that the council doesn’t have an open cheque book anymore and in the future the community have to do things for themselves. It motivated us all into coming together as a community and working on some interesting projects to get them off the ground.”
Earlier in the morning much of the debate mirrored the three-hour session at the previous day’s committee meeting. There was further wrangling over the disputed travel time for pupils going from North Roe to Ollaberry.
Officials were “confident” the journey could be done within 40 minutes, but councillor Manson and her Shetland North colleague Alastair Cooper strongly disputed that. The area’s third memeber, Drew Ratter, was the only councillor absent from the meeting.
The 12 councillors who voted to keep North Roe open were: Mark Burgess, Peter Campbell, Gary Cleaver, Alastair Cooper, Steven Coutts, Billy Fox, Robert Henderson, Andrea Manson, Frank Robertson, George Smith, Theo Smith and Michael Stout.
The nine in favour of closure were: Malcolm Bell, Allison Duncan, Gary Robinson, Davie Sandison, Cecil Smith, Amanda Westlake, Jonathan Wills, Allan Wishart and Vaila Wishart.
Only Wills, Duncan and Allan Wishart voted in favour of shutting Urafirth.
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