School closure consultation is “biased” 6/10/14
Sir,
I write this as an open letter to all our elected councillors.
Once again, the Comhairle have decided that it’s time to bring up the subject of shutting down the provision of S1 and S2 education at Lionel School. So once again, the parents and children in Ness have to go through this drawn out process of uncertainty and unsettlement. We did this before, as recently as 2 years ago.
So the Comhairle, by law, have to have a consultation process. Can I remind everyone concerned what the word ‘consultation’ means according to the dictionary.
Consultation -
synonyms: discussion; dialogue; discourse; debate; negotiation; deliberation
At no point is whispering, rolling of eyes, looking bored, acting as if the matter is a waste of time, mentioned in the meaning of the word ‘consultation.’
Yet this is what the Comhairle’s representatives seemed to take as the way to conduct a ‘consultation’ at the meeting held in Lionel School on 30 September 2014. It was like déjà vu from the 2011/12 process. Maybe with a bit less snickering and sneering.
The chairperson of any ‘consultation’ meeting is supposed to be impartial. The chairperson at the meeting in Lionel was none other than Councillor Catriona Stewart, who is in fact chair of the Comhairle’s own Education and Childrens Services Committee and is openly in favour of closing Lionel Secondary School. In fact it was Councillor Stewart who seemed to take most pleasure in whispering and rolling her eyes when any questions or points were raised by the public. Impartial?? Not from where anyone else in the hall was sitting.
May I respectfully remind Councillor Stewart, that whilst she may feel and act as if the whole ‘consultation’ process is an irrelevance and a waste of time, the vast majority of parents and children in Ness, do not share her views. Perhaps it’s worth revisiting the Councillors’ Code of Conduct – section 3.2 in particular: www.scotland.gov.uk/resource/doc/334603/0109379.pdf
The Comhairle cannot cite financial reasons for the closure of Lionel Secondary, so what reasons do they give. Apparently educational and social benefits in the Nicolson outweigh any that may be available at Lionel. They told us about how the Nicolson has a modern sports centre, a swimming pool and playing fields in the close vicinity. Perhaps if they had cared to check they would find that Lionel has a sports centre (Spors Nis) attached to the school. That Lionel has a swimming pool situated within the school. That Lionel has an abundance of playing fields directly next to the school.
What Lionel does not have is a brand new £2 million homeless hostel directly opposite it. Is this one of the benefits? Can the children utilise the hostel if they miss their bus?
In the consultation document, which is available to read on the CnES webpage, there is no factual evidence of any educational benefits. In fact the only subject which seems to be available at the Nicolson and not at Lionel, is Latin. Are the children of S1 and S2 at Lionel so badly off that they must endure two hours of bus journeys each day so that they can perhaps have Latin as a subject. Why not ask the children which they would rather have – more time at home, or the chance to learn Latin. If there was any other educational benefits then perhaps it would have been prudent for the Comhairle to list them in the consultation document. The failure to do so, would seem to point out that their argument is based on opinions – and you know what they say about opinions.
There is a timescale for any written or electronic submissions to be made to the Comhairle. Was this planned deliberately to coincide with the October holidays? Were they hoping we would forget or not have time to think about this? Surely they wouldn't be so devious.
When asked if the children from Lionel were ‘on par' with those in the Nicolson, Peter J Carpenter, the Director of Education, said that they were not on par, but they were not any better or any worse?? Tell me Mr Carpenter, what does ‘on par’ mean to you? Or did you take the phrase from the same place as the Comhairle found the word ‘consultation’?
So therefore, this appearing to be the case, I challenge anyone from the Comhairle to provide any evidence of the children being better off travelling two hours each day, rather than having a school on their own doorstep. There is plenty evidence to suggest that long travel times undermine children’s educational capacity. Is this what the education Department is attempting to do? Is it really a benefit to have 11 and 12 year olds travelling on an unsupervised service bus?
Councillor Stewart claimed that the children at Lionel are ‘disadvantaged’ compared to those in the Nicolson. If this is really the case then the fault with any ‘disadvantages’ to their education lies solely with the Comhairle themselves and the education department in particular. Why has this not been addressed before now?
If it’s not about the financial aspects, and there is no evidence of educational benefits, then what is it about? Is it some personal vendetta that the Comhairle have against Lionel Secondary School. Remember Lionel was the only school to survive the last ‘cull’ that the Comhairle had. Do they feel aggrieved that they never got to complete their demolition of rural Secondary School provision?
It seems as if the Comhairle are determined to close the last remaining secondary school on Lewis outwith Stornoway. To put all the children in one school – all the eggs in one basket you could say. Some of us remember only too well the last time the Comhairle had all their eggs in one basket. The basket was called BCCI and we are still suffering for it now.
I would urge all the elected councillors to reject the proposal of closure to Lionel Secondary School when it comes up for debate. If not, then once again, a long drawn out process will ensue and in all probability another legal battle with funds the Comhairle could probably do with spending elsewhere.
If it’s not about the money and the educational benefits cannot be proven, then what is wrong with retaining the status quo? Leave Lionel Secondary open and stop driving a wedge between the Comhairle and the community of Ness.
Derek O’Connor
121 Cross Skigersta Road
Ness
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