The Kingdom’s branch of the largest education trade union in Scotland is asking councillors to take a number of issues into account when they are considering this year’s budget
They claimed: “A culture of violence and aggression has developed and is increasing dramatically in our schools. Fife Council’s own figures for violent and aggressive incidents are still increasing.”
“There is a mental health crisis among young people and staff; pupil attendance has reached a record low and staff absences have increased. The number of learners with additional support needs has more than tripled. Yet additional support for these needs has not kept pace with demand.”
Violence in schools has been a long-standing issue, back in October 2022, teenager Kaylynn Donald was brutally attacked on her way home from a Fife School.
Kaylynn went on to meet with First Minister, John Swinney at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh last summer to ask Mr Swinney what is being done to tackle violence in schools.
In September, council finance officers estimated that the region could be looking at a £17m budget gap for 2025/26, and that could rise to £46m by 2027/28.
Fife EIS has also claimed that the council has been “preparing cuts” to plug that projected budget gap. However, the council has not released any indication of these potential cuts, and potential budget details have yet to be seen by the public.
Executive director for education, Donald MacLeod, said: “We’re still working through the details of the Scottish Government’s budget proposals and what they mean for Fife, though it’s already clear that we face significant financial pressures.”
“In Fife, and in councils across Scotland, the education service faces a number of challenges including increasing numbers of pupils with additional support needs and a recruitment challenge for a small number of secondary subjects.”
He continued: “As part of our budget-setting process, we’ll have discussions with trade unions and others at the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers (LNCT), which meets this week. In the coming weeks, further discussions will take place with trade unions as we identify and examine options for the challenges we face.”
According to Fife EIS, the Kingdom already has the third lowest education spend per child in Scotland, and they claim that high inflation rates have already caused education budgets to suffer many “real terms cuts”.
Fife EIS adds that “investing in education is not just an extra expense: it is an investment in our children, young people and their future health and happiness.”
“An investment in education will repay itself many times over.
“We are asking that all political parties represented on the Fife Council attend. We are also writing to parent councils of each school in Fife to seek their attendance.”
The meeting will be at 7pm on January 16, in the Rothes Halls. Members of the public can attend both in person and online.
More information about the meeting and the link to attend online can be found on their website.