School places for all: Mission Accomplished!

  • All city pupils will have a place to go next week
  •  Free swim session on Monday for affected pupils
  • Sixteen temporary classes to be located at Royal High

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All 7,600 primary and secondary pupils affected by school closures now have alternative education plans put in place for next week. The final pieces of a very complicated jigsaw puzzle were slotted in this afternoon. Continue reading School places for all: Mission Accomplished!

Forthview: going forth across the city

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Forthview Primary pupils will return to school next week – but in classroooms scattered across Edinburgh. Dealing with the temporary closure of seventeen schools has been a logistical nightmare for council officials and it’s proved impossible to keep the Forthview kids together. Continue reading Forthview: going forth across the city

CLOSED SCHOOLS: DETAILED SURVEYS UNDERWAY

‘The safety of children and our staff is our main priority’ – City Council Chief Executive Andrew Kerr

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The Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and senior education officials met with directors of the Edinburgh School Partnership (ESP) this afternoon (Sunday 10 April) to receive an update on the programme of detailed structural surveys which is underway on the PPP1 schools. Continue reading CLOSED SCHOOLS: DETAILED SURVEYS UNDERWAY

Closed schools update: Scottish government offers ‘full support’

“Public confidence needs rebuilt as well as school walls: and fast” – Green Candidate Andy Wightman

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The Scottish Government’s resiliency committee has met to discuss the emergency closure of seventeen PPP schools across Edinburgh – but The Scottish Greens say the ‘fiasco’ highlights the need to expose private finance failures. Continue reading Closed schools update: Scottish government offers ‘full support’

Local schools to remain closed on Monday

Parents advised to make childcare arrangements for next week

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Craigroyston, Forthview, Pirniehall and St David’s Primary Schools are among seventeen city schools which will all remain closed on Monday, the city council has announced. Continue reading Local schools to remain closed on Monday

Letters: History lessons must be learned

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Dear Editor

The Conservatives have been in power for six years: in that time they have made the majority of people pay in so many ways for the financial crisis that was not of their making. The financial institutions, unscrupulous investors and some very dodgy dealers were the culprits – and they have got away with it.

The Conservatives have not only made the people pay but have also taken the opportunity to pursue their cherished aims of privatising as much as possible, changing society in favour of investors once again. Their main political objective is the breaking of local authority control of public services, initially financially – followed by privately-run services.

Their latest move in England – making all schools into ‘free’ Academies without any reference to the democratic principle of local council elections determined by the people.

Changing a school name is meaningless, but ‘free’ is a very divisive move. It will pit school against school for staff, grants and finding; it will be divisive on pay and conditions offered, divisive on schools in poorer and better-off areas.

So far this applies only to schools in England, but it is better to be forewarned.

This step into the past is very dangerous to all that has been struggled for over generations of activity to make society fair and caring, able to exercise it’s right to decision-making.

The Conservatives are proving over and over again they can never represent the interests of the majority of people.

A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens