Community schools 'don't have enough backing to work'

PARENTS and teachers do not yet have the level of commitment needed to make a radical plan for community schools take root in Scotland, the council leader involved in the proposal has admitted.

Dave Berry said there were still huge questions to answer over East Lothian's suggestion that councils could hand control for schools to community management boards.

The idea has been given broad support from education minister Mike Russell and pushed enthusiastically by East Lothian's director of education, Don Ledingham.

However, Mr Berry – who has announced he is stepping down as council leader but will remain on the education committee – said: "I have been to a number of meetings at schools and though they might not be representative, there is not yet the level of commitment necessary to move forward."

Mr Berry, who has led the SNP-Lib Dem coalition in East Lothian for three years, said that there were still large numbers of questions to answer and that a pilot scheme would start in August 2011 "at the earliest".

Asked whether he thought the proposal would get off the ground, he said: "I think there is a probability that it is over 50 per cent, but nowhere near 100 per cent.

"Without enthusiasm from communities, there is not a lot of point. It's not going to get rolled out from the centre unless communities are keen – and you can't just stick a 'community' label on it – it has to be owned by the community."

Mr Berry spoke at a conference on community-based schools last month, where a wide range of interested parties including teachers, parents, councillors, unions and local authorities discussed the proposal.

The move would see management boards set up for a cluster of schools, typically to include a high school and its feeder primaries. The board would include "young people, education representatives, parent representatives, councillors, community representatives with specialist expertise (eg, finance) and representatives from health, community learning, social work and local businesses".

In a detailed report, Mr Ledingham said there were more than 60 questions that had to be addressed, including fundamental issues about who pays the teachers and their conditions of employment.

Mr Russell spoke at the conference on "Providing Space for Innovations" and has said the government supports councils giving greater flexibility and control to schools. His attitude was at odds with his predecessor Fiona Hyslop, who had been at best lukewarm to the proposal.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, who has criticised the proposals, seized on Mr Berry's comments as evidence that "the SNP are drifting without direction".