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Aberdeenshire's Education staff thanked for "keeping the show on the road”


By David Porter

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The first meeting of Aberdeenshire Council's education and children’s services committee in 2022 took place on Thursday and began by chair councillor Gillian Owen marking the importance of Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) which happened to fall on the same day.

HMD is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

Picking up on actions following the last committee meeting, councillors said that workshops taking place at a local level on children’s rights had been very well received.

There is a keenness for examples of good practice in participation and engagement with young people to be shared with elected members.

In the latest Covid-19 update Director of Education and Children’s Services, Laurence Findlay provided an update on the impact of Covid-19 on schools and services.

The overall school attendance rate is now sitting at 89.6 per cent, not including those working from home due partial or full school closures.

The number of pupils not in school due to self-isolation has decreased but those off with other illnesses has increased and is the highest it has been during the first few weeks of 2022, at over 1200 pupils.

Illness and absence among staff has stabilised but the impact on small school communities in particular continues to be significant and there is likely to be additional pressure on secondary schools as pupils return from study leave.

There has been no change to national Covid-19 guidance for schools, and Laurence said that he was grateful to young people for continuing to adhere to the measures in place and thankful to staff for all they’re doing to “keep show on the road.”.

More than 2400 Co2 monitors are now in place in every classroom, aiding efforts to ensure good ventilation in schools.

One of the committee’s teacher representatives agreed with what Laurence had said, highlighting that managing support for those at home as well as classroom teaching can be difficult.

He said monitors had been really useful so far, and that it will help in the long run in terms of managing airflow and ensuring classrooms are healthy places.

Elected members said that some young constituents had raised concerns about the prospect of mask wearing no longer being mandatory, if and when the guidance for schools changes, and asked if lanyards which are now available in all libraries could be offered to young people who are apprehensive about Covid-19 and would like to remind those around them to be mindful of space.

At the same meeting a paper providing an update on the progress of Aberdeenshire’s Young Carer Strategy 2021 – 2023 was met with huge appreciation by councillors.

They expressed admiration and empathy for the courage and commitment of young carers and said they really appreciate the dedication of officers working to help young carers access the support they deserve.

In explaining the breadth of work carried out colleagues and Quarriers who are commissioned by the council to provide support to young carers, Sharon Napier who presented the report said: “Sometimes it takes a lot of time to help a young carer to open up about what their caring role is really like.”

This illustrates the depth of work undertaken with young people to understand their circumstances and put the right supports in place. Find out more about the help available and how schools can access a Young Carers Charter to help them support young carers in a full news update on the report about the Young Carer Strategy.

A report on the work of the Child Protection Committee was also presented to councillors. Aberdeenshire’s Child Protection Committee is a multi-agency group with members from the police, health, local authority and third sector organisations.

They have a quality assurance and leadership role and continue to lead a number of projects on data and self-evaluation, improvement and supporting the workforce.

Progress in a vast range of areas including training for anyone who comes into contact with children and families through their work, was commended by councillors.

As detailed in the annual report, the committee has completed analysis of re-registrations on the child protection register, they have set up a group to improve child protection practice for children with disabilities, they continue to raise awareness about the common forms and signs of child sexual abuse and are extending this to criminal exploitation of children in all its’ forms, focusing at the moment on county lines drug dealing.

They are also supporting services with improvements to processes evidencing efficient response to child protection concerns, and an evolving range of training opportunities available is part of this work.

Councillors asked what more they could do to support the team.

Keeping eyes and ears open on behalf of children and young people, helping others understand the breadth of support available and backing key campaigns on social media and through their constituent networks was suggested. A full news update on this important area of work will be coming soon.

A paper on Live Life Aberdeenshire’s Summer of Play and subsequent Tattie Holiday programmes brought together more detail on some of the findings which have been shared previously by Avril Nicol and explained plans as well as the funding requirements for delivering activities during this Easter break.

Councillors recognised the ‘tremendous efforts’ of service, considered how we could mitigate against families booking and then not turning up and agreed that the programmes are a great way to maximise opportunities for children and young people to have fun as well as focus on their health and wellbeing.


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