Dumfries MSP Elaine Murray has condemned the SNP Government for breaking yet another education pledge. SNP Ministers have admitted they have abandoned their manifesto commitment to increase the provision of free nursery education for 3 and 4 year olds.

The SNP promised in their manifesto: “We will increase the provision of free nursery education for three and four year olds by 50%, with families benefiting from longer hours of free provision.” Minister for Children and Early Years Adam Ingram has admitted in a letter to a Labour MSP that this promise has now been thrown out.

Elaine Murray MSP said: “The SNP’s education policies are a complete shambles. The embarrassing abandonment earlier this month of key education promises made at the last election is made all the worse by the fact they have left Dumfries and Galloway Council to pick up the pieces.

“Proposals to improve nursery provision for Scotland’s youngsters are now in complete disarray. Not only is it unlikely there will be any changes to allow more three year olds the chance to start nursery education earlier, the plan to increase the number of free hours could also be scrapped. Their admission that yet another manifesto commitment has gone out the window will be extremely disappointing to parents, but unfortunately not wholly unexpected given the SNP’s record.

“The SNP asked people to vote for them based on a series of false promises they never had any chance of keeping. Their determination to now save their skin and attempt to deliver on a fifth of their class size pledge at all costs means they are demanding our council abandons everything else. This is a reckless way to treat our children’s future.”

Labour’s Education Spokesman, Councillor Jeff Leaver, added: “The SNP’s blasé attitude to the promises they made to our children is contemptible. Now that the truth has been exposed they’re telling Dumfries and Galloway Council to dump existing plans without giving us any detail on what to put in their place. We’re in limbo waiting for the SNP to tell us what it expects us to do. This chaos is unforgivable when the Council is trying to set it’s budget.”“

ENDS

CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE 07769206856

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. In a letter to Labour’s David Whitton MSP, the Minister for Children and Early Years Adam Ingram admitted that plans to expand nursery provision have been shelved as part of a deal struck with local authorities to try and cut class sizes.

In his letter to Mr Whitton he said:

“Our thinking on further expansion of pre-school education has become entwined in wider discussions with COSLA on commitments included in the Concordat, particularly around class sizes in P1-P3. The Scottish Government has offered a package to local government in which we seek firm and quantified guarantees on primary class sizes and, in exchange for agreement on this, we have signalled a willingness to take a more flexible approach to our other commitments in the Concordat, including the expansion of pre-school education. While we would still encourage local authorities to work towards expansion of 570 hours per annum, we will allow more flexibility and will not legislate to impose new duties on councils to deliver further expansion.”

2. The SNP have altered the concordat agreement between the Government and COSLA to expect councils in Scotland to increase to 20% the number of P1-P3 children in classes of under 18. This represents the abandonment of the original manifesto commitment to ensure all P1-P3 children are in classes of under 18.

In order to make progress toward this 20% goal Councils are allowed to be more flexible in their progress toward other commitments, which, as admitted by Adam Ingram, includes the SNP’s election promise to increase the provision of free nursery places for 3 and 4 year olds.

The letter from COSLA to local authorities is reproduced below:

From the President Councillor Pat Watters

Dear Colleague,

Concordat Commitment on Class Sizes

As you will be aware, there has been considerable press and Parliamentary interest in progress regarding the Concordat commitment to reduce class sizes. This commitment was made in the spirit of the new relationship established by the Concordat and both COSLA’s Leaders and the new Cabinet Secretary for Education are determined that the strength of that new relationship is demonstrated by the way in which we deal with this difficult issue.

The Government wish to see a considerable increase in the number of children in primaries 1,2 and 3 educated in class sizes of 18 or lower. While this is an existing Concordat commitment, what has changed is that for the first time the Cabinet Secretary has been explicit about progress and would like to see a further 11,000 children across Scotland as a whole in classes of this size increasing the percentage of children in this situation to some 20 per cent. This represents a further 7 per cent on the current position.

It is recognised that the Concordat was developed and agreed in one set of financial circumstances but is being delivered in much more difficult financial times. COSLA’s Group Leaders are prepared to put the Cabinet Secretaries’ proposals to Councils but have been clear that to even consider delivering a greater priority and more explicit target in relation to class sizes, Councils will need greater flexibility in other areas. In order to recognise this and to indicate the priority that is attached to the policy of class size reduction the Cabinet Secretary is prepared to offer this flexibility around about other Concordat commitments in order to allow Councils the maximum opportunity to contribute to the achievement of this clearer aspiration regarding class size reduction.

In return for Councils agreement to a specific and enhanced commitment to reduce class sizes in line with the aspiration outlined above, the Scottish Government proposes that :

o The commitment to the expansion of free school meals will be that “ Councils will provide a nutritious free meal to all children in primaries P1-P3 in those schools that are in the 20 per cent most deprived communities in a Council area”. Councils might wish to consider an alternative targeting scheme of equal extent.

A nutritious free meal can be breakfast, brunch or lunch and will need to meet relevant nutritional standards. In schools that provide a free breakfast or brunch children who are entitled to a free lunch on the basis of the benefits received by their family will still be entitled to that lunch.

o For the purpose of this class size commitment the Scottish Government accepts that “ a group of children with more than one teacher assigned to it will be treated as more than one class. Specifically, if 2 teachers are assigned to a class of not more than 36 pupils that counts as 2 classes of not more than 18”.

o Councils will provide free pre-school education to all children from their third birthday from August 2010 and affirm their commitment to the jointly devised Early Years framework, but there will be no legislation or regulation to require local authorities to expand pre-school provision from 475 hours to 570 hours from August 2010.

o Overall, local government’s progress so far on delivering kinship care payments will be recognised as making a major and satisfactory contribution to the Concordat Commitment.

o Councils will continue to make progress on class sizes beyond 2010 in line with the current wording of the Concordat.

COSLA’s Group Leaders insisted that all Councils should be involved individually in this issue in an appropriate way. To achieve this, it was agreed that this letter should go to Leaders and Chief Executives explaining the more specific class size reduction aspiration of the new Cabinet Secretary, and the flexibilities that Government were prepared to offer in order to make the achievement of this aspiration as likely as possible.

Councils are therefore being asked to

note the Government’s newly clarified aspiration;

to note the package of flexibility that has been negotiated; and

in the light of that to indicate to us how many additional children within their Council area they could educate in class sizes of 18 or less in primaries 1,2, and 3 from August 2010.

Councils should note that the additional flexibilities will only be available if on a Scotland wide basis the Government’s aspiration for an additional 11,000 children to be in class sizes of 18 or less is met. Councils should also be aware that Ministers will want to clearly monitor, what action is being taken by individual authorities to achieve the 11, 000 increase.

We would like responses as soon as possible, but by middle of next week (Week beginning 14 December).

Yours sincerely,

Councillor Isabel Hutton Councillor Pat Watters, CBE

COSLA Spokesperson

President