Falkirk Council: Special meeting over plans to cut school week

But there is no guarantee that the controversial topic will be discussed and the meeting on Tuesday could open and close without hearing the motion Councillor Laura Murtagh hopes to put forward.

In February, Falkirk councillors agreed that a consultation could begin on the council’s plans for what they are calling an ‘asymmetric week’, which would mean pupils finishing school at lunchtime every Friday.

This would reduce the school week for pupils from 25 hours per week to 22.5 hours per week in primaries and from 26.6 hours per week to 24.75 in secondaries.

According to the council’s standing orders, a decision cannot be revisited within six months unless two-thirds of councillors agree.

But Independent councillor Laura Murtagh strongly believes the plans should be discussed by members of the education, children and young people executive (ECYP) before any consultation begins.

However, as the start of the consultation has already been agreed by members, Councillor Murtagh has had to requisition a special council meeting in an attempt to win support.

In her motion – which will be the only item of business – she says that the proposals should be outlined in full in a paper to be brought to the next meeting of ECYP executive, and that no public consultation should proceed until the outcome of that meeting is known.

Her motion adds: ‘Council recognises the significance of this proposal to families across Falkirk and acknowledges the concerns related by many parent councils in their communication with councillors.

‘Council therefore commits to a full and transparent development of this proposal in bringing this matter before councillors for discussion prior to a full and thorough public consultation.

‘Council confirms that no decisions will be made on any proposal to change the composition of the school week until the results of the consultation have been fully analysed and reported back to councillors for further discussion.’

The SNP administration has 11 members of the 30 councillors in Falkirk, so without their support there is no guarantee that the motion will be heard.

But Ms Murtagh – who was formerly the SNP’s spokesperson for education – hopes that members of all parties, as well as fellow Independents, will agree that such a contentious topic should be discussed openly and transparently.

She said: “All that is being asked for is that the detail of any proposal to make changes to the school week comes before ECYP committee first. That way proposals can be fully outlined, clearly understood and properly scrutinised before going out to consultation.

“During my time as a councillor, my recollection is that the council has generally followed a process of agreeing significant consultations prior to them going ahead. It seems logical and entirely reasonable to ask that we do so in this case.

“Given the potential impact of any change to school hours for children and families, ensuring that this proposal is progressed in a detailed and transparent manner is really important.

“I very much hope that councillors will agree unanimously to hear and agree the motion.”

The chair people of several parent councils throughout Falkirk are backing the councillor’s call for more discussion and are asking their members to email councillors in the hope they will agree that the discussion should take place.

The parent councils have said there must be more detail about how exactly the reduced week will work, in particular for Early Learning Centres and stand-alone Additional Support Need sites.

Falkirk Council has warned education staff that changes must be made if they are to address a chronic budget shortfall of £60 million over five years.

The council had intended to make the change as part of this year’s budget. However, it was warned in a letter from the Education Minister in Holyrood that any reduction in teaching time would not be acceptable and the proposals were withdrawn.

Falkirk Council has pledged that any consultation will give full information to parent councils and there will be engagement with all relevant stakeholders, supported by an online survey.

The special meeting, requisitioned by Ms Murtagh, will take place on Tuesday, April 23 at 3 pm. It will be held remotely and will be livestreamed on Falkirk Council’s YouTube channel.