Keep the heid: New bid to halt 'outrageous' plan to remove Fife primary headteacher posts

Fife Council is currently consulting on the controversial proposals in relation to schools in the Waid Academy cluster, and one iteration could see Waid and eight primary schools across the East Neuk and Largo all sit under one ‘super’ headteacher model.

Three separate leadership models are being looked at, although all three would see primary headteacher roles removed and more deputy headteacher and principal teaching posts put in their place.

Councillor Kathleen Leslie, Fife Conservatives’ education spokesperson, has now submitted a motion to the next education and children’s services sub committee on March 1 to challenge the approach and put a stop to it.

“This is absolutely outrageous,” she said.

“Whilst councillors were presented with a paper at September’s education committee that outlined the concept of shared leadership going forward, there was absolutely no suggestion of what parents across the East Neuk and Largo are now hearing about.

“Fife schools currently have 29 joint leadership models, that is one headteacher working across two schools.

“What we are now seeing proposed is something completely different.

“Seven or eight primary schools with one headteacher is just unacceptable.

“We need to think seriously about what this means in terms of the impact on attainment, local leadership and the safeguarding of young people.”

Ms Leslie believes the proposals have not been sufficiently worked through and questioned the timing of the changes.

She added: “Children and young people have had two years now of interrupted learning and now it seems the headteacher is to be ripped out from schools and communities.

“It seems this is just another example of centralisation, of which we have seen far too much of in Scotland.

“This proposal begins in the East Neuk but is that where it ends? Fife has many rural communities with smaller schools.

“Just look at the West Fife villages or the Howe of Fife and, whilst it may seem inconceivable at the moment, could we see schools across Kirkcaldy or Dunfermline lose their headteacher?

“That is not getting it right for every child.

The proposals would affect Waid Academy, Anstruther, Crail, Pittenweem, St Monans, Kirkton of Largo, Lundin Mill, Colinsburgh and Elie Primary Schools.

The local authority’s education service believes removing the teaching commitment of headteachers will provide an opportunity for full-time teachers to take responsibility for classes, reducing the need for job-share arrangements, and will also increase the number of “middle leaders” – deputy headteachers and principal teachers – within and across schools.

Angela Logue, head of Fife Council’s education and children’s services, said her department is meeting with local parent councils this month to listen to their views.

“Due to upcoming staff changes across the cluster, it makes sense to use this time of change to make improvements to the overall leadership and management and create better resilience for the future.

“We need to consider ‘moving away from the more traditional models of school leadership’ in order that we capitalise on the strengths in the system.

“Through a reworked learning system with collaboration and professional autonomy, we can improve education for all our children and young people.”

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