Latest news with #HighlandCouncil
STV News
4 hours ago
- Health
- STV News
Parents fear for children's safety at ASN school lacking medical staff
Parents say the absence of medical staff at a school for pupils with special needs has left them fearing for the safety of their children. They are also concerned that Drummond School in Inverness is oversubscribed, while teacher numbers have fallen, and are calling on Highland Council to intervene and invest urgently. The parents say they have nothing but praise for the teachers, but claim growing demands on fewer staff have left them tired and pupils suffering as a result. Lindsay Fulton, treasurer of the Drummond School Parent Council, told STV News: 'We're really fearful of something dangerous happening – not because of the staff, just because there's not enough staff that are trained to do certain duties. 'And if an incident were to happen, there are not enough adults on the ground at the time. 'What's really concerning for us, as parents, is we have no school nurse. A school nurse is not a luxury. It's a necessity and it's a safeguarding issue.' Unison said its members have told them staff are burnt out and that support from senior council management is extremely poor. It also said support staff are expected to carry out increasingly complex medical procedures with minimal training. Some are blaming council budgets, while others blame recruitment difficulties. Either way, pressure is mounting on Highland Council to act. Local Highland councillor Isabelle Mackenzie said: 'The council need to come up with a clear, transparent plan of action. 'They need to convince the school community that they are listening to the parents and everybody involved and I urge them to be taking this matter up seriously and soon.' In a statement, Highland Council promised 'a project' involving both family support and a registered nurse to work in the school. It has also promised to engage with the parent council in future and that discussions are ongoing with the head teacher to finalise staffing for the next school session. Drummond School was built for 90 pupils, but there are currently 106. The staff number has slipped from 118 to 102 in the past year and some classes have been cancelled. Parents have told STV News that there have been multiple ambulance callouts because staff are not sufficiently trained in medical matters. A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: 'Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide for and review the support they provide pupils with additional support needs (ASN). 'Ministers are clear that all children and young people should receive the support they need to thrive in their education. 'The Scottish Government is investing an additional £29m this year to support the ASN workforce, in addition to the record spend of over £1bn by local authorities on ASN in 2023-24. 'A cross-party roundtable with local government will be held in early autumn to discuss what more can be done on ASN. Following that, a review of ASN will be scoped.' Q. Why is there no school nurse? Is that not an essential requirement at a school with such specialist needs? A. recent adaptations to the nursing service are part of a national change. The school nurse role changed in 2017, as part of the 'transforming roles programme for nursing'. Introduced to Highland 2019, it paused as a result of the pandemic and there is further implementation underway. We have carefully considered Drummond School within the national, local and professional context and in line with the Highland health support model for other special schools. The national model for school nursing has moved away from a one nurse/one school approach to a 'team approach' where children can, according to their individual needs, be supported by varying members of staff from the skill mix in the school nursing team. This ensures the right professional supports the child and recognises that no one nurse can hold the knowledge to be accountable for the complex medical need of all children in one particular school. We have recognised there is a gap in Drummond School as a result of the complexity of the medical need and in terms of ensuring that all the relevant 'health and medical' plans, from various professionals reach the GIRFEC child's plans as well as ensuring families are supported in the school and have confidence that the school staff have the skills to meet the needs as part of the child's plan. To this end we are looking to take forward a project in Drummond School where there will be both family support and a registered nurse to work in the school with parents to make sure the health needs are supported. Q. The parent council says Highland Council has never taken up an invitation to meet with them to discuss these concerns. Why not? A. Responses have been provided and most recent communication highlighted that area quality improvement manager for the school with the headteacher will engage with the parent council going forward. If parents have individual concerns and questions they should contact the school directly. Q. Why the staff cuts, especially when the school roll has increased? A. Staffing allocations for Drummond School are based on the national Scottish negotiating committee for teachers (SNCT) staffing regulations for special schools. This is a different model to how we support and resource ASL provision in mainstream schools. The revised ASL allocation staffing standard for mainstream school support, which was approved by council members in February 2023, is solely in relation to mainstream ASL support and resource allocation. The overall resource for additional support in our schools has not been reduced, but we are working towards the implementation of a more equitable allocation of resource across all schools in Highland. The committee report also highlights the need to review specialist education provisions and equality of provision/resource amongst all special schools and specialist provisions in Highland and we continue to progress this. As already stated, Highland Special School staffing is not part of the ASL allocation approach. The staffing is agreed locally between headteacher and officers. We are currently in discussion with the headteacher around staffing needs of the school and finalising the staffing at Drummond for the next school session. Q. What will you do to address the concerns listed above? A. We are aware that higher than normal levels of staff absence are impacting on staffing in the school this session. Staff absence is managed in the same way as all other schools. In the event of any staff shortages, the school can arrange cover or backfill using supply or existing staffing as available. We do appreciate however, the difficulty that our schools can sometimes face in being able to get backfill for staff absence, but this is an issue for all schools, not just at Drummond. Officers link in with schools to support with this, and we update our supply lists regularly to ensure they are as up to date as possible, so that headteachers are able to access cover as required. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
West of Orkney wind farm project secures planning consents
The developers behind the proposed 125-turbine West of Orkney wind farm project have now secured both offshore and onshore planning site is about 18 miles (30km) off Orkney and 31 miles (50km) north west of is expected it would deliver enough green electricity to power up to two million project still needs to secure a final leasing agreement from Crown Estate Scotland. Highland Council previously voted to raise no objections to the plans off the north Caithness coast. The hope is to begin generating electricity by director Stuart Macauley said: "Its construction would spark significant investment in Scotland's supply chain, port and harbour infrastructure, and the skilled jobs that would follow."The developers are the first to secure both offshore and onshore planning consent as part of the ScotWind leasing is an auction of the rights to develop several sites in Scottish waters for offshore wind.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Food and drink licence secured for Inverness Castle
People will be able to have afternoon tea and cocktails in a new bar that is to be opened as part of a new visitor attraction at Inverness North Tower Bar - in part of the castle previously used as a police station - will be a bookable venue with space for 40 have also been revealed about a new Saltire Bistro with seating for 120 people and a linked terraced outdoor at the Inverness Castle Experience hope the variety of food and drink experiences on offer will attract locals as well as tourists. Both venues could be open from as early as 08:00, but would not be able to serve alcohol until 10:00 under the terms of a newly-granted licence. They would close at 22:00, unless booked for private gatherings or events. Garry Marsden, head of the Inverness Castle Experience, said the venues would be family-friendly and would be a place for both visitors to the area and locals to gather. Highland Council is leading the project to turn the former sheriff court into a visitor is expected to open later this by local democracy reporter Will Angus.
STV News
5 days ago
- Business
- STV News
Councillors propose control zone to limit Airbnb style lets in Highlands
Councillors are pushing to bring in a control zone that would limit the number of Airbnb-style lets in the Highlands. It has been suggested that the move would be a way of tackling a housing shortage across the region. Over 7,000 short-term let licences have been granted across the area covered by the Highland Council, with just four being refused. If the proposals are successful, then operators would need planning permission as well as a short-term licence. The plans have been brought to the table by Inverness councillors Michael Gregson and Duncan Macpherson who say the region needs around 24,000 new homes over the next decade. They believe the private long-term rental market has shrunk to unmanageable levels because of the shortage of properties available. It is hoped that a control zone would help tackle this issue. The proposals will be put forward to the Highland Council next week. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Skye councillor calls for 'pause' as windfarm inquiry starts
The Ben Aketil proposal at the centre of the inquiry, is for a current array of twelve turbines, each 120m high to be replaced by nine at 200m high. Objected to by the Highland Council, it is now being considered by the Scottish Government reporter in a local inquiry over five-days, at the Skye Camanachd Social Club in Portree. Over the past two days, The Herald, has told the story of the build up to these hearings that are seeing Skye become the focus of a current debate over windfarm and electricity developments. READ MORE: A busy first morning was attended by so many community members and protestors that extra chairs had to be brought in. Cllr Stewart explained his opposition to the development. 'Fundamentally, planning is about place and people and I don't think this application actually fits either. It's not in the interests of the people of Skye and it certainly doesn't protect the landscape.' At the inquiry to speak on behalf of his constituents, he said, 'A lot of them have been really disillusioned with the planning process. They think their voices aren't heard. I'm there to try to speak up for them and it was good to see that there were so many people from the community this morning protesting outside the inquiry. 'With this application, and more broadly other developments within the community, they risk killing off our communities by overwhelming them with this industrial scale energy development.' 'The installation of 200m turbines and all the associated tracks and infrastructure, is entirely at odds with the character and identity of the north of Skye. Something that struck me was you're talking 200m is roughly the height of the observation deck in the Shard, which is one of the tallest buildings in western Europe. They would absolutely tower above everything else. They would be visible for miles in every direction.' 'One of the things that we hear in planning a lot is it's proportionate and sympathetic development. I can't say that this is. I think that Ben Aketil windfarm is a profound misjudgement because the scale of it is wrong and also the setting of it is wrong. It's not the right development in the right place, so it doesn't meet any of those two criteria. Andrew Robinson of Skye Windfarm Information Group in front of Ben Aketil (Image: Vicky Allan) He also argued that it did not protect the naturally important landscape as is committed to in the planning policy around Scotland's national planning framework 4. 'It encroaches northwest Skye and Greshornish special landscape area, which is defined by its rugged terrain and remoteness. So it's completely out of keeping with that and breaks the letter and the spirit of that policy. 'These turbines may overwhelm the landscape. If you look at Skye, we're a predominantly tourist-based economy, which employs 2,800 people and brings in £200 million revenue each year. The tourists come to Skye to see the landscape. They don't come to see pylons, substations and turbines. I think we run a real risk of killing the goose that lays the proverbial golden egg.' The inquiry comes in the wake, two weeks ago, of the Scottish Government's approval for the Skye overhead replacement line. It will hear submissions from legal representatives for Nadara, Highland Council and community groups. It also follows the issuing, earlier this month of an open letter from over forty communities, led by the Skye Windfarm Information Group, calling for a moratorium on new renewables projects. The Scottish government was approached for comment. Responding to the Herald's Sunday article on the issue, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The Scottish Government has an ambition, as set out in our Onshore Wind Policy Statement, for 20GW of Onshore Wind by 2030 and we are working with the onshore wind industry to ensure that the delivery of this ambition supports our regional and national economies, communities and nature. The UK Government's Clean Power Action Plan respects the Scottish Government's onshore wind ambitions for 2030.'
