THE head teacher of Arrochar Primary has warned that pupil support staff are “essential workers” for the area’s schools.
Alison Palmer made the comment after a key Argyll and Bute Council committee discussed the potential impact of a ‘savings option’ in the authority’s 2021-22 budget proposals which would see 38 pupil support assistant posts scrapped.
The full list of options was discussed by the council’s policy and resources committee last week.
But at a meeting of the authority’s community services committee last Tuesday, Dunoon councillor Jim Anderson raised a question on how any such measure would impact on the authority’s draft education service plan.
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Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, the authority’s policy lead for education and a councillor for Cowal, remarked that the service plan was only a draft at this stage, and that the savings options did not necessarily mean cuts.
Councillor Anderson said: “I am really concerned about the pupil support assistant cuts.
“If they go through, then how will this affect the outcome on support and lifestyle needs of young people and their families?
“If these cuts are made, how do we achieve what we are looking for?”
Councillor McNeilly replied: “At the moment this is a draft education plan, and these are not cuts, they are savings options.”
Helensburgh Central councillor Lorna Douglas then queried the difference between “savings options” and cuts.
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Councillor McNeilly responded: “At the moment, what we have in front of us are savings options.
“If these are accepted when the budget is decided in February, it will lead to cuts in services to the public.
“This is something we do not want to make in education.”
Mrs Palmer told the committee: “They are specifically for early years and are for nursery up to primary three.
“For every pound you spend in early years for getting intervention, you save £12 later.
“They are essential workers.”
Councillor McNeilly replied: “These are really difficult times and we don’t want to be looking at any options, but this is where we are.
“We should be seriously investing in education, but that is a debate for another place.”
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