Unions call for pause on Dumfries & Galloway school week consultation
The EIS and SSTA claim the process needs to be halted to allow "nuts-and-bolts issues to be ironed out"
Teaching unions are calling on Dumfries and Galloway Council to pause a consultation on restructuring the school week in the region until “nuts-and-bolts issues” can be resolved.
An online consultation, as well as a series of in-person drop-in sessions, is ongoing on proposals to move to a four-and-a-half day week for pupils, with longer days Monday to Thursday and a half-day on Fridays.
READ MORE: Views sought on plans to cut down Dumfries and Galloway school week
But in a joint statement the EIS and SSTA claim there are a number of issues with the consultation, such as a lack of equality impact assessment and questions designed to give a desired outcome.
EIS Local Association Secretary Andrew O'Halloran said:
"The consultation has not been carried out in line with LNCT processes, with no consideration given to the views of EIS members across the authority. Education officials were unable to provide clarify about a whole range of contractual issues, which we would have expected the Council to have thought about before launching the consultation.
Unions claim consultation features leading questions
“We are also concerned that an equality impact assessed not been completed, and there are questions about the validity of the consultation questionnaire with some questions constructed to give a preconceived outcome.”
SSTA District Secretary Jay Young said:
"To make a change to the school week without understanding the full implications for all involved is not a sensible way forward for a Council. To try and push this through without proper consideration could be deemed ‘foolhardy’ and a waste of valuable Council time and money. Hopefully, the Council will now review the process and engage with all parties to ensure it fully understand the implications of such a change”.
The EIS and SSTA teaching unions have requested that the Council halt the consultation until the proposals are fleshed out in full.
In response a spokesperson for Dumfries and Galloway Council told Greatest Hits Radio News:
“Our council is looking to develop and enhance educational provision within our region, which includes looking at ways to refresh our school systems to better suit the needs of school pupils and staff.
“The consultation on the shape of school week is open until 11 October, and is gathering feedback from young people, school staff , parents/carers and the wider community.
Council says working with trade unions is 'key' to consultation
“We are halfway through our community drop-in sessions and have had lots of feedback. A wide range of people have been involved so far and are keen to find out more and give us their ideas and raise questions.
“Working with our trade unions is a key part of this consultation and they are part of the working group that the council has set up to make sure there is a direct route to have their say.
“We take their concerns seriously and any questions raised by the trade unions will be answered, and we will provide the information their members are seeking.
“We have one of our regular meetings with trade unions today, and we hope this gives an open forum to build on the work to date, and further these conversations.
“Our aim is to share the proposal and gather feedback from all stakeholders regarding potential changes to the structure of the school week in our schools. All feedback can then be considered and a decision on the way forward will be made by elected members of Dumfries and Galloway Council.”