Don’t let the Council gamble with our children’s education
30/11/09 21:23
Thank you for all your support in the campaign to save the merger of Trinity and Fort.
We have been told by Councillors that it is the biggest response that our local Councillors have had on any issue in several decades - and that it has been effective so far.
So, please keep it up! Trinity has always been one of the best schools at putting forward parents' views on important issues - so please do so again, however busy you may be - it is of absolutely critical importance NOW! This is your very last chance to get your message across. There are only a couple of weeks to go now until the Council decision on 17 December.
If you have written in before, please email or write in AGAIN, to make the Councillors realise that this is an extremely important issue for you and that you haven't forgotten it. If you haven't emailed or written in yet, please do so now. Ask them to vote against the Fort closure proposal and in favour of Fort's Alternative Proposal.
The official consultation for responses to the Council ended on 16 October, and the Parent Council's submission to the consultation is on our website - http://bit.ly/4zp3Eb. But you can still write in to Councillors now - their votes are the ones that count!
At the public meeting in September, Council officials were unable to persuade 180 parents that this proposal had any merit and will not harm our children. Absolutely nothing has changed since then.
So, what is the Council proposing, and what will our children lose? And why should you write in again?
Creating a P1 class of 39 pupils, and many other large classes. We all know that is no way to teach young children, and the best evidence fully supports this. Large classes are particularly bad for the earliest years and for children who are in most need of support, like many of the children at Fort. Our submission gives the Councillors all the evidence they should need on this.
Forcing 439 children into a school designed for 415 - 106% of its design capacity. That creates all sorts of problems with classroom space, dining facilities, gym, support for learning, loss of science room, library and all the other general space areas.
The Council may claim that this is comparable to Sciennes and South Morningside, which are popular, overcrowded schools with high attainment - but it isn't. Neither school was forced to merge with another school. They grew gradually because parents chose to send their children there.
It is not the same as 100 children from Fort, who have been well supported according to their needs, suddenly being forced to go to Trinity, increasing its roll by nearly one third to make it one of the most overcrowded schools in Edinburgh.
Trinity was the BEST primary school in the whole of Edinburgh in 2009 for writing (96%) and among the very best in reading and maths (91% and 92%). The Council claims that will be maintained or improve with classes of 39 in P1 and other large classes - no one believes that! They are risking all our children's education.
And what about Breakfast Clubs and After School Clubs? These are very important resources in Fort, Trinity and Victoria Schools - for 5 months since June, the Council has failed to provide ANY kind of answer as to how they could cater for this need properly, as well as many other important questions.
Given the Council's budget difficulties, all of this harm might just about be understandable (but never forgivable) if it was a long-term solution that produced huge revenue savings and significant capital receipts from selling Fort.
But, no, it doesn't on either count!
Quite apart from Fort giving the smallest savings of any of the proposed closure schools, it is the only one which is NOT going to be closed and sold - there won't be a single pound in Council coffers from selling Fort. If the Council agree to Fort's Alternative Proposal, the Council will still receive around £650,000 from selling Victoria Park Children’s Centre and they will still remove some spare school spaces from this area.
Fort is being mothballed in effect. The Council recognises that this is only a temporary measure. How short-sighted is that?
In the fastest growing area in the whole City, where the Council predicted, as recently as June this year, that 150 extra spaces would be required, the Council proposal leaves only 22 spaces between ALL the Trinity Academy catchment schools, Trinity, Victoria and Wardie. This is a complete waste of public money. Fort will be reopened in 2-3 years time, with huge disruption to 440 children's education, and unnecessary cost.
In the meantime, out of catchment siblings will be denied access to Trinity.
It is absolutely vital that you write in NOW to all your local Councillors, but particularly your Lib/Dem and SNP Councillors (and if you can, please also phone or meet them personally). Remember the Council is balanced 29-29 (Lib Dem/SNP v Lab/Con/Green) and ONLY ONE VOTE can change it. Education will be the most important matter on many parents' agendas - please let the politicians know the consequences if they don't vote the right way!
We CAN WIN this campaign - your Parent Council have been speaking to Councillors very regularly, and this is definitely in the balance - but it depends on our Councillors voting the right way - and on all of YOU persuading them to do so. It won't take long - please email or write again (details on our campaign website).
If you would like to discuss this, please contact me on 552 1036 or any of your Parent Council members (details on the newsletter)
Thank you - I know you won't let Trinity down.
Andrew Macmillan
We have been told by Councillors that it is the biggest response that our local Councillors have had on any issue in several decades - and that it has been effective so far.
So, please keep it up! Trinity has always been one of the best schools at putting forward parents' views on important issues - so please do so again, however busy you may be - it is of absolutely critical importance NOW! This is your very last chance to get your message across. There are only a couple of weeks to go now until the Council decision on 17 December.
If you have written in before, please email or write in AGAIN, to make the Councillors realise that this is an extremely important issue for you and that you haven't forgotten it. If you haven't emailed or written in yet, please do so now. Ask them to vote against the Fort closure proposal and in favour of Fort's Alternative Proposal.
The official consultation for responses to the Council ended on 16 October, and the Parent Council's submission to the consultation is on our website - http://bit.ly/4zp3Eb. But you can still write in to Councillors now - their votes are the ones that count!
At the public meeting in September, Council officials were unable to persuade 180 parents that this proposal had any merit and will not harm our children. Absolutely nothing has changed since then.
So, what is the Council proposing, and what will our children lose? And why should you write in again?
Creating a P1 class of 39 pupils, and many other large classes. We all know that is no way to teach young children, and the best evidence fully supports this. Large classes are particularly bad for the earliest years and for children who are in most need of support, like many of the children at Fort. Our submission gives the Councillors all the evidence they should need on this.
Forcing 439 children into a school designed for 415 - 106% of its design capacity. That creates all sorts of problems with classroom space, dining facilities, gym, support for learning, loss of science room, library and all the other general space areas.
The Council may claim that this is comparable to Sciennes and South Morningside, which are popular, overcrowded schools with high attainment - but it isn't. Neither school was forced to merge with another school. They grew gradually because parents chose to send their children there.
It is not the same as 100 children from Fort, who have been well supported according to their needs, suddenly being forced to go to Trinity, increasing its roll by nearly one third to make it one of the most overcrowded schools in Edinburgh.
Trinity was the BEST primary school in the whole of Edinburgh in 2009 for writing (96%) and among the very best in reading and maths (91% and 92%). The Council claims that will be maintained or improve with classes of 39 in P1 and other large classes - no one believes that! They are risking all our children's education.
And what about Breakfast Clubs and After School Clubs? These are very important resources in Fort, Trinity and Victoria Schools - for 5 months since June, the Council has failed to provide ANY kind of answer as to how they could cater for this need properly, as well as many other important questions.
Given the Council's budget difficulties, all of this harm might just about be understandable (but never forgivable) if it was a long-term solution that produced huge revenue savings and significant capital receipts from selling Fort.
But, no, it doesn't on either count!
Quite apart from Fort giving the smallest savings of any of the proposed closure schools, it is the only one which is NOT going to be closed and sold - there won't be a single pound in Council coffers from selling Fort. If the Council agree to Fort's Alternative Proposal, the Council will still receive around £650,000 from selling Victoria Park Children’s Centre and they will still remove some spare school spaces from this area.
Fort is being mothballed in effect. The Council recognises that this is only a temporary measure. How short-sighted is that?
In the fastest growing area in the whole City, where the Council predicted, as recently as June this year, that 150 extra spaces would be required, the Council proposal leaves only 22 spaces between ALL the Trinity Academy catchment schools, Trinity, Victoria and Wardie. This is a complete waste of public money. Fort will be reopened in 2-3 years time, with huge disruption to 440 children's education, and unnecessary cost.
In the meantime, out of catchment siblings will be denied access to Trinity.
It is absolutely vital that you write in NOW to all your local Councillors, but particularly your Lib/Dem and SNP Councillors (and if you can, please also phone or meet them personally). Remember the Council is balanced 29-29 (Lib Dem/SNP v Lab/Con/Green) and ONLY ONE VOTE can change it. Education will be the most important matter on many parents' agendas - please let the politicians know the consequences if they don't vote the right way!
We CAN WIN this campaign - your Parent Council have been speaking to Councillors very regularly, and this is definitely in the balance - but it depends on our Councillors voting the right way - and on all of YOU persuading them to do so. It won't take long - please email or write again (details on our campaign website).
If you would like to discuss this, please contact me on 552 1036 or any of your Parent Council members (details on the newsletter)
Thank you - I know you won't let Trinity down.
Andrew Macmillan