Griffiths met the Head Teachers of St Catherine’s Primary and Burdiehouse Primary this week to discuss the threat to close them by the new Liberal-Democrat-run Council. These two popular local schools are facing closure as part of the Lib-Dem spending cuts. In spite of receiving high praise from the independent school inspectors, both St Catherine’s and Burdiehouse Primary Schools have been targeted for closure. Nigel Griffiths is leading a delegation of parents to the meeting of the full council on Thursday.
Nigel Griffiths said: "I do not believe in keeping all schools open under any circumstances -when Hyvot and Fernieside Primary schools were shut, I worked with local parents and our Labour councillors to ensure that a brand new school was built at Craigour Park. But now the Liberal Democrats are wanting to close two of our schools without planning any replacement."
The Liberal Democrats who run Edinburgh are utter hypocrites and opposed every school closure before they took power in May. Now they plan to close 22 schools. No-one should be surprised. When they last ran Edinburgh in the 1980s, they axed 1,000 teaching posts.
The Inspector’s report on St Catherine’s which highlighted 9 strengths in the school and concluded:
"Teachers set high standards for pupils’ attainment, were good at letting them know their child’s strengths and weaknesses and provided helpful information about homework and their child’s progress." - HMI Report 2003
Cllr Norma Hart, who has been in constant touch with the school since her election in May, says: "Burdiehouse Primary school is an anchor in this community and this year the inspectors praised the teachers for striving to get the most out of their young pupils."
But while the council’s report on closure states that schools of under 100 pupils are not considered viable, both our schools have well over 100 pupils each.
S
tephen Small of the St Catherine’s School Board said: "It was a total shock to us. There was never any rumour about this. We have a full complement of Primary 1s this year. We’ve had money spent both inside and outside the school."
Cllr Ian Murray highlighted the 3 new schools provided by Labour in South Edinburgh including a new Gracemount high school.
St Catherine’s Primary - 9 strengths:
The Liberal-Democrat led council is ignoring the latest independent Inspector’s report on St Catherine’s which highlighted 9 strengths in the school and concluded:
"Teachers set high standards for pupils’ attainment, were good at letting them know their child’s strengths and weaknesses and provided helpful information about homework and their child’s progress."
HMI report on the St Catherine’s Primary School
Some of the key strengths highlighted in the report:
• The teaching process
• Expectations and promoting achievement
• Structure of the curriculum
• Partnership with parents, the School Board and the community
• Accommodation and facilities
• Staffing
• Provision of resources
• Climate and relationships
• Learning support.
The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school. HM Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and attainment, examined pupils’ work and interviewed staff and pupils. Areas of the curriculum included in the inspection were English language, modern languages, mathematics, and technology within environmental studies.
