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| azzuri |
SNP airs plans for specialist schools...see - http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/59594.htmlSNP airs plans for specialist schools... All Scottish secondary schools would have to choose a specialism such as music, sport, science or languages, under plans being published today by the SNP. The Scottish National Party is launching an outline of the policy ideas it wants to take into next year's Holyrood election, to generate further ideas and response from voters. The ideas in the "pre-manifesto manifesto" will cover the full range of Holyrood powers, including some being debated at this weekend's SNP spring conference in Dundee. Although uncosted, the schools strategy looks expensive, at a time when the parties will be campaigning to gain control of a Holyrood budget that is expected to be much tighter in the next parliament. The party sets out to tackle three strands of new policy, including a major extension of childcare and pre-school provision. Under an SNP government, the proposals are for a 50% increase in the weekly hours spent in nursery education, with an assurance that all pre-school centres would have a professional nursery teacher. The second strand targets better child health, with a compulsory two hours of physical education each week, a pilot of free meals in the first three years of primary, a school-based dental service, and an increase in school nurses, particularly in deprived areas. The SNP is also adopting the language of excellence and specialisation in education, which risks being seen to depart from the comprehensive ideal. The idea of each school choosing a specialism is close to the first raft of secondary school reforms for England. The SNP is not, however, expected to follow Tony Blair further down that path towards schools becoming independent of local authority control and able to choose some pupils. The third strand of the schools policy would put science, modern languages and technology "at the heart of the modern Scottish curriculum". The party also wants to use the falling number of school pupils to drive down class sizes, putting emphasis on early primary years. I'm in favour of all of the above changes.....bar the 'specialist' schools one. I don't see how this could benefit anyone apart from those who are extremely interested in said special topics. This could lead to kids going to secondary schools in different towns or the opposite side of the city they live in. Focusing on kids' health and free meals for primary school kids will be a winner though. |
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| Rinty |
eThe SSP should now be able to get full and total support from the SNP for Frances Currans Free School Meals Bill which calls for free school meals in all state primary schools. |
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| azzuri |
.....lets bloody well hope so, but given the SNP's record of supporting SSP bills I wouldn't yet count your chickens. | ||||
| fof |
The second strand targets better child health, with a compulsory two hours of physical education each week, a pilot of free meals in the first three years of primary, a school-based dental service, and an increase in school nurses, particularly in deprived areas.
We had P.E. every week four periods if I remember correctly. Free meals to all those under a certain income. We also had the school nurse, and school dentist. The dentist was always a butcher no anaesthetic for fillings 
Last two periods were for special subjects any thing you were interested in they tried to fit in for you, only thing was if you were good at sport you did not get to pick what you wanted to do, you were told you were doing football, netball, basketball or what ever you were good at as you would be representing the school. I also heard in the budget that they would be setting up sport that schools would compete in. Well when I was at school if you won on sports day you then went on to represent your school against all the other schools in the city. So nothing new in this idea, I don't know when this stopped ? It looks like M.P.'s just bring back what they did at school and make people think it was their idea 
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| Katie1984 |
Free school meals for EVERYONE would be a waste of money - they shoud target them to those who really need them.
I remember Irving laidlaw wanted to find specialist schools in Scotland but the Labour loony left wouldn't vote for it - I suppose this is the next best thing. |
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| SLG |
No it wouldn't. By the time you take into account the admin costs of running a means-tested scheme, it becomes just as cheap to make them free for all. Take up of the free meals will also be much higher when it is universal as kids do not feel ashamed to be seen to accept the 'charity'.
I vaguely remember that. What was his school going to specialise in? |
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| azzuri |
Very good point. Also, as the raw materials to make the meals would be bought more regularly and in higher quantities meaning they can be obtained at a much lower price. As well as lower labour costs, it will make the scheme more cost effective per pupil i.e. 50p per pupil per day rather than 1.50p per pupil per day. No point them doing this for 30 kids in a school |
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| parkhead_rfb |
the specialist schools idea is crazy and really serves no great purpose other than for the few that will happen to find themselves in a school where they have a high aptitude for a subject as the schools specialism.
As for school meals first of all i am more concerned about the farming out of contracts to private companies who then produce unhealthy food as its a whole lot easier for them to do so and it makes them more profit. Reports have shown that not only isthe poor standard of food served in schools adding to our wide range of health problems in Scotland but also that poor diet can contribute to misbehaviour in classes. I also fail to see the point in just having free school meals for the first three years of primary, if your going to do it and make it effective it has to be across the board but then it must suddenly have become electorally popular to support school meals as i think i am right in saying that the SNP have previously failed to support the issue when the ssp have brought it up. |
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| SLG |
In 2003 in the Scotsman:
"The SSP was supported in part by the SNP which called for an expansion of free school meals, without making it universal. However it was opposed by the three other main parties which united to see off the Green and Socialist threat. " However, AFAIK now the SNP supports free school meals across the board. |
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| Abieuan |
parkhead_rfb wrote:
That is the way things are going, parkhead, Headmasters will have controll over the budgets for meals and will go for the cheapest options. The private companies will source the cheapest ingredients, possibly European imports rather than Scottish produce. I understand that Meals At Home for the elderly (meals on wheels) in East Ayrshire are no longer produced by school kitchens. They are now supplied in frozen form by private companies and those who did not have a microwaves have been given one. I don't know what country these frozen meals are produced in. Other councils are going to go this way. School kitchens may become a thing of the past. |
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