The City of Edinburgh Council has put forward 2 options to grow Gaelic Medium Education in Edinburgh.  On the face of it, both will grow the current GME facility.

The 1st option is to move the Gaelic Medium Unit from Tollcross Primary School into the old Bonnington Primary School effectively creating a dedicated Gaelic Primary School.  The 2nd option is to extend the current Unit at Tollcross leaving 2 schools sitting together under the one Head Teacher.

The 1st option is a long term solution offering 14 classrooms and a nursery that can care for 40 children.  It is supported by the majority of the children in GME, their Parents, the major Gaelic Bodies in Scotland, international examples of best practice in the preservation of minority languages and the Scottish Government.

The 2nd option will provide 4 extra classrooms and extend the current communal areas to accommodate the extra children.  It is not supported by any of the above, would cost almost 3/4 of the 1st option, will only support the development of the language in the short term (4 -5 years on current figures), will mean the loss of a large section of the infants’ playground and mean the children will have to cope with learning amid major building work over the next couple of years.  It also means that Tollcross effectively becomes a Gaelic Primary School with an English Medium Unit.

At present, parents living in and around the Tollcross catchment do not tend to send their children to their local school, they choose Sciennes, Bruntsfield or Gillespies.  Tollcross’ English Unit is made up of almost 70% out of catchment children.  So, would the removal of the Gaelic Unit put the entire school under threat of closure?  This is the major concern of the parents with children in the English side of the school.

Although the 2011 census report will not be analysed in time for this consultation, current trends on birth rate and primary school needs indicate that inner city schools are full to bursting and this is only going to get worse – moving the Gaelic side of Tollcross to Bonnington would help ease the pressure on school placements and with the glowing HMIE Report on Tollcross that was released last autumn, hopefully local parents will make the decision to support their local school once again.

Parents from the English side of the school have already voiced concern that the reason local parents do not choose Tollcross is down to the fact they believe it already is a Gaelic School.  Mixed messages, unclear direction and an outcome that nobody is particularly happy with – that is the current situation, CEC you have been given a clear direction by all interested parties, it is now in your hands.

If you support the formation of a dedicated Gaelic Primary School in Edinburgh, please email primarygaelic@edinburgh.gov.uk before the 21st March with a short email stating why.

The Council’s formal consultation on the future of primary-level GME was launched last week and will close on 21 March.

Please read through the consultation paper, details of which can be found by clicking this link on the Council website.

Written responses to the consultation should be emailed to: primarygaelic@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Important dates for your diary:
Comann nam Pàrant meeting

• 7.30pm, Wednesday 9 February
• 137 Dundee Street, above Fountainbridge Library

We will be discussing the contents of the consultation paper. Please come along, as this is your opportunity to find out more and give your input to CnamP’s response.

Consultation public meeting

• 7-9pm, Monday 28 February
• St Thomas of Aquin’s RC High School

This meeting is run as part of the consultation process to allow all interested parties to ask questions and raise issues about the consultation. It is important that we have a good attendance to ensure the views of GME parents are heard.

Key points in the consultation paper:

This consultation relates to nursery and primary GME only. Secondary is being considered separately. There are 2 options to consider:

Option (1) – Establish a dedicated primary school with nursery facilities at the former Bonnington Primary School premises, and the withdrawal of the current GME unit at Tollcross Primary School; or

Option (2) – Increase GME capacity on the Tollcross Primary School site by extending the building and relocating the nursery to a new, larger facility in the grounds of the existing school.

However, CEC reserves the right to do neither of these and maintain the status quo. The implications of this third option are not discussed in the paper.

If you have any questions please email consultation@gaelic-education.org

Primary One Enrolment

Enrolment for Primary 1 places 2011 takes place this week at Tollcross at the following times:

Monday 15 November 1.15pm – 2.15pm
Tuesday 16 November 9.15am – 10.15am

You will need your child’s birth certificate and proof of your address.

These enrolment times are for catchment places – the catchment area for the Gaelic unit is Edinburgh and Lothians.

Please pass on this information so we can make sure that all our pre-school children are enrolled for Primary One.

A national conference developed by Holyrood magazine examining the future sustainability of Gaelic Medium Education will take place in Edinburgh on 17 November 2010.
Highlights of the day will include Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Mike Russell MSP delivering a keynote presentation on the Scottish Government’s vision for Gaelic Medium Education and the launch of a much anticipated report on attainment and choice in Gaelic Medium Education. Fiona O’Hanlon, Dr. Wilson McLeod and Professor Lindsay Paterson of the University of Edinburgh who conducted the Bòrd na Gàidhlig-funded research will be on hand to answer attendees’ questions on their research findings.
If you would like further details or to confirm your place, please visit holyrood.com/gaelic

What a week it’s been for Gaelic Medium Education.  First came a front page article in the Herald & Post discussing the recent HM Inspectorate of Education Report on Tollcross Primary School and then yesterday, an article in the Evening News highlighted the demand from Edinburgh parents for GME, the commitment of the Scottish Government to the language along with the benefits of bilingualism.

In the HMIE Report, Tollcross Primary School was awarded top marks.  The progress of children learning through the medium of Gaelic was highlighted along with the fact that they reach attainment levels in core subjects at an earlier stage than average.

The article in the Evening News expanded on this success by pointing out the popularity of Gaelic Medium Education with Edinburgh parents, the commitment to saving this part of Scotland’s heritage by the Scottish Government and the international recognition awarded to the benefits that bilingualism offers children.

There are critics who argue against investing money in the Gaelic Language, but the facts are beginning to speak for themselves.  Children who grow up speaking two languages benefit in a number of ways academically so it’s no wonder a growing number of parents want to involve their children at the earliest age: Gaelic Medium Education starts at age 3 where children are immersed for 2 and a half hours each afternoon in the language.

A victim of its own success, the Gaelic Medium Unit at Tollcross is now creaking at the seams.  Glasgow has set the standard and proven that a dedicated school is the model to develop rather than a second Gaelic Medium Unit within the city.  The City of Edinburgh Council are to be commended for their exemplary leadership in this educational success along with the Scottish Government who have stood by their commitment to the language.  It is interesting times indeed for this language and for the next generation who are reaping the benefits of this education linguistically, culturally and academically.

The City of Edinburgh Council has unveiled its proposals for Gaelic Education in Edinburgh today, which can be read here http://cpol.edinburgh.gov.uk/getdoc_ext.asp?DocId=141008

It is important that parents of children attending the current Gaelic Unit at Tollcross Primary School and parents with children in Croileagan as well as those thinking of placing their child in Gaelic Medium Education in Edinburgh read these proposals and respond to them just now as the Council has to take community views into consideration.

Do you think these framework the best way to develop Gaelic Medium Education in Edinburgh if yes tell us how and no let us know why you disagree with them.

You can also vote in the Evening News’ Poll today on GME -

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=80582

Keep up to date with all the latest happenings through our monthly newsletters.  The first 2 are now available from links in the side bar of the blog.

If you are not receiving email updates about Comann nam Parant or issues that affect your children whilst attending the Gaelic Medium Unit at Tollcross Primary School, send us an email with your name, your child’s name and the class they are in.  You’ll be added to the parent database.

In June 2008, Edinburgh City Council was notified by Bòrd na Gàidhlig (the principal public body promoting and developing Gaelic) of its statutory requirements to produce a Gaelic Language Plan. The Council then produced a draft Plan which was launched to an audience of more than 100 people on 10 November 2009. The public consultation ran from November to January 2010.

In total 349 responses to the consultation were received which is an excellent response. A big thank you again to all parents/families and friends who responded. We wait with interest to see if the Council takes our views on board. The timetable now is as follows:

• 18 May – Children and Families Education Committee – Review of Options
• 8 June – Policy and Strategy Committee
• 11 June – Submission to Bòrd na Gàidhlig – if amendments approved

We are pleased to see a number of people involved in discussing the issues with the Council. Arthur Cormack, Chair of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, has met with Jenny Dawe, Leader of Edinburgh City Council. A representative from The Scottish Government was also present at that meeting. The discussion was very much focused on the development of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh. A letter was written to Jenny Dawe following the meeting.

Arthur Cormack has also met with Alex Wallace, Headteacher at James Gillespies High School, regarding the development of Gaelic language subjects at secondary level. A letter was written to Alex Wallace following the meeting.

You can read both letters here:
letter from Arthur Cormack to Jenny Dawe
letter from Arthur Cormack to Alex Wallace

Interesting view from Arthur Cormack Bòrd na Gàidhlig Chair in the latest issue of Holyrood Magazine:

Where he recognises that there is sufficient demand to open new schools in Edinburgh, Barra and Stornoway, he is also hopeful that Edinburgh will deliver more for Gaelic Medium Education stating that too often these developments come as the result of the huge effort and organisation of parents. Cormack wants to see a legal right to Gaelic Medium Education for any parent who wishes it for their child stating:

“In some cases local authorities have actually asked the parents to almost write the business case and the sustainability and everything else for the school and really, that’s the local authority’s job. A lot of pressure is put on parents at the moment if they want Gaelic education, for them to come up with the plan that shows that the whole thing is sustainable. So I think a legal right would put the onus back on the local authority.”

But in these straitened financial times, can councils really be expected to invest in Gaelic education? Well, after the initial set-up costs and teacher training, Gaelic education becomes mainstream activity and sustainable and in any case, given the value of the language to Scotland’s culture, education and economy, the question for Cormack and our Councils/Parliament is not how can we afford to invest in Gaelic education but how can we afford not to?