Comment posted Argyll Rural Schools Network puts all candidates to the test on rural schools by Integrity? Not in the ConDemAll.
Well if we get a new Administration then it will a SNP led coalition meaning the leader will be an SNP councillor however George would be an excellent canidate to be deputy leader.
Integrity? Not in the ConDemAll also commented
- Not according to COSLA – they believe that there really isn’t much of a correlation between the closing of a school and impact on the surrounding area.
Of course they have no evidence to support this claim – but then again nor did Ally McLeod when he claimed Scotland would win the world cup and…. oh yeh.
- There may be an occasional update to the list as responses come in so do check back prior to election day.
- Just a quick update on this. Excellent response so far (from candidates across A&B) with still a week to go before we publish the list of candidates.
Things are being arranged with the media as well.
- oh and also George Freeman obviously.
- Mary Devon voted against on November 25th along with Cllr MacNaughton.
Recent comments by Integrity? Not in the ConDemAll
- Argyll and Bute Council Coalition Cup 2013: runners and riders
Agreed – a little ‘horse play’ after weeks of turmoil in Castle Kilmory is not to be sniffed at. - First Minister’s choice not to condemn mob behaviour proves Farage point
Hi JamieI do take your point about Salmond and the Saltire and that was what I was getting at in my last paragraph. I am pretty sure if, for example, Sturgeon or Swinney was greeted in England by a crowd of similar size singing that about the Saltire then Salmond, and many SNP supporters, would condemn it widely.
Personally I wouldn’t take it as racist though. The union flag has, unfortunately, as an image has become associated with racist connotations due to being ‘adopted’ by groups in the past such as the National Front and, more generally skin heads (who obviously are not all racists either). The flag of a nation is symbolic of the entire nation, not a minority group, or a particular mind set. Equally the Saltire is not a symbol of the SNP, or the independence movement. It is the flag for every Scot be they unionists or nationalists.
I do agree the protest was somewhat unsavoury but I still don’t think the First Minister should be expected to make a public statement about it. I would acknowledge that it might have been good practice to do so, and a political opportunity to distance the independence movement from any potential accusation of fostering anti-English sympathy however I don’t think it should be incumbent on him to do so.
In a more general sense, as an Englishman living in Scotland, I don’t personally feel there is a particularly anti-English sentiment amongst nationalists. I have experienced anti-English ‘incidents’ in my years living in Scotland (and also witnessed the reverse in England) but I have always felt it is a very rare occurrence and don’t feel the independence movement has exacerbated it in any way. I think it would be a shame if this incident (which really was a small number of people) is used to evidence Anglophobia to a scale that really doesn’t exist in Scotland.
- First Minister’s choice not to condemn mob behaviour proves Farage point
I am far from the biggest fan of the First Minister although don’t hate him in the way some do. I probably had more respect for him 12 months ago but have not been impressed by him (or a number of other politicians on both sides of the independence argument) over the past year. However on this issue I agree with him not apologising to Farage. The only footage we have of the incident (at least that I have seen) does not paint as bad a picture as Farage is claiming. Yes it is fairly volatile but there was no physical violence and I didn’t hear anything that I would classify as anti-English racist abuse (and I am English).Farage is an obnoxious man and when you take a position at an extreme then it will prompt extreme behaviour from those opposed to those views. Freedom of speech does of course protect people (although not always any more) but that freedom of speech is afforded to both sides of an argument.
It is not the First Minister’s job to apologise for, or condemn, the actions of a fairly small group of people who haven’t actually broken any laws (as far as we know anyway).
However, in the interest of balance, what I would say is that I wager if Salmond was received like that in England by 20 odd people the reaction to it from a number of SNP supporters would be no different from the reaction of those demanding condemnation by Salmond. It is the hypocrisy of politics that we see all too often now.
- Argyll and Bute Council Coalition Cup 2013: runners and riders
Newsroom I think you got the Alliance guide slightly wrongSingle horse stable, easily confused with stubborn mule, supporting cast maintained in pens, run with blinkers, first horse to fit hooves in ears. Protected by stable hands unclear what their role is.
- Amazon given government grants
Isn’t there ones in Greenock and Dunfermline already?
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Interesting article in the Herald a couple of days ago –
I guess COSLA ain’t for agreeing with ARSN’s statement.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/news/education/new-blow-in-campaign-to-protect-rural-schools.17301243?_=9d480592bc6b0b50103cb3b505c0f3647f87c2e8
Have a nice evening
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About as surprising as your inability to comment on the actual story.
In their submission to the Rural Education Commission COSLA claim that rural schools only have a limited contribution to community life and that they are not aware of any evidence to support the claim that schools should be continued simply on the grounds of the role it places in the community. First and foremost this is a misrepresentation of the arguments and views expressed by parents and campaigners across Scotland. ARSN have no knowledge of any campaign which argues for school retention solely on the grounds of community impact, campaigns focus on all relevant factors with community impact being just one of them.
ARSN recognise that there is limited research on the impact of schools on community sustainability however disagree with COSLA’s claim that there is none. Two such studies, the ‘Outer Hebrides Migration Study’ and ‘Factors Influencing Rural Migration Decisions in Scotland: An Analysis of the Evidence’ should be well known to COSLA as they were erroneously referenced by Argyll & Bute Council as providing evidence that the existence of schools were not of significant importance to the sustainability of rural communities. The author of the Hebrides study wrote to ARSN and stated that ‘ Overall I feel that using this report as a basis for concluding that schools are less important in sustaining rural communities is wholly unjustified. The report clearly states that business, jobs and housing are the factors that will help to sustain local communities and that retaining primary school rolls is an explicit desirable outcome of doing so.’
Equally the researcher of the second study stated ‘“My research did not recommend the closure of rural primary schools. It highlighted the importance of rural schools in enhancing the social and economic sustainability of some areas.”
We would welcome more research into this area find it disturbing that COSLA are seeking to reduce the importance of this issue. COSLA have specifically asked the Commission to provide clarity on what is expected and proportional for authorities to evidence during their consideration of community impact and expressed a clear dissatisfaction that communities expect Councils to undertake unique research and reports into every closure proposal. Whilst ARSN recognise that some generic research may be applicable to all closure proposals it is quite clear that each community will have local issues that are specific to their community and their community only. We consider COSLA’s desire to minimize the requirement for community impact assessments of closure proposals as having questionable motive and contrary to the Commission’s remit.
COSLA’s letter also dismisses the impact of GAE, questions the ability of campaigners to understand the complexities of local government finance and appears to take offence that officer’s competence is questioned. This assumption that the public has neither the capacity nor experience to challenge is symptomatic of a culture that fails to recognise the abilities of the Scottish public and conveniently ignores the proven errors made by Council officers in a number of closure proposals. The Scottish Rural Schools Network has, on numerous occasions, highlighted fundamental errors in Council’s calculation of GAE with proposal papers having to be revised as a direct consequence.
COSLA further highlights their concern about delivery of the CfE in rural schools. This is an argument that has been repeated, practically verbatim, in numerous closure proposals despite a lack of evidence to support it. ARSN can highlight many examples of small rural schools delivering CfE and receiving ‘Excellent’ classifications in their HMIE/Education Scotland reports in this category. If individual councils are struggling to deliver CfE in a small school then they should identify the root cause of this rather than blaming it on school size. School size has been proven not to be a limiting factor and the Rural Education Commission confirmed this during its visit to Lochgilphead Joint Campus in March 2012. An analysis of the submissions to the Commission’s call for evidence highlights that teachers do not believe that school size is a limiting factor in the delivery of CfE despite council claims. That the opinion of practitioners appears to be being ignored by elected members is of great concern to ARSN and makes us sceptical about COSLA’s claim that ‘Councils want to do the best for Scotland’s children.
Just as COSLA are claiming small schools will struggle to deliver CfE it is also possible to construct a counter argument that small schools will be more effective in implementing CfE than larger schools. Mixed age classes are more common in rural primaries than in urban schools with studies demonstrating that mixed age learning tends to have a positive educational effect on pupils and that small class size has beneficial effects on group learning, largely through better discipline when there are fewer groups and also the ability of the teacher to give time to each group rather than having to police discipline.
Given that the rural education commission is still to complete its work it is strange that COSLA choose this particular time to issue this letter to the national media and we can only conclude that it has been done in an attempt to inappropriately influence the commission’s conclusions.
Or, in shorter terms, COSLA are talking twaddle!
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Yes Simon, we all saw and tell me did you notice the complete flippin lack of evidence COSLA supplied to back up their propaganda? mmmmmm?
Wonder what they think they have to gain by such a ridiculously baseless article, when the Commission is nearing a conclusion to it’s work. Unless of course, COSLA are pooping their pants that the Commission comes back with the results COSLA don’t want… mmmm?
My evening will be very pleasant thank you
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Could it be that post-election we may have a different COSLA-one that better represents the mood of the country?
The times they are a-changing?
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Given the recent COSLA report,the unrepentant stance of many Councillors currently in post, and bearing in mind the imminence of the Local Council Elections on May 3rd, it is perhaps timely to remind everyone that on 25th November 2010, and in the face of huge and vocal opposition, the following 19 Councillors voted to close 25 Primary Schools in Argyll and Bute:
• Rory Colville, Liberal Democrat
• Robin Currie, Liberal Democrat
• Vivien Dance, Independent
• Alison Hay, Liberal Democrat
• Daniel Kelly, Independent
• David Kinniburgh, Conservative
• Neil MacKay, Independent
• Bruce Marshall, Independent
• Donnie Macmillan, Independent
• Duncan McIntyre, Independent
• James McQueen, Independent
• Ellen Morton, Liberal Democrat
• Gary Mulvaney, Conservative
• Andrew Nisbett, Liberal Democrat
• William Petrie, Provost, Independent
• Al Reay, Liberal Democrat
• Elaine Robertson, Independent
• Len Scoullar, Independent
• Dick Walsh, Independent and Council Leader.
It might be prudent for voters to bear this record in mind in respect of those of the above who are offering themselves for re-election. Is the future of our children safe in their hands? The record suggests not, and the remedy is obvious. DON’T VOTE FOR THE NAUGHTY NINETEEN! Vote instead for candidates who have a CLEAR MANIFESTO COMMITMENT to keeping our schools open. This is our one chance to put things right once and for all. A new brush sweeps clean! GRRR
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What about Mary Devon??
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Mary Devon voted against on November 25th along with Cllr MacNaughton.
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oh and also George Freeman obviously.
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For reasons of skin saving, Cllr Devon has tried to fool the voters and will will rue the way she hung on, dilly dallying looking for the best way forward for herself, not for the communities.
Cllr Freeman good man to have a top job in new council.
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Well if we get a new Administration then it will a SNP led coalition meaning the leader will be an SNP councillor however George would be an excellent canidate to be deputy leader.
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Memory suggests that both Councillor Devon and Councillor McNaughton reverted to the group line on this issue after this single rebellion.
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That is important information ‘newsroom’ as voters need to know which candidates are prepared to stick to their guns, rather than toss and turn with the weather.
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thanks for putting up the list, I had just been going to trawl back through my info to find this!!
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Thanks Tyger I’ll certainly bear this voting record in mind. As will many others I’m sure.
You guys are going to be so ticked if these folks get returned.
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I’m quite sure some will Simon. As they say, excrement floats.
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I’m not interested in trying to impress anyone on here as sadly none of you can vote for me
I am 100 per cent behind that statement though. Communities need rural schools just as schools need communities. I’ve seen the after effects of a community school being demolished (in Edinburgh) and the effect on the local area was devastating.
God willing, our own battle to save Muirfield will end on May 3rd. I then hope Arbroath can move forward and also hope that Argyll doesnt have to suffer the same agony of school closure proposals as now.
Good luck A&B and please choose your votes wisely.
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which school in Edinburgh are you thinking of? And where can we read more on this?
Good luck with the election yourself. Our fingers are crossed for you
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Drumbrae Primary School. Very sad what happened to that community. It closed just a few months before the Schools Consultation Act came into force after a very vocal campaign by locals. I used to live just down the road from it in Edinburgh and when I visited the site last year I was shocked at how derelict it looked.
A community that had a strong connection because of the school devastated by the demolition squad.
Thanks for the good luck wishes!
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Just a quick update on this. Excellent response so far (from candidates across A&B) with still a week to go before we publish the list of candidates.
Things are being arranged with the media as well.
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Pingback: Argyll News: Candidate response to Argyll Rural Schools Network | For Argyll
We all know that money is tight just now and education does take a large slice of the local budget. Having said that, I think that any school closure has to be approached with great caution.
The closing a school not only affects the viability of the immediate community, but also has long term effects on surrounding areas and its infrastructure. In fact the closure could cause more problems than it solves.
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Not according to COSLA – they believe that there really isn’t much of a correlation between the closing of a school and impact on the surrounding area.
Of course they have no evidence to support this claim – but then again nor did Ally McLeod when he claimed Scotland would win the world cup and…. oh yeh.
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Oh dear! Just seen the list of councillors/candidates who have signed up for this.
Helmets on, popcorn at the ready, I have a feeling the fun is about to begin.
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There may be an occasional update to the list as responses come in so do check back prior to election day.
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Thanks Integrity will do. Must be honest I was genuinely surprised, I thought at least two or three of them would of had the political intellect to see the opportunity that was being offered, apparently not.
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The list at http://arsn.org/councillors-supporting-arsn-statement/ has been updated
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