Public Meeting
29/09/09 22:38
First of all, thank you to all of you who came out tonight and to all those elected officials who spoke out in favour of our campaign. I'm sure it was clear to the council officials that we oppose their proposal to close Fort and offer all the children a place at Trinity.
The panel made much of the aspect of parental choice that would mean that many of the children from Fort might choose not to go to Trinity but go elsewhere. What was clear was they place great store by this parental choice when it suits them but will happily deny it to our out-of-catchment parents if this move goes through. Please remember that it is THEIR proposal that all the children come here and that is what we need to prepare for. don't allow them to talk down the potential impact.
The council faced a large number of very tough questions this evening and I'm sure it was clear to everyone there that this proposal has not been fully thought through and that the needs of our children have not been given sufficient importance.
At the end of the evening Andrew Macmillan presented a summary of the key points of the meeting from our point of view. You can read the full text of that presentation on the front page of the website.
What are the key points to take from the meeting?
Despite any appearances to the contrary, the outcome of the consultation has NOT been decided and it's very important to highlight that the people on the panel will not be making the final decision. It is our local councillors and those from Leith who will be voting on this proposal and thus it's a political decision.
We all need to make our opposition to this proposal known to the council before the 16th of October and submit specific questions to the consultation. Even if you have already done so, write to all our local councillors (both Leith and Forth wards), meet with them in surgeries and make it clear that you want them to vote for what is best for our children. You can find contact details of everyone involved on the who's who page.
If you have any feedback on the meeting, or questions you would like answered you can email mail@trinityparentcouncil.org.uk or hamrun@gmail.com.
Thanks again,
Steve Hodgson
The panel made much of the aspect of parental choice that would mean that many of the children from Fort might choose not to go to Trinity but go elsewhere. What was clear was they place great store by this parental choice when it suits them but will happily deny it to our out-of-catchment parents if this move goes through. Please remember that it is THEIR proposal that all the children come here and that is what we need to prepare for. don't allow them to talk down the potential impact.
The council faced a large number of very tough questions this evening and I'm sure it was clear to everyone there that this proposal has not been fully thought through and that the needs of our children have not been given sufficient importance.
At the end of the evening Andrew Macmillan presented a summary of the key points of the meeting from our point of view. You can read the full text of that presentation on the front page of the website.
What are the key points to take from the meeting?
Despite any appearances to the contrary, the outcome of the consultation has NOT been decided and it's very important to highlight that the people on the panel will not be making the final decision. It is our local councillors and those from Leith who will be voting on this proposal and thus it's a political decision.
We all need to make our opposition to this proposal known to the council before the 16th of October and submit specific questions to the consultation. Even if you have already done so, write to all our local councillors (both Leith and Forth wards), meet with them in surgeries and make it clear that you want them to vote for what is best for our children. You can find contact details of everyone involved on the who's who page.
If you have any feedback on the meeting, or questions you would like answered you can email mail@trinityparentcouncil.org.uk or hamrun@gmail.com.
Thanks again,
Steve Hodgson