Dumfries & Galloway Council’s proposed changes to the school week has sparked controversy among school staff, parents, and other members of the local community.
Leading public sector union UNISON has conducted a survey of members to assess their views on council plans to reduce the school week from five days a week to four and a half days.
And the survey has revealed significant concerns about the plans and the considerable impact such a change would have on those working at schools, parents of school pupils and the community at large.
Jan Andrews, Secretary of the Dumfries & Galloway branch of UNISON, the main union representing all school staff apart from teachers, said “The council must recognise that many parents work fulltime, five days a week. Their working lives are structured around the school day to ensure drop off and pick up times and any childcare needs are arranged around school hours.
“To chop a half day off the school week is quite simply hitting many families’ work and childcare arrangements with a sledgehammer. Parents quite simply cannot re-arrange their working lives to fit in with a four-and-a-half-day school week.
“While it might mean a better work life balance for some, for many families it adds yet another headache to all the other plates families have to spin.
“We would also like to see evidence of these community facilities that are supposed to be available to schoolchildren on the half day they are not at school. One or two events in Dumfries are of absolutely no use to pupils in Annan, or Newton Stewart or Castle Douglas or Lockerbie or Stranraer.
“So far as we know, the local police have not been involved in any consultation and there is a real worry that kids with an afternoon off school will create problems and potentially anti-social behaviour.
“Different hours for nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools would create even more problems for families with children attending each of them and for parents who work at a nursery, for example but have children attending primary or high school.”
Teaching staff have also reported concerns, and UNISON is looking to work with the main teachers’ union, the EIS, on addressing their concerns.
“We fear this will impact on our children’s education and impact on jobs in schools. Many school support staff have more than one job and to change their hours in one job could impact on their hours in other jobs.
“There are far too many concerns about this to press ahead. These concerns include the impact on childcare, having to reduce working hours, reduced income, impact on staffing levels, fears for vulnerable children where school is their safe space, availability of free school meals for those in need, risk of harm to children, less socialisation opportunities, poor attendance, increase in anti-social behaviour and impact on community-based working in limited hours.
“These concerns are over and above the additional stress to parents and in particular school staff who may face changes to their jobs which could affect their family lives.”
Jan added “The council must take time to fully consider what the consequences are for these changes, not just in schools but throughout the community and UNISON will take every opportunity to ensure they do so.
“Gillian Brydson, director of education, skills and community wellbeing has said the changes would mean improved wellbeing for children and young people, but I have seen no evidence of this, despite asking on several occasions for this evidence to be provided.
“It was also stated that children and young people were more likely to have the best teachers because of improved recruitment. Does Gillian Brydson think that the teachers at present are not up to scratch?
“There was also reference to increased extracurricular opportunities, but UNISON keep asking what they are, and we are still waiting for a response.”
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