I predict we ain't seen nothing yet

Got the chance for a bit of report reading today in between meetings at the Council. First to hand was a wee beezer called 'Children & families organisational review - community learning and development', or loosely translated, 'How we're gonna cut community education'. This has been a favourite pastime of politicans of all political hues and prejudices over the years and I have often found myself impelled to act in its defence.

Let me say I start from a belief that community education (or is it now much less well known, community learning & development CLD, for short [sounds like an acronym for a sexually transmitted disease, or something equally unpleasant]) is the glue that holds a lot of learning together...and I will also start with a favourite example to explain my point ...

Royston/Wardieburn Community Centre runs a breakfast club for children whose families are in difficulty (code for 'not functioning at all'). At 6am the children, referred from two local primaries are picked up by minibus, taken to the centre, given breakfast, clean-up, clean clothes if necessary, help with homework and general motivational stuff, then walked to school by staff/volunteer. After school, many of the same kids go back to the after- school club, pretty much the same stuff only it's tea this time and some good role modelling. Parents who can, are encouraged to come along, get involved in computers, children's homework etc. etc. and are supported in the inch by inch struggle that encourages them and their families to function in something resembling normality. This service was devised and implemented by Allan Hosey, Senior Community Learning & Development Work. Without it, families would fall apart, ergo communities, and schools wouldn't be able to achieve as much either. This is pretty important stuff we're talking about...

So back to said CLD report which, inter alia, recommends a reduction of 5 neighbourhood based senior community learning and development workers. Now, nobody is saying Allan's job will be axed, but the point is, if he hadn't been based in Granton to recognise the problem and to respond to it with a unique local focus, the community would be a lot poorer.

To justify this exercise, CLD critics will point to a handful of postholders who are, quite frankly, rotten at their job and who give the rest of their colleagues a bad name. Off the top of my head I can name 3 who should have been sacked ages ago for incompetence. I ask, why not get rid of them and their ilk, rather than proceed with a flawed process that cuts vital links of understanding and progress between workers and communities.

But that's not the worst of the proposals: what would people have to say if the Council decided it wanted to hand the management of its school buildings over to a bunch of local parents with no guarantee of a janitor or a school secretary or a teacher to open the building, answer enquiries, ensure the cleaning or the repairs or anything?

I think people would have something to say, even if it was only that the council should always have somebody on duty to be responsible for public property...

But folks, that's exactly what is being proposed for community centres...no professional responsible person, cuts in janitor hours, no facilities' managers, no nothing except local management committee members who, even on the admission of the author of this report, 'are busy people'. It's breathtaking...and on top of that, no centrally based team to manage this new guddle or to help translate Council policy into action on the ground.

I hope our Liberal Convenor and her SNP sidekick are prepared for the problems that are coming. I predict we ain't seen nothing yet.