CONCERNS have been raised about possible cuts to educational psychology and education visitors’ services by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
The EIS union locally is worried the move has been included in the local authority’s current round of budget proposals, on which they are holding a public consultation.
Union members say cutting the “already depleted” service could negatively affect attainment and pupil well-being and they point out that low attainment has plagued Dumfries and Galloway for a number of years.
Local EIS secretary Andrew O’Halloran yesterday said: “Low attainment and pupil well-being are key issues in Dumfries and Galloway, and they can only be addressed through adequate resourcing.
“Education visitors are worried that the current service redesign will allow managers to cut the service back, while both groups fear that staff will not be replaced when colleagues retire or move to new posts. “Any cuts to educational psychology and education visitors’ services would have a knock-on impact in the classroom, while national EIS research shows that there is only 1 ASN teacher to 89 ASN pupils across Scotland. Any cuts to educational psychology and education visitors could make things much worse.”
