A proposed radical shake-up of the Fife school week that could save £6 million per year has led to a major political spat.
Fife Council’s SNP leader Peter Grant has been accused of a “hysterical rant” after suggesting that closing schools for half a day a week could result in the loss of 166 teaching jobs and the closure of the region’s visiting teacher service.
Administration leader Alex Rowley branded Mr Grant’s comments “scare-mongering nonsense” designed to “whip up hysteria and fear”.
However, the opposition councillor said he was merely trying to ensure parents and teachers were in possession of the facts before the proposal went out for consultation.
The suggestion of realigning the school week to ensure teachers had time for marking and preparation when pupils were not in class is one of a number of ideas put forward by officers.
Around £47 million of savings are contained in the council’s so-called ‘blue book’ and the impact of each will be assessed and consulted on before any decisions are made.
In the paper, seen by The Courier, officers said cutting the school week by 2.5 hours would not affect pupils’ attainment.
However, they said that unless mitigating actions were taken it could lead to cuts in the curriculum, job losses and the decommissioning of the visiting teacher service.
Other Scottish councils, including Edinburgh City, already operate a reduced school week and Fife Council intends to speak to officials there to ascertain the repercussions.
Mr Grant accused Labour of only telling people what they wanted them to hear.
“When the council leader unilaterally announced that he was thinking about a 10% cut in pupil teaching time, he made it sound as if it was an easy and harmless way of saving money,” he said.
“There was no mention of 166 job losses, no mention of the closure of the entire visiting teacher service, no mention of the fact that pupils could suffer reduced curriculum choice and no mention of possible compulsory redundancies.”
Adding that the proposed cut in teaching time was the equivalent of every pupil in Fife being absent for three weeks per year, he said: “Officials have warned that this could make it impossible for senior pupils to get the full 160 hours of teaching per year they’re supposed to get for each examination subject.
“The council must tell parents the down side of this proposal and they must make sure that parents, teachers and pupils realise the risks that are involved.”
Mr Rowley made it clear the proposal was not a Labour one but was one of many brought forward by officers for discussion.
“We have a £100 million budget deficit over the next four years and we have said we will have a discussion with service users about the options being brought forward by council officials to balance the books,” he said.
“Included in this is the school day proposal which we have said we will put on the agenda for discussion with parents and teachers. This hysterical rant issued by the SNP in Fife is just scaremongering nonsense and they know it.”
He added: “We have said we will publish every proposal brought forward to balance the budget and have an open dialogue with communities on the detail of those proposals.”
“I would have to say, however, we won’t get far if SNP councillors are then going to become hysterical and issue press releases trying to whip up hysteria and fear.”