Colin Macaulay has recently been appointed the New Community Schools manager after the Government, late last year, presented a programme which was being used successfully in the United States. The programme is called Full Service and it’s a new way of looking at schools and the individual child’s education in particular.

Colin who is based, initially, at Merkinch Primary School will be responsible for taking forward this bold initiative which involves taking health and welfare into the school setting.

"Educational achievements are very important. We are aiming to develop educational goals for all children. As we are all very aware some children will have an advantage over others - the ones with the computers at home or access to many books for instance." The basic philosophy is that education, whether in the traditional setting of the classroom or through an informal environment, has to be available to each and every child. It is also recognised that families may go through periods of difficulty or pressure from time to time and this can have an impact on how the child performs or behaves at school therefore strong family support is one of the key factors in this new contemporary approach to education.

"The New Community Schools project is all about working with young people and supporting families in a way which will help raise achievements. This can be done by intervening in the early years, and in some instances even pre-school where some of the problems can already be well established."

Every local authority in Scotland was invited to submit proposals for the pilot projects. The focus of the project is the individual child, his or her family and the community in which they live. Each project has been designed locally to meet local needs and Inverness is unique in a way because it is not just one or two schools that are involved but five schools - Merkinch Primary, Central, St Joseph’s, Bishop Eden’s, Inverness High School as well as Merkinch Nursery School.

"We are at the very early stages, however we are driving this forward as fast as possible. It’s an exciting time, a brilliant way forward for all schools not just in Inverness but Scotland - the key words for this initiative are innovative, creative, imaginative. It is all about trying out new ways of working together but at the end of the day it’s up to the teachers, parents and kids to make it work."

Colin’s first job in his new role will be to bring together a team of professionals including social workers, education workers, health education workers and family support workers. The team will work together in raising educational success, helping the individual child to develop in a way that realises his or her full potential. The investment by central government this financial year for schools in Scotland is £6 million with Inverness receiving £600,000 for the project. This cash injection will be used over the next 3-year period and Colin is hoping to have the initial draft plans ready to be put into action within the next month.

Over the coming months your News and Views will keep you up to date on all developments of this new project.