JUST two children have been enrolled at East Renfrewshire's first-ever Gaelic school with one local councillor describing the uptake as "hugely disappointing".
Gaelic Medium Primary Education (GMPE) will be introduced “in a progressive way” at Thornliebank Primary School, starting with P1 pupils only in August and with children joining the P1 year stage in future years.
The council plans at this time to make allowance for a total of 50 places within GMPE provision, which will consist of two composite classes across stages P1 to P3 and P4 to P7.
Composites classes in Scotland have a maximum teacher-pupil ratio of 1:25, hence the maximum places of 50.
Currently, however, it has been confirmed that only two children are registered for GMPE at the school, with the local authority adding that “of course this can change at any time".
Tory Councillor Gordon Wallace, who represents the Giffnock and Thornliebank ward, said these numbers were hugely disappointing.
“People will have their views on the investment being set aside by Scottish Government for this initiative, particularly in the shadow of the growing attainment gap nationally,” added the Conservative politician.
“That said, I have no doubts in our own education department's ability to make it a success.
“Whether that will be sufficient to attract the numbers that will be required to make it viable in the long term remains to be seen.”
Explaining the process that led GMPE to be introduced, the council said that when it received a request for provision in East Renfrewshire, the education department undertook an initial assessment of demand.
Following this, a full assessment of the demand for GMPE was also undertaken.
The threshold for an obligatory full assessment under the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 is that an education authority is satisfied that there is demand in the GMPE assessment area from the parents of at least five children who are residents in this area and who are all in the same pre-school year group.
This full assessment and subsequent follow-up enquiries with those who had indicated a desire for GMPE indicated a total of five children for commencement in August 2023 and so the threshold was met and the decision was made to introduce GMPE.
A full public consultation was subsequently undertaken to determine the location of GMPE provision in the council.
Responding to Cllr Wallace’s comments, an East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “Following the formal assessment being carried out, we had a duty to put Gaelic primary education in place.
“At the time of the formal assessment, the threshold of five children due to start in August 2023 was met, although this number has since reduced.
“As with any new educational offering, we plan for the number of pupils to increase over a period of time.
“We expect that this will be the case at Thornliebank and are looking forward to seeing the provision develop in the years ahead.”
The costs associated with the project are described in the full public consultation paper, which notes that there will be capital costs associated with amendments to the current school building as well as additional physical resources such as tables and chairs and IT equipment.
The council has confirmed that learning and teaching spaces are being allocated to children who will be educated in Gaelic medium at the school with access to a specific general-purpose area.
Furthermore, it said that “changes will be made to the learning and teaching spaces to ensure that these are appropriate for learners” and in addition “improvements will also be made to communal facilities which will also be accessible to English medium learners".
The consultation paper also noted that “from early discussions with the Gaelic and Scots team of the learning directorate at the Scottish Government, it is likely that a significant capital funding contribution from the Scottish Government will be available to the Council to develop the Gaelic school in these matters".
The new principal teacher of Gaelic is Adam McColgan-Smith, who was introduced in a video published by the local authority on social media last month.
McColgan-Smith learned the language through Gaelic Medium Education, while growing up on an island, before going on to university to study Gaelic and French.
From his time in high school, he knew he wanted to be a teacher and started teaching Gaelic after university in several schools around Glasgow.
On bringing Gaelic provision to East Renfrewshire, in the video, he said: “I am really happy to be here. Gaelic is coming to Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Thornliebank, starting in August with primary one.
“A new challenge for me in this new role, but I am really happy and looking forward to what is to come.”
