Winning Locally and Beyond

Over the last month I have been delighted to witness the importance of people standing up for what they believe in.

Following a public march and much protest, proposals in Moray Council’s Sustainable Education Review to close schools across the region were dropped.

In my constituency, in the Moray Council area of my constituency, the future of schools in Findochty, Portknockie, Portessie, Cullen and Rothiemay, and Crossroads and Cluny schools and of schools nearby at Portgordon and Newmill was under review.

I met with campaigners in the coastal schools around Buckie and they were eloquent in their arguments refuting the findings of the council’s consultants. These arguments had been heard, and with unanimous support from SNP councillors, there will be no rural school closures anywhere in Moray for the foreseeable future.

Schools remain at the heart of our communities and with no clear educational grounds for their closure, the local community was right to fight for the opportunities provided on their door step.

In a recent speech I made about addressing the attainment gap in Scottish schools I criticised the proposals from Caledonian Economics for school closures. These Moray schools all hold a good record – they are not failing, and for school children to lose out due to economic circumstances was not a situation that local parents and campaigners were going to take lying down. Minimum choice and a lack of diversity was not a good enough option for locals in Moray.

We want the best for our children and a good education is crucial to ensure that they have the choices they need to make the most out of their lives.

More recently I led debate on School Bus Safety across Scotland – an issue that has been spearheaded by Gardenstown resident Ron Beaty who has campaigned for safety improvements in this area over the past 10 years.

After his granddaughter was left permanently disabled due to an accident in the vicinity of a school bus, he has been a ferocious champion of the cause. He is an example of what can be done when one person takes it upon themselves to fight for a cause that they believe in, with potential benefits for so many others.

Around two thirds of a million pupils make their way to around 2700 schools each day and many of these do so by bus. Therefore this issue is important and affects anyone who has children and grandchildren, as well as the wider community.

Education authorities and bus operators working for them to transport school students are acutely aware of the need to protect their passengers. What is needed is good clear signage that the bus is a school bus and its removal when it is not in this use. Flashing lights can be used on the bus to get a driver’s attention, risk assessments can be done and 20 mph speed limits can be introduced where this would help. We can and must do more, and Ron Beaty continues to challenge the current situation.

In Aberdeenshire and Moray a number of steps have been taken to improve safety, and Transport Scotland has produced guidance for our 32 local authorities on how they can help improve school transport safety.

With a greater focus on school transport safety in the north east in particular, we've not seen a repeat of the string of very serious injuries that we had a few years ago. Policy and practice changes may have contributed. Or the very bad winters which closed down schools and the comparatively mild ones that reduced weather risks, may have been a significant factor.

So the final word on this, I will give to Ghandi – “Be the change you want to see in the world” – it’s the only way to make it a better place for all.