Taking a Swing

Very cross tonight, as I always am after our parent council meetings.

If only governments would back up their big talk of education being a priority with any of the money needed to pay for the improvements they demand.

Tonight I'm cross about 'support for learning'. This is about providing help in school for children with dyslexia, aspergers and any other number of issues that impede their (and often the children's around them) learning. Once I've done some more research I fear I'm only going to get crosser, so for now I'll leave it at saying that it appears that the amount of money a school gets for this sort of support is not calculated on the basis of need - like how many children in any particular school need that help year to year - but rather on the basis of how many free school meals your school provides.

This is insulting on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin.

I know it's not the way government intends the funding criteria to operate (or at least I hope not or there's really something rotten in Holyrood) but it's how it works in practice.

Cross, cross cross.

On the plus side, I may have figured out that our school has lost out on some cash over the last 3 years and might be able to get it back.

In a country which likes to boast of one of the best education systems in the world, it shouldn't be down to parents to scrimp and save to provide school basics like extra reading help for children who need it. When I find the person who wrote that policy, I'm going to swing for them.