Dumfries and Galloway Council set to ditch controversial secondary school timetable plans

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Controversial plans to move to a four-and-a-half day week in Dumfries and Galloway primary and secondary schools are set to be scrapped after thousands of people voiced their opposition.

Education chiefs were inundated with opinions from parents, staff, trade unions and the wider community on the proposals for a condensed learning week and school closing early on Fridays.

There were 15,409 responses to the consultation – a record number – as the council sought public opinion before any decision was made.
At next week’s education committee, a report will be tabled by council officers detailing the views shared and recommending that councillors maintain the current school timetable.

The document states: “Officers have been aware for some years that there was support for an asymmetric week, described in this paper as a four-and-a-half day week model.

“It was important to undertake a comprehensive consultation on this matter to establish the views of stakeholders. The level of engagement demonstrates that this is not an easy decision, and that people have strong views.

“Given the number of themes which highlighted concerns, officers therefore recommend to members that the current structure of the school week for primary and secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway is maintained.

“Further to this and, as agreed at education and learning committee on September 14, 2023, officers will work with headteachers of secondary schools to move to a timetable structure in order to allow all our learners to have the widest course choice possible.”

The summary of responses to the four-and-a-half day week plans were:

• Agree/strongly agree with the proposal – 6,690 (43 percent).

• Disagree/strongly disagree with the proposal – 5,785 (38 percent).

• Neutral/don’t know on the proposal – 2934 (19 percent).

The report continues: “Although 43 percent of survey respondents expressed agreement with the proposal to implement the four and a half day week model for all primary and secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway, a clear majority view has not been established from the full range of feedback.

“Moreover, a considerable number of stakeholders remain neutral or undecided.

“Furthermore, it is notable, from the findings from the full range of methodologies used, that the strength of feeling among those opposed to the proposals was often greater than the strength of feeling of those in favour of the proposals.”

The proposed restructure of secondary school timetables across Dumfries and Galloway was drawn up to “improve work-life balance” for both teachers and benefit pupils.

However, strong concerns were raised about the impact the changes would have on parents’ working and childcare arrangements, particularly with pupils leaving school early on a Friday.

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