Press and Articles
In this section we have articles and stories relating to education and the Scottish Conservatives.
There is also a links section to News Stories relating to the Scottish Conservatives Education Policies and Conference as well.
Parents Petition Launched at Parliament
08/09/2009
The Parents' Petition is being officially launched at the Scottish Conservatives’ Education Conference today (8th September), calling for more choice for parents in education.
It follows the decision by South Lanarkshire Council to take parents to court to prevent them from sending their children to the schools of their choice. The Council lost every single case.
One parent, Neil McVey, who was the first of nearly 20 parents to win a case against South Lanarkshire Council, says:
"I was really annoyed South Lanarkshire Council took us to court even though their own legal department said they couldn't win. I call on as many people as possible to sign this petition to tell councils the length and breadth of Scotland that enough is enough. Parents deserve the choice of where to educate their kids."
Councillor Graham Simpson, who has campaigned hard with the parents in South Lanarkshire, says:
"Councils should not pick and choose the laws they like and don't like, especially when the SNP's class sizes policy isn't even backed up in legislation. This institutional arrogance cannot be allowed to occur anywhere else."
Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Minister for Schools, says:
"We cannot have a situation where councils pay out huge legal fees because they are being held to ransom by the Scottish Government's unworkable policy on class sizes. This policy has created numerous problems and an additional financial burden. Thousands of parents across Scotland quite properly want the right to choose the best education for their children and the fact that this can be denied by meaningless targets and bureaucratic chaos is completely unacceptable."
The Scottish Conservatives want taxpayers’ money to follow pupils.
08/09/2009
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Conservative Education Conference (8th September), Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Minister for Children, Schools & Skills, says:
“Educational standards will only improve if parents have a greater say about where their children are taught and if there is more incentive to change poorly performing schools into good schools.
“Since devolution, spending per pupil in Scotland has more than doubled yet educational achievement has remained static or got worse. That is not acceptable, nor is the fact that there has been a disproportionately harmful effect on some of the most disadvantaged pupils in the system. The Scottish Conservatives believe this situation has arisen because poorly performing schools have few or no incentives to reform.
“Today we are announcing a policy commitment which will allow parents to take their child out of a poorly performing school and place them in a school of their choice where standards are better. This would happen by the simple transfer of the taxpayers’ money spent on educating that child from one school to the other. In other words the revenue of the school will depend on that school’s ability to attract pupils.
“We are also proposing that a pupil premium is paid to those pupils most in need in our disadvantaged areas and to those with special educational needs. Every local community has a right to have good schools on its doorstep but this will only happen if there is far more incentive to provide good school places everywhere. Our children deserve no less.”
Raising the Standard of Education in Scotland
08/09/2009
The Scottish Conservatives will be hosting a major Education Conference today (8th September) to look at ways of tackling Scotland’s education crisis. Leading experts from Scotland, Sweden and England will be speaking at the event.
The day will be split into three main themes: 1) Raising the Standard of Choice. 2) Raising the Standard of Teaching and Testing. 3) Raising the Standard of Education.
Speaking ahead of the event, Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader, says:
“Education will undoubtedly be one of the major political battlegrounds in Scotland over the next two elections - Westminster and Scottish Parliament. Why? Because I don't think we are doing our best for Scotland's children and I think at last people are starting to realise that.
“There is compelling evidence to show that successive Scottish Governments have failed to give all pupils the best possible opportunities. How can it be that we have doubled spending on education during 10 years of Devolution but standards have remained static? What a wasted opportunity.
“But I also believe that rather than just highlighting what is wrong politicians have a duty to offer solutions. That is what today is all about. The Scottish Conservatives do have solutions - not all the solutions - but some and a few of them will be outlined today. But we also need to listen to experts and parents alike and that is why I am so delighted that we have such a strong programme of speakers for this Conference and a fantastic array of delegates.”