Am Bratach No. 197
March 2008
fiona@bratach.co.uk

Parent council was ignored over ‘cluster’ appointment

Education bosses performed a climbdown of sorts the day after we questioned the local authority’s procedures for appointing a new joint head teacher to Tongue, Farr and Melvich primary schools. A vacancy ocurred when Margaret Ferguson left the £46,056 “cluster” post at the summer holidays, about eighteen months into the job.

Late on Thursday of last week we asked Highland Council a number of questions about the scheme, which is opposed by Tongue Primary School Parent Council. These included how they assessed its success and, in particular, what they looked for in coming to that conclusion, as well as who they approached for evidence. The school’s Gaelic-medium teacher, Marissa Melville, was appointed acting head at Tongue, but only in January.

Although our queries went unanswered, we discovered that Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross area education manager, Graham Nichols, had bumped into parent council secretary, Julie McKim, while on other business in Tongue Primary on Friday morning. To Ms McKim he claimed he was unable to stop the process for a new cluster head because an advert for the post had already been circulated. Another parent, who did not wish to be named, commented: “This is nonsense, of course, because he was made aware of our concerns in December, paid no heed to them, and had the post readvertised when no applicants — or no suitable applicant — came forward.” However, Mr Nichols did give an assurance that representatives from each of the parent councils concerned (Farr, Melvich and Tongue) would participate in the selection and interview process for the new appointment.

But Tongue parent council chairwoman, Karen Henderson, said: “It still does not address the fact that Tongue do not want a cluster head, something which he was aware of before the re-advertising of this position.”

Mrs Henderson added: “The first official statement of dissatisfaction arose when the current, newly formed parent council wrote a letter to Graham Nichols in December 2007.

“The opportunity to put forward our concerns arose when Mrs Ferguson resigned from the cluster post and we hoped to have a review of the situation before having another cluster head imposed upon us.

“The ex-school board did not resist the cluster idea, probably because they were told it would be a 23-month pilot which would be reviewed. Now, our experience has told us it is ineffective and all parents want to see a single head teacher in Tongue.”

At the end of last year, parents from Tongue Primary sent copies of a petition, supported by all the parents, opposing cluster head management, along with a list of concerns, to Mr Nichols, to senior education officer Bill Couston, as well as to director of education, Hugh Fraser.

The parent council’s main concerns about the scheme centre around the loss of individual school identity, the difficulty of maintaining discipline when no head teacher is on hand to take decisions, lack of management time owing to the needs of other schools in the cluster, and the difficulty the cluster teacher has in building relationships with individual children, due to a lack of available time in the school.

Without consultation, the role of existing staff changed, putting particular pressure on June Mackay’s administrative duties. Also, the private working space for the head teacher, promised at interview, never materialised and therefore put more pressure on her and made it difficult for parents and staff to consult with her on matters of a confidential nature. The cluster head, despite her best efforts — Mrs Ferguson was decribed to us as “working really hard in a very difficult post” — was often unavailable (either in transit or not at the designated school for that day) and parents’ questions or concerns could not be dealt with immediately. It is felt that continuation of a cluster headship would result in the position becoming a troubleshooting one, due to the lack of time spent in the individual schools.

In response, Mr Nichols had addressed a couple of points, but did not recognise that it was often difficult to contact the head teacher, which often created further problems. Further correspondence led the parent council to question how the education authoritity had arrived at a “successful” outcome of cluster head management for their school, as this was not their experience. Mr Nichols declined to meet the parent group until after the recruitment response to the cluster head advert. A further letter from Mr Nichols claimed that the system had worked well.

“It’s not only about the fact that it initially began as a pilot scheme and became permanent, without consultation with parents, but the fact that the system has not worked for Tongue Primary School and we seek a full and proper review and consultation with parents and staff”, said Mrs Henderson. “Our concerns are not being addressed. We’re in a difficult position because the cluster has already started.”

The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 led to school boards being replaced by parent councils in August 2007. According to Parents as Partners, the keys to success in implementation of Parental Involvement Act is communication. “The Parent Council, as a statutory body, has the right to information and advice on matters which affect children’s education. The school and the education authorities must consult with the parent council and take their views into account whenever decisions are being taken on education provided by the school.”

The closing date for applications for the new cluster head teacher post is March 7.