In putting forward this amendment I do so because I have a duty as an elected member of the Taobh Siar and Nis ward to represent the views of the people that elected me, showing leadership on their behalf and keeping to my pre election promises in 2012 to represent the people that elected me to the best of my ability.
School Closures are a not a new issue for this Comhairle or for any other Council, and probably will be so in the years ahead due to falling school roles. In June 2012 after a lengthy debate 4 Schools in Lewis and Harris were proposed for closure, 2 primary’s and two secondary departments at Lionel and Shawbost, the vote was won in favour of keeping Lionel School 1st and 2nd year open, the last of what was the Junior Secondaries in the Western Isles to remain open, a situation which placed great pressure on the Secondary Unit at Lionel School.
When it was agreed in the February 2013 budget setting to remove the post of Head Teacher from Lionel, it put further pressure on the school and it created a great deal of uncertainty, we also knew that the years 2013-15 were not favourable to the School in terms of pupil numbers as they were going to be very low, this caused a few parents to bypass the school and send their children directly to the Nicolson for their first year education. At the moment there are 2 pupils in first year and 6 pupils in second year but as from this August, 12 pupils are due to enrol in Secondary 1, and the numbers for the next few years also look very healthy, it should also be considered that the catchment area of the school is now the Ness area only, when before Sgoil An Taobh Siar opened the catchment area was Ness to Ballantrushal.
Taking all these factors into account things have very much worked against the School, but as was reported at the last meeting of the Parent Council, this current academic year has seen a more stable environment for the pupils that is in stark contrast to the situation that was there last winter.
In terms of finance the saving made by the Department in closing the secondary at Lionel will be very small, when the proposal to remove the Head Teacher’s post was put in front of councillors we were informed that there would be an annual saving of 70k, but recently in a letter to the Lionel School action group, it was stated that this 70k saving would not be achieved until after 3 years.
Educationally, small class sizes have their advantages, but when you compare attainment between pupils at Lionel Secondary and the Nicolson, the attainment for some subjects are very similar and in some cases pupil attainment is higher in Lionel than in the Nicolson.
A debate on closing any school is difficult, probably the most emotive issue we will face as councillors you will always have those that support closure and ones that want it to stay open, we have all been here before and unfortunately due to circumstances it will probably be in front of us in the years to come.
Over 500 consultation responses were received all in favour of retaining the Secondary Department at Lionel, these replies were from a wide cross section of the community from parents, pupils, former pupils and community organisations,it is my duty as one of the councillors for the ward to stand up for the people that elected me.
In these times of austerity, trying to balance budgets is no easy task, for officers and heads of Department at local authorities it must be a nightmare at times trying to decide where to make the cuts, officers have a job to do, and I certainly don’t envy you, the chair and vice chair of each committee have to show support to the officers in their different departments, but we as councillors for our areas also have a job to do, we have to stand up for the communities that elected us, if as a local councillor for an area you don’t listen to your electorate then we wouldn’t be there.
We hear very often how people are so annoyed when we see jobs and services being centralised to the bigger cities like Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, weakening areas and removing vital jobs and services from the remote communities like the Western Isles. In the Western Isles we have to be careful that we are not moving and centralising everything to the main centres of population like Stornoway, remote communities are facing many challenges and struggles, its as if with each passing year their struggles become greater, as a Comhairle we have a duty and a responsibility to strengthen our communities, as councillors for areas furthest away from the main centres of population we have an extra burden and a responsibility to try and retain the services and facilities that we currently have.
As councillors we will all be faced at some point in our political careers to stand up for our communities when we are faced with an issue like the closure of a school, you also have to look at the big picture, do we vote to centralise everything in Stornoway? or do we want vibrant and sustainable rural communities like Ness In our islands, your choice, your vote, and I am more than happy to propose this amendment to retain the Secondary Unit at Lionel after June 2015.
