Over the last few weeks I have been following a lively debate over the proposal to make the local primary in Sleat a Gaelic-only school.  Highland Council has launched a consultation and a decision could be reached by the summer.

Generally, in full immersion programmes, teachers use no English at all in the early years. In P2, P3, or P4, teachers introduce English language arts and reading for one period per day and gradually move toward an even distribution of English and the immersion language by P5 or P6.

Supporters feel that having a Gaelic-only primary school in Sleat will help the language to survive and prosper and point to research and studies that show this type of education can be very effective.  One such study, Interchange 62, states: “From the evidence of this study we conclude that pupils receiving Gaelic-medium primary education, whether or not Gaelic was the language of the home, were not being disadvantaged in comparison with children educated through English. In many though not all instances they outperformed English-medium pupils and in addition gained the advantage of having become proficient in two languages.”

Those against the proposal, many of whom are themselves Gaelic speakers, are concerned that the basic right to choose the language used to educate their children will be taken from them if Sleat’s primary school becomes Gaelic-only.  There appears to be little dispute that the school has a great track record and that the Gaelic-medium unit has made a significant contribution to the school’s success.  For many, however, freedom of choice is at least as important and means that Sleat Primary School cannot be Gaelic-only.

What do you think?  Here are some questions to get you going (although I doubt many of you will need prompting):

* Numbers in English-medium at Sleat Primary are declining - can’t we just wait to see if this trend continues and the primary school becomes Gaelic-only naturally?

* If the school does become Gaelic-only, is it acceptable that parents who want their children to have an English-medium education will have to send them to Broadford or elsewhere?

* Do the cultural and educational benefits of second language immersion outweigh all other factors?  Does it make a difference when the second language is historically and culturally important to the area and is in danger of extinction?

* How do you stop a community from splitting in two over issues like these?

webby asks, “Numbers in English-medium at Sleat Primary are declining - can’t we just wait to see if this trend continues and the primary school becomes Gaelic-only naturally?”
Good question.  I would say that the school can’t become “Gaelic-only” naturally.  It has to be designated as a dedicated Gaelic medium school (which would not be “Gaelic-only") or the default language outside the GME classroom will continue to be English because that’s the current set-up.  I don’t think we can rely on things to happen “naturally” for Gaelic’s sake.  There have been so many years of discrimination and supression that Gaelic needs a strong helping hand.  Also, there is no current option for total immersion Gaelic medium education in Scotland outside of Glasgow.  Shouldn’t parents have that option?  As webby says, research shows that it’s a better educational model.
Second question: “If the school does become Gaelic-only, is it acceptable that parents who want their children to have an English-medium education will have to send them to Broadford or elsewhere?”
Again, the school wouldn’t be “Gaelic-only” because the children would learn English (and German?) as well.  Parents in Uig who want GME have to send their children all the way to Portree.  As I understand it, there is no right to education of any sort in one’s own community (which sounds very harsh but appears to be the case).
Third question: “Do the cultural and educational benefits of second language immersion outweigh all other factors?  Does it make a difference when the second language is historically and culturally important to the area and is in danger of extinction?”
I don’t know about outweighing all other factors but certainly, if there’s going to be total immersion schooling on Skye it ought to be through the indigenous language of the island.
Final question: “How do you stop a community from splitting in two over issues like these?”
I don’t know.  Do we want to stop debate?  Communities are never going to speak with one voice on a whole range of issues from windfarms to low cost housing.  Each person has the right to his or her opinion and I don’t think we want to demand conformity on any issue.

Someone summed up this to me in one sentence - I’ll try to give it justice:

“If you care about your child’s education, and about the survival of the Gaelic language, you will support this proposal”.

A bit controversial maybe, but what is being said is that GME offers a fantastic educational opportunity, and with the right resources in place, any child will thrive.  In addition, and almost as a bi-product, by increasing the number of fluent Gaelic speakers, an extremely vulnerable language has some hope of survival.

Big question is, is this important?

The WHFP stated that the Sleat Community Council voted unanimously to back the proposal to make Sleat Primary School all-Gaelic.  Is this really the case?  And, given that they represent the whole community, how did they come to their conclusion that the community wants an all-Gaelic primary school?

I understand that English is used increasingly in later years within Gaelic-medium primary schools, and that children taught through the medium of a second language often out-perform those that don’t, but I don’t think these factors provide a convincing case to make the only primary school in a rural area all-Gaelic.

What about those children who want to be taught in English, or the parents that want their children to be taught in English?  Should these children (as young as five, remember) really be expected to take the bus to Broadford simply because someone decided to make the only primary school in Sleat all-Gaelic?  Does Broadford Primary School have the capacity for extra pupils?  Or will Broadford’s Gaelic-medium students have to go to Sleat?  Perhaps the buses can meet half way and exchange.

Why not build a new all-Gaelic school somewhere more central (Broadford for example) that can serve the whole area?  Then it will only be parents who are committed to their children being taught through the medium of a second language who will have to put their children on buses, or drive them to school themselves.

commentator, the Community Council did indeed vote unanimously to support the proposal for a dedicated Gaelic total immersion school in Sleat.  It was a hard decision but a smart and brave one, in my opinion.  It was based on the educational merits of such a school.  If you read the WHFP you know that they made the decision after attending the public meeting, guaging the feelings on both sides of the debate, discussing them amongst themselves and then taking a vote.  I do think that the CC reflects the overall opinion in Sleat.  The people against this proposal say over and over again that they are the majority but just because they say it lots of times doesn’t actually make it true.  The vast majority of people I know in Sleat think that this is a fair and reasonable proposal.  I don’t think we will see hords of children being bused to Broadford because if a dedicated Gaelic total immersion school is set up in Sleat people will see it working and see it working very well and will not want to send their children past an excellent school.  Finally, a new build Gaelic school would be great.  But what do you think would happen to the existing Sleat school in such a case?  Do you think that Highland Council will keep it open for three or four EME children?  I’m afraid it’s not very likely.

The community on Sleat is unquestionably divided over this issue and it is entirly wrong for the SCC to express a view one way or the other as they are supposed to reflect the views of the community as a whole. The CCS have now acknowledged that their vote may not represent the view of the whole community and asked the Council for a local vote.

Does that mean if the people of the UK are divided on an issue then Westminster shouldn’t vote on it or express an opinion?  If the Scottish people are divided on an issue should the Scottish Parliament not vote on it?  If the people within Highland Region are divided on an issue (say PPP?) should Highland Council not come down one way or the other on the issue?  Should we start a petition to disband Highland Council because of the PPP schools?  Or do we need to have a refereundum on every single issue?  Don’t we elect people to make decisions so that we don’t have to waste time and money on referenda?

I have never heard of a Council conducting a local vote on such an issue.  Who has a say?  Every adult over 16 living in Sleat?  Everyone with an “interest” in the school (i.e. parents, teachers)?  Or everyone on the electoral roll?  These will be three very different lists.

As Fiddler99 says, the reason we elect politicians is to make decisions on behalf of the community, to represent their community in local / regional / national issues.  Sometimes votes are made which do not reflect the opinion of _all_ members of the community but that does not mean that it is undemocratic.  To my understanding this is exactly how a democracy works.

Most people in a community probably don’t even know who their community councillors are, have never attended a community council meeting (which are public) and ordinarily could not care less.  If some people have an issue with a decision their community council has taken, perhaps they should consider standing at the next election.

In my view the community council has followed its remit and, after considerable deliberation, agreed that it is their duty to respond to the consultation, as requested, in the way which best reflects the interests of the population of Sleat.  It’s gonna go one way or another, it just didn’t go the right way for some in this instance.  People should stop putting pressure on the Community Council to withdraw a decision they have already taken.

I agree that a referendum would be a waste of time and money and is not appropriate but that is because CC’s are supposed to reflect the views of the community which they represent, not just a section of that community - see below –

Para 6.1 of the Highland Council’s Good Practice Guide for Community Councils under the heading of ‘Representing the Whole Community’ states ‘CCs will take positive steps to find out how local people feel about important issues in the community. When making representations on behalf of the community they will ensure, as far as possible, that they reflect a broad spectrum of opinions within the Community.’

The Scottish Office guidance note entitled Local Authorities and Community Councils: Enhancing the Relationship states that CC’s should ‘Actively seek the views, opinions and aspirations of the full cross-section of the community and be able to demonstrate that steps have been taken to consult the local community when appropriate, and in all cases be sure as far as possible that the views they express are representative of those of the community they serve.’ (Ch 3 para 3).

This does not seem to have happened on Sleat.

But does that mean that the CC should not have chosen to take a view either way?  It goes back to Fiddler99’s point about democracy.  In this instance, given the apparent ’split’ (for want of a better word) in the community of Sleat, how on earth is the CC supposed to reflect the “views, opinions and aspirations of the full cross-section of the community” by doing anything other than refusing to take a view either way? The CC have been asked to respond to the HC consultative document, as have the school board, parents and school staff.  These are the key groups that have been identified as having an ’interest’ in the proposal.

What the CC did do was invite spokespeople from each ‘side’ of the argument to attend what was already a public meeting.  They listened to both ‘sides’ of the debate and then took a decision based on the information made available to them.  I know it was not an easy decision to make under the circumstances. 

Should the CC have taken the decision not to support the proposal, would this have caused such a backlash?

The whole point is that a representation from the CC is supposed to reflect the broad spectrum of views in the community so it can hardly be said to be doing that by voting to support these proposals - the same would be the case if it had voted to oppose them and I imagine the outcry from the supporters would have, rightly, been equally vocal.

The vote may have been brave, courageous, call it what you will - but what it was not, was representative.

The CC could and should have followed the lead of the School Board and the Sleat Community Trust and not expressed a preference in recognition of the divide that very clearly exists.

The CC did receive the consultative paper but that did not mean that it had to respond to it or that it had to select one side or the other – they could have responded in a manner that reflected the divide in the community. The fact that the CC has (mistakenly) sought a referendum is an acknowledgement that their vote is not representative of the whole community.

The sensible and constructive thing to have done would have been for the CC to have put their collective thinking hat on and considered whether there was a way out of this god-awful mess and sought the views of the community on any ideas that they had which might have healed rather than further divided us all.

draurc, I’m going to address your points one by one.  It seems the most straightforward approach and is in no way meant to come across as patronising - bear with me please, this is a pretty long one!

“The whole point is that a representation from the CC is supposed to reflect the broad spectrum of views in the community so it can hardly be said to be doing that by voting to support these proposals” - The members of the CC do represent a broad spectrum of the community, in age, gender, socio-economic grouping, language, culture and consist of both natives and incomers.  They were elected by the community to represent the broad spectrum of views in the community.  These views have been debated in a democratic fashion and a decision taken as a result.

- “the same would be the case if it had voted to oppose them and I imagine the outcry from the supporters would have, rightly, been equally vocal. “ -
I disagree, given the generally soft nature of the Gael, who is not known as one to stand up and fight for his rights, but will rather, often out of politeness or submission, take a bow and heave a sigh, and let it happen (or not happen).  This is in no way meant in disrespect to the Gael, but a fact of life and a reflection of the state of Scottish Gaelic today.

“The vote may have been brave, courageous, call it what you will - but what it was not, was representative. “ - fair comment, but does it not go back to the democratic election of these members?  Are votes taken by councillors, MSPs or MPs always fully representative?  If all bodies decide to remain neutral then no decisions will ever be taken and no change or development will ever take place.

“The CC could and should have followed the lead of the School Board and the Sleat Community Trust and not expressed a preference in recognition of the divide that very clearly exists. “ - to my knowledge the Sleat Community Trust has not been asked to respond to the consultation.  I understand that the members of the School Board were unable to reach an unequivocal agreement and therefore were bound to take a neutral stance.

“The CC did receive the consultative paper but that did not mean that it had to respond to it or that it had to select one side or the other – they could have responded in a manner that reflected the divide in the community.” - do you mean “could have” or “should have”?  If all these bodies should respond neutrally or not at all, why bother involving them in the consultation process in the first place?

“The fact that the CC has (mistakenly) sought a referendum is an acknowledgement that their vote is not representative of the whole community. “ - we are agreed in that this was a mistake and a request that will be difficult to deliver.  In what way, though, does this acknowledge that their vote is not representative?

“The sensible and constructive thing to have done would have been for the CC to have put their collective thinking hat on and considered whether there was a way out of this god-awful mess and sought the views of the community on any ideas that they had which might have healed rather than further divided us all.” - I would suggest that this kind of activity is not familiar territory to the, or any, CC.  They would have neither the experience, capacity, funding nor resources necessary and it would be burdensome and unfair to expect them to carry out such an exercise.  It is not beyond the HC to find the resources to facilitate such an exercise - I believe it is called a consultation! 

Sadly, I think that this debate goes a great deal deeper than whether or not the school should become a dedicated Gaelic school.  I believe that there are some deep-rooted issues connected to the very language itself, that touch people on both sides of the debate.  Otherwise, why should this proposal strike so much of a chord in members of this community who have no children at the school, nor are likely to?

I also believe that some people are refusing to look at the benefits presented by a bilingual education, and to acknowledge that the school at the moment is divided - into the ‘Gaelic’ and the ‘English’.  [This is surely not a healthy signal to be sending to our children?].  I am able to understand the point of view of parents who do not wish to have their children educated bilingually, because this is not “normal” to the British monolingual education systems, and I can understand parents’ reservations due to having little or no Gaelic themselves.

Despite its terribly emotive nature, the debate needs to continue.  Like you, draurc, I do not know whether there is a way out of this “god-awful mess” but I will be doing my best to stick around and be as involved in the debate as my sanity will allow!  Keep posting, draurc, fiddler99, commentator and anyone else watching!!

Well, a’ mhaolaig, you are much more eloquent than I am at 11 PM.  Your points are all very well made. 
I agree most strongly that there would not have been a huge outcry if the CC had voted the other way.  They certainly would not have received nasty letters and abusive outbursts from anyone supportive of the proposal.  The lack of an outcry would not, as you say, have been due to a lack of feeling but rather a sense of decorum.
I also agree that the debate goes much deeper than the school.  I can only deduce that this all stems from a deep-seated, anti-Gaelic feeling that has arisen for a variety of reasons over many, many years.  I had thought that we, as a society, had moved beyond such biogtry but it’s clear now that I was naive.
I don’t know how we can get out of this “god-awful mess” either but it would be terribly unfair to put that responsibility on the CC.  They are volunteers, not paid civil servants.  It is also the responsiblity of individuals to behave in a civil manner and the CC cannot possibly facilitate such behaviour.

There is a democratic process at work here for deciding on the future of Sleat Primary – that process is a Highland Council process - first involving the Area Committee then the Strategic ECS Committee and finally the full Council – those bodies will each have to make a decision and the decision of the full Council will be the final decision.

The CC does not have a decision making role to play in this process, it’s role is to make a representation as part of the local consultation process. If the CC chooses to make such a representation (which I think it should) that representation, should, according to the guidance on how CC’s are intended to function (which I have quoted earlier) reflect the broad spectrum of opinion on the issue.

On this point it matters not whether the actual members of the CC reflect the broad spectrum of the make up of the community (though one would hope they do).

What does matter is that their representation (in this case to the AC via the Area Manager) should reflect the broad spectrum of opinion within the community on the issue.

The function of the CC is this case, where the decision lies not with the CC but with HC, is to reflect local opinion and if that opinion is divided then the CC should reflect that division. It is for the AC, the ECSC and the full Council to make the decisions and they will take into account the views that are expressed to them through the consultation process.

As to what would have happened if the CC had voted the other way – we shall never know, so it is, perhaps, pointless to debate it (though I accept I was the one who raised it!) – I would, however make two points – Maolag -you may be right about the nature of the Gael – but as a number of the main protagonists behind this proposal are not, I suspect, Gaels, the outcry might have been other than you suspect, and Fiddler, if wrongs has been done over this issue then there has undoubtedly been fault on both sides – enough said!

Should the CC have come up with their own proposals to heal rather divide? – I agree this is beyond the remit of a CC and no doubt an unfair burden – but if nothing else they could have said that the community is divided and that neither of the two options on the table are acceptable as either would only further that divide so another solution needs to found, even if they didn’t know (who does?) what that solution might be.

I know that those who support this proposal find it difficult to believe it but most, if not all, those who oppose it are not anti-Gaelic - they are pro-choice – the choice that exists at present. If the way the school works is less than perfect, which it may well be, then is the answer not to sit down and see how we can seek to resolve the imperfections, whilst still retaining the choice?

This will take time and calm reflection and will not happen overnight and certainly not in the heated atmosphere that now exists.

Maybe the answer is first for both sides to acknowledge that neither will get their way – 100% - ie neither a simple ‘no change at all’ or ‘a total Gaelic school’ – if we could get over that hurdle then I reckon there is a chance that the community could heal itself and could come up with some ideas in conjunction with the school and HC that could lead to change but also retain choice.

draurc, in what way?  Should it say, “we all think it’s a great idea but some people in the community don’t.” How should the CC express that?  How does that compare with similar decisions taken by the HC, the SE and Westminster?  What on Earth makes you think that the “main protagonists behind this proposal” are not Gaels, do you know the make up of Comann nam Pàrant Shlèite?  On their website, they list 14 committee members and I’d hazard a guess that at the very least 8 of them are Gaels.
What other options can you think of, draurc?  What is so abhorrent about total immersion GME?  This is, after all, the Isle of Skye, Gaelic is dying, we all bear a responsibility to keep it alive, do we not?

Fiddler – clearly we are not going to agree and that, sadly, reflects how things currently are in Sleat and it seems will remain unless we all make a move - a couple of points though:-

‘’we all think it’s a great idea but some people in the community don’t.’’ – well, that would be better than what we have at present! Not, I think, truly representative but it at least shows the divide.

‘’I’d hazard a guess that at the very least 8 of them are Gaels.’’ – there you are, you make my point – I said ‘ a number’ were not Gaels, not all of them – probably irrelevant (and impertinent coming from me) but, of those who are ‘Gaels’, who was born & bred on Skye?

By the way, and you may wish to pass this on to CNPS, but the consultation process is statutory, not non-statutory, as the CNPS website says – I think it would be amazing if a proposal such as this gave rise to a non-statutory consultation – don’t you?

I don’t have a solution (I wish I did) – but, as I said in my previous posting, if both sides recognise that they are not going to get exactly what they want, then we might be able to discuss this issue in a civilised manner and come to some sort of agreement, which will not represent perfection to either side but may enable us to move on.

On the other hand, if Gaelic is more important than everything else ……….

Administrator – it would be interesting to know if the three of us are happily (!) debating this in a vacuum or whether others are following the debate, if not contributing. Do you have that information?