Classroom evacuations are ‘frequent occurrence’ at Aviemore Primary School
Classroom evacuations are a frequent occurrence at the strath’s largest primary school, concerned parents in Aviemore have told the Strathy.
It follows an incident at the village’s primary school on November 26 involving a pupil and a knife.
The children were quickly locked down in the hall by staff and no-one was hurt.
Parents Mike Dearman and Andy Norrie are speaking out as they say the situation and disruption at the 214 pupils school is now so bad.
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Staff are facing violence on a regular basis with biting commonplace, they said.
One ex-staff member told them their job was ‘basically to follow one child all day long and try to stop him or her from harming another pupil or wrecking the place’.
Mr Dearman, whose daughter Megan (11) attends the school, said he had ‘no doubts’ the lockdown last week was well-handled by staff.
He said: “Whilst the knife might be a new factor, lockdowns are a very frequent occurrence and a direct result of Highland Council funding cuts and policy.
“Our primary schools - and Aviemore in particular - are in crisis because of the failure of the local authority and the Scottish Government to resource them adequately.
“Anyone who talks to staff off the record understands they are at breaking point but because they are gagged by the council this is perhaps not widely understood in the community.
“Repeated cuts have left the schools understaffed and the remaining teachers and support staff are left to pick up the pieces whilst the number of children with additional support needs (ASN) increases year on year.
“This is highly disruptive for all children, not just those with additional needs.”
Mr Dearman pointed out in the latest Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels league table the Aviemore school is ranked 65 out of 73 schools in the Highlands.
“Over the last five years Aviemore has consistently performed well below the Highlands average which is itself consistently below the Scottish average performance,” he said.
“This is not down to the staff on the ground who I have huge admiration for doing a difficult job, it is a consequence of the decisions our elected officials are making.
“Both local and national politicians tell us that they are committed to education. This is demonstrably untrue in our schools’ performances and even more clearly in the consistent cuts to education budgets which are unsustainable.”
Mr Norrie’s son Benji (10) has additional learning needs but has seen support during his time at the school cut in hours to the point where it is now zero.
“Highland Council’s policy in practice is to continuously cut spending for education and for those with ASN in particular year on year as fast as they can without creating a public row,” he said.
“On a couple of occasions groups have protested and strikes have been threatened so they roll back a bit but the next year they have continued to cut again.
“This primarily hits teachers and kids with special needs - small groups - but then starts spreading out to other children.
“For example my son needs support with general education - with that he maybe gets 80 per cent (of teaching) but without it he gets 20 per cent and will then start wandering around the class disrupting classmates.”
He continued: “I have been informed that the only (ASN) resources the school now has is for one to one critical level care.”
Mr Norrie said there are a number of children in his son’s class that also need support but get no additional help either.
Both parents have said classes are ‘regularly evacuated’ and few staff have training in applying proper restraints so often are unable to intervene in bust-ups.
Pupils are moved out of their classroom when a child has gone ‘beyond trouble-making’ whilst attempts are made to calm down the remaining youngster.
Mr Dearman said: “Incidents can be physical or it can be verbal but in these cases it is no longer possible to have a class.”
School’s parent council committee deeply concerned
Kenny Rogan, chair of the school’s parent council committee, praised the staff for their hard work and diligence in difficult circumstances.
He commented: “Our understanding is that their work is made more challenging by the lack of support they receive in caring for those with additional needs.
“There are large classes which include several children with various additional needs and often one teacher trying to manage and teach them all.
“We understand the council faces significant funding issues at every level but scrimping on education will hurt the Highlands in the long run.
“We are deeply concerned the region is so far behind the national average in educational standards, and we call on them to make closing this gap their top priority.
“This will clearly require a significant increase in the number and training of pupil support assistants.
“This role is vital to school performance and the council needs to recognise it.”
Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes has have written to Highland Council education chiefs because of parents’ growing concerns and is awaiting a ‘substantive response’.
“I am grateful to hardworking staff, and it is essential that resources are appropriately allocated so that every child can succeed to the best of their ability,” she said.
What is Highland Council saying?
Highland Council said education officials are working closely with the school but did not respond to concerns over funding for ASN pupils.
A spokeswoman said: “Our staff proactively reinforce safety messages to all pupils and parents, and they are asked to report any concerns they may have.
“This proactive approach helps to ensure that incidents are dealt with quickly for everyone’s safety.”
“Following on from the incident which occurred in the school last week (council education) officers are continuing to link closely with the school to ensure support for all staff and pupils there.
“The school currently has an allocation of 2.2fte (full-time equivalent) of ASN teachers, one of which is a principal teacher for ASN and 286 hours of PSA (pupil support assistant) time.”
