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Parents fear budget cuts are pushing up school class sizes

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Published Date: 05 July 2008
By GEMMA FRASER
FEARS are being raised that class sizes in Edinburgh are on the increase as a direct result of council budget cuts.
Parent council members and senior councillors have raised concerns that schools are being forced to merge classes or even cut their number of classes because of "financial pressures".

The issue has come to light after one city centre primary school was forced to reduce its class numbers from 17 to 16 after it emerged a retiring teacher would not be replaced.

Parents of children at Flora Stevenson, in Stockbridge, are furious that children are "losing out" because the school is creating a new P6/7 composite class to compensate for losing a teacher.

It means the school will have one P6 class, two P7 classes and one composite class, instead of three P7 and two P6 classes.

Parents fear it will have a negative impact on the eight primary seven pupils who are being put in a class with 17 younger pupils as they prepare for high school.

Deirdre Wright, treasurer of Flora Stevenson's parent council, said: "I suspect our situation is not dissimilar to a few schools because of the budget cuts being made.

"I've been told that if this teacher wasn't retiring, they would have got rid of a teacher anyway.

"It's a shame that every decision has to be made based on financial pressures.

"We are concerned about the impact big class sizes has on children who need learning support and children who have English as an additional language and the social disruption it will cause to the children in the years before they go to high school. It feels like these kids are losing out."

The average class size in Edinburgh's primary schools was 25 last year, compared with a Scottish average of 23. The average class size at Flora Stevenson after the summer holidays will be 27.

The legal maximum for a class in primary four to seven is 33, while the limit for a composite class at any level is 25. Inverleith councillor Lesley Hinds, a former teacher, today warned Flora Stevenson is just the tip of the iceberg.

She said: "They are scrutinising every single school budget.

"It has been brought to my attention at Flora Stevenson and I wonder how many other schools and pupils are going back into almost maximum class sizes.

"Everyone knows that if your child is in a class with smaller numbers then the teacher will be able to spend more time with each pupil.

"Marilyne MacLaren actually said that Flora Stevenson is no different to any other school in the city so my concern is that so many parents aren't going to know until they go back to school after the holidays."

She added: "Parents are always concerned about composite classes but at least they only have a maximum of 25 pupils."

The city council said it could not provide accurate figures on class sizes for the new term.

Councillor Marilyne MacLaren, the city's education leader, said it is normal for the numbers of classes in schools to change year on year. She said: "We try to accommodate all catchment children and any spaces left are then allocated to those who have submitted placing requests.

"We don't, however, form additional classes for non-catchment children. I am confident resources are being allocated to Flora Stevenson in a manner consistent with every other school in the city."


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  • Last Updated: 05 July 2008 10:30 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

alex paterson,

edinburgh 05/07/2008 12:10:57
Has it taken them all this time to figure that out.
2

Voldemort,

Edinburgh 05/07/2008 13:48:06
Once we see front line services being cut as opposed to useless waste of space council staff with made up jobs getting fired .... soon we will have a massive council that doesn't actually do anything but sit there and gobble up tax money !

Fire 20,000 council workers now (!) and restore some services to the people you are supposed to serve Edinburgh City Council !
3

20something,

Edinburgh 05/07/2008 14:01:59
Everyone just wants to complain these days! This is hardly the end of the world. All the way through school my class sizes were bigger than the numbers given here and I feel that it was no disadvantage to me at all. In fact, I'd even say I'm glad I went through school the way I did.

Maybe the problem lies with teachers here; a good teacher could easily teach 40 kids in a class and they would all do well but rubbish, lazy teachers are too busy blaming class sizes for the fact that they aren't good enough.

I want bigger class sizes and better teachers!
4

,

05/07/2008 16:33:52
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
5

Sports for Edinburgh,

06/07/2008 12:06:39
I have just completed my primary teaching diploma, which has given me a great insight into the issue of class sizes. The majority of people (and I was one) think that a very low class size would result in better learning for pupils – this is not so. Children learn more, when they work in groups and work with others – in a sense, diversity (and a lot of it) is key to this process. On the other hand, large class sizes just make this process un manageable. Personally, I would say the ideal class size is around 25 children (P3 and up), and 20 (P1 and 2).
Having low numbers of children is a class raise management issues also. Any school with low numbers of children at differing levels (of in the case of complex streaming) would have to look at composite classes. I believe this isn’t too bad what you mix children working at the same level (say upper P3’s and lower P4’s) – but what happens when you are required to mix P2’s, P3’s, and P4’s... this raises numerous issues in terms of classroom management, teacher stress and the children’s learning.
The situation in Edinburgh is very different from most other places in Scotland. You have schools with roles falling dramatically due to changes in the local area, and schools working at near capacity. A school I have worked in (which I will not name) had a falling school role, was in a very old building and was a school the local council had been looking to close. Due to the age of the building it was requiring large sums of money to keep it watertight, which impacted the money for resources and in effect was costing the tax payer substantially more money per pupil to keep running than most other schools. If the school was to close, the children would have been required to attend a school that was about a 20 minute walk away.
When talking to the teachers, their main concern was for their jobs. Parents (and pupils) were adamant they wished to keep the school open – but really did not understand the issues and costs of keeping t
6

Sports for Edinburgh,

06/07/2008 12:08:04
keeping the school open. If the school was to close, the savings would be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds!

I digress...

Does it not make economic and social sense to have classes with numbers that are more like the rest of the uk – than having multiple classes of very low numbers? As a teacher (and, don’t tell the union this as I will be shot), I don’t see a huge impact in the standard of children’s learning, or the ability to make learning fun and enjoyable. Sure, it would be nice to have classes of 14 or 15... but that is economic nonsense (the private schools have classes of at least 25!).

I think that Edinburgh needs a complete over hall of its primary education system. Get schools in the correct places, with the appropriate number of staff and class rooms, with appropriate equipment.... and buildings that don’t leak, loose water, and are not health and safety nightmares! It will cost a lot, and I really know it won’t happen... but it would be nice.
7

Listening,

06/07/2008 13:20:58
My son has been refused permission by East Lothian Council to progress into P1 with the rest of his class. The new P1 class has an enrolment of 24 and the council are keeping 1 space for 'incomers', just in case someone moves into the catchment area and would like his place. He has been at St Martins for 2 years in the nursery and is one of their best pupils.

It does not make sense and we are currently involved in a legal battle with them in the Sheriff Court. This is a serious injustice and should never be allowed to happen.
8

,

07/07/2008 09:11:37
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:

 

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