Parents worried about the size of classes at Aviemore school
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A last-minute drop in pupil numbers has forced Highland Council to reduce Aviemore Primary from 10 classes to nine, claim parents, leaving most classes at full capacity before the start the year.
“In some cases, this means that if a family moves to the village in the next term, the children will be transported daily to an alternative school,” says Carole Butler, of the school’s parent council.
“We have argued the case to retain 10 classes, but this has unfortunately fallen on deaf ears.”
Concern is growing over how the large class sizes might impact on children’s learning.
The authority is accused of “a complete lack of foresight” in the light of Aviemore’s growth.
“It is unclear how these class sizes will work alongside the expected Covid-19 requirements,” said Mrs Butler.
“We also have worries about the added pressure on teaching staff, especially given that teachers and PSA’s will be expected to help children catch up on the work they have missed in the last few turbulent months.”
The parents are urging a rethink from the authority.
“We are urging any parents who share our concerns by email to: backtoschool@highland.gov.uk”
Care and learning manager Fiona Shearer told the parents: “We have to allocate staff based on the primary staffing entitlements.
“As it stands, the overall number of children enrolled at Aviemore means that they are entitled to nine classes. I appreciate that this means that some will be full, however, this is not uncommon and it is the same in many other schools.
“The demographic of Aviemore as a tourist destination does indeed mean a fluctuating population, that can go up or down and the same can be said for school rolls. We can only staff our schools on the numbers we have confirmed and for the children who are enrolled. We ask head teachers to submit a staffing return at the start of the new session, in case of any changes.
“This means we can finalise classes based on the most up to date information.
“Please be assured that the main focus of our staff is the health and wellbeing of our children.”
Ms Shearer told the Strathy: "The school roll is six children short of the next banding for 10 teachers. They are entitled to nine classes and they are able to configure it so that it fits in within given class sizes.
"They had 10 classes last year, but the roll has gone down. We review staffing allocations each year and it does go up or down, depending on the roll.
"A tenth teacher would be an additionality and we don’t have resource for that. Plenty other schools are in the same position. Last year we had several schools who had to reconfigure classes on return in August, following on from an updated staff return the first week back.
"This was a direct instruction from CEO that we had to set the classes in August for the session.
"Previously, we would get the updated staff return in September, meaning that classes could be changed in to September/October, which was more unsettling later on in the term.
"We haven’t seen a ‘last minute drop’ in numbers, the staffing spreadsheet was sent in by the HT in March, some children have moved on since then, but it has been reviewed and the most up to date numbers are below:
"P1 - 25; P2 – 24; P2/3 – 25 (17/8); P3 - 30; P3/4 – 25 (9/16); P4/5 – 25 (14/11); P5 – 33; P6 – 26; P7 – 33. A total of 246."
