Issue - meetings

Motion by Councillor Young – Queensferry High School

“On the 31st March 2020, pupils of Queensferry High School will move into their new school building. As part of the transition, parents were advised in November that the school will be closed for an additional 4 days before the start of the Easter break.

Council:

·       regrets that parents were notified of this proposal without any prior engagement, and that local ward councillors were not consulted in advance.

·       recognises that the transfer of the school community into the new building, is a major logistical undertaking

·       Acknowledges that all parties involved are keen to minimise the disruption to pupils and their education, especially at this time of exam preparations

·       Notes that parents have expressed concern about the 4 additional days of closure and the challenge this creates for working parents who need arrange alternative childcare or take annual leave/unpaid leave 

·       Notes that there will be no pre-existing ‘holiday clubs’ in place to provide an alternative option, as this is normal term time for other schools

·       Notes that the next Education Committee is scheduled for March 2020 which is too late to consider any proposals to mitigate this impact

Council therefore requests a survey of parents on their ability to accommodate these 4 days without financial or other loss before the end of term, and a member briefing by 31 January 2020 to cover the following:

·        the experience of the transition for Boroughmuir High School, and what lessons were learned in minimising the impact on pupils and childcare

·       The pupil numbers affected in each academic year for QHS

·       The findings of the parent survey as requested above

·       Proposals for different ways to provide an additional holiday club type service (or alternative solution informed from the results of the survey) and recommendations on how this could be delivered within the Communities and Families existing budgets

Due to the lack of a committee meeting date to formally agree on the briefing recommendations, Council agrees to delegate to group spokespeople and council officers to review the proposals and agree any implementation of a solution.”