SNP accused of misleading parents over school pledge

May 4 2008 By Mark Aitken Political Editor

Exclusive Ministers Warned Over School Pledge

PARENTS were misled over a Scottish Government pledge to cut class sizes, Labour MSPs said yesterday.

They said the minutes of a meeting revealed SNP ministers were warned in July that an election pledge to reduce primary classes to 18 was impossible.

The meeting was between the Scottish Government Schools Directorate and the Deans of Faculties of Education.

The minutes reveal ministers were told: "The scale of the commitment does not allow it to be delivered in the lifetime of a parliament.

"With the scale of the plans to reduce classes in P1 to P3...the commitments will take 8-10 years to achieve."

Labour education spokeswoman Rhona Brankin said: "This states clearly the SNP knew their flagship policy was undeliverable in July and yet they still say they will get classes down to 18.

"It would appear Scotland has been misled and it's only a question now of how high up this information went."

The row came as it emerged cash-strapped Aberdeen City Council are increasing class sizes as they struggle to make savings.

A document sent to schools on achieving "efficiencies" tells heads to be prepared to "operate to maximum class size".

Brankin said: "This is outrageous. It bodes very badly for Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop.

"Her reduction in class sizes policy is in tatters as her own councillors tell schools to bump up the numbers. Where was she when her Cabinet colleague John Swinney was agreeing the budget?

"It appears that her education brief got a lot less than she needed to keep SNP pledges."

The Scottish Government said an agreement on cutting class sizes had been reached as part of a package in the recent deal signed with local government body Cosla.

A spokesman said: "We expect year-on-year reductions by each local authority over the spending review period."

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