Save our Janitors in East Dunbartonshire Schools

It has recently come the attention of the Parent Council for Balmuildy Primary School in Bishopbriggs a proposal to be presented to Elected Members of the East Dunbartonshire Council at a Council meeting on the 26th of June 2014, regarding the removal of Site Co-ordinators (the old fashioned Janitor) from schools within the Local Authority. A quote from the proposal;




"The proposal therefore suggests the removal of Site Co-ordinator role and re-provision of the delivery element into frontline resource levels.

A new role of 'Cluster Co-ordinator' has been developed to ensure management needs are met and the proposal includes 9 of these posts with each having responsibility for around a dozen properties."



For us, probably the most disconcerting thing about the proposal, is the fact that this sorry business is to be carried out in secret. We find it deplorable that this issue has not been presented and discussed openly with the Parent Council Forum. When asked why these cuts had not been presented to Parent Councils for discussion, the Local Authorities Head of Education responded;

'These plans were not on the list of cuts as they are not cuts to the schools. They are part of the service review for NI. The NI Directorate do not report to the same stakeholders as Education'.



So it appears the  Head of Education doesn't consider that a cut in Janitorial provision isn't a cut in education provision!




The method of implementation of the above was also brought to our groups attention and caused much concern. Again, I quote from the proposal;




"Should negotiations with the Trade Unions not achieve agreement by mid May 2014 this will be expressly stated within the paper to be presented to the Council 26 June 2014, which will also confirm matters relating to statutory consultation and statutory notice of change should this be necessary to enable implementation to begin from late August 2014".




Our groups interpretation of the above, led us to believe the proposal is already a "fait accompli" ie 'a done deal'.


At our groups recent meeting we discussed the proposal and it's implication to the safe and efficient running of our school, our group passionately believes that the 'Janny' is an integral part of school life and that the lack of a full time Janitor in situ would inevitably have a detrimental effect on the quality of our child's education.




After our meeting I asked our Janitor for an idea of his tasks and responsibilities on a daily basis;




School security and Maintenance, Porterage, Cctv monitoring, Site Property Reporting, Swimming pool checks, Gritting, Snow clearance, Key management, Let resourcing and Transition, Stock Control, Ordering and invoicing, Cooking food, Hygiene management, Cash collection, Cleaning, Stock control, Ordering and invoicing, Road safety, Major project moves offices etc, Waste Management, Grounds Maintenance, Wages, Health and Safety...


And the MOST IMPORTANT issue of all is PUPIL SAFETY, in this day and age you cannot be too careful who is wandering about your school grounds, who is hanging around school gates (Dunblane), who is checking the structure for signs of damage (Liberton High School in Edinburgh) and the serious assaults over the years on teaching staff. All roles currently undertaken by the site co-ordinator.




It concerns us also as to whether Head Teachers and their staff have been consulted on their views about the implications of the proposal. After all, they are the people whom appreciate the real value of having a full time Janitor in school.


Through our role as a Parent Council we have attended stakeholder workshops on the Council’s budget and have indeed attempted to balance the books on the online Budget Simulator on the Council website. Therefore we truly appreciate the difficult decisions having to be made by Elected Members.


However, there comes a time when the proposed cuts go too far and alternative solutions have to be sought. We feel the Site Co-Ordinator proposal is going too far.




On behalf of the Parent Forum of Balmuildy Primary I ask that Councillors give this issue serious consideration. At the meeting on the 26th I implore that they vote against the proposal or at the very least, raise an amendment to the proposal that the issue be presented to the Parent Council Forum for debate.



If you agree with our campaign please sign the petition and pass it onto others you think may agree.



Thankyou.



Balmuildy Parent Council



Balmuildy Parent Council    Contact the author of the petition