Nairn parents attack councillor over his Gaelic-medium unit stance

by Paul Wilson
Press and Journal 23 11 05

Parents have accused a senior Highland councillor of burying his head in the sand over his opposition to a Gaelic medium primary school.

They said they were dismayed by Councillor John Matheson’s claim it was “the wrong time politically” to open a Gaelic medium unit at Millbank School, Nairn.

Mr Matheson, who represents Nairn Alltan and is chairman of Highland Council’s resources committee, criticised his colleagues for starting a consultation process over a new Gaelic school at the request of a large number of parents.

He said there was no Gaelic community in Nairn and that a Gaelic school could mean the town missing out on other things.

Tommy and Janice Macleod of Auldearn, near Nairn, send their child to Nairn’s Gaelic nursery school.

Mrs Macleod said: “Gaelic medium education in Nairn should have happened more than 100 years ago.

“In 1826, 62% of the people in Nairnshire spoke Gaelic. If Gaelic medium education existed then Gaelic would still be widely spoken in Nairn.

“Many people outwith the area are amazed a Highland town the size of Nairn does not have a Gaelic medium unit within a primary school.

“In fact, I think Nairn is the only Highland town of its size not to have this facility.”

Mr Macleod said: “I agree that you can’t retain a language unless it is the language of the home and the community, but I disagree that no community exists in Nairn.

“A community does exist and is thriving. Ask anyone who attends the Gaelic Choir, Croileagan (Gaelic nursery), various Gaelic language learners or the feis.

“You could also ask any other person of th 7.25% of Inverness and Nairn area who have some knowledge of the Gaelic language. I would certainly argue therefore that there is a Gaelic community in Nairn.”

But Mr Matheson yesterday stood by his opposition to the school and accused the parents calling for the Gaelic medium school of trying to ensure smaller class sizes for their children.

He said: “Simply having Gaelic primary education is not nearly enough to ensure the language will be preserved.

“We need it to be the language of the community and the language of the home.

“The danger is that once the youngsters are out of the school they will forget all about Gaelic – we need continuity throughout life if it is to be preserved.”

He said only a handful of children would be able to attend classes at the school because most people do not speak Gaelic.
More here on the
P&J site

 

Nairn Gaelic Playgroup: Family Ceilidh Dance 3rd December

Cròileagan Inbhir Narann
Ceilidh is Dannsa Teaghlaich
le Meantime
Tha Meantime air cliù mhòr a choisinn dhaibh fhèin mar luchd-ciùil air leth
(chaidh an cur air adhart airson Duais Ceòl Traidiseanta na h-Alba ann an 2004)
Na caillibh an cothrom seo!
Disathairne 3 Dùbhlachd 2005

Ionad Coimhearsnachd Inbhir Narann
7 – 11f

Ticeadan £3 Inbhich, £1 Clann, fo 2 bhliadhna an asgaidh

Tachartas Dà-chànanach
Dannsa Gàidhealach, Òrain Cloinne, Pìobaireachd agus Maic Fosgailte aig letheach-slighe
Stovies, Brot is Beicearachd gan Reic

Ticeadan bho Phàrantan, Ionad Coimhearsnachd Inbhir Narann, Fòn 07717 615177 no aig an doras [/color]


Nairn Gaelic Playgroup
Family Ceilidh Dance with Meantime
Meantime have built up an excellent reputation as one of the emerging talents on the current Gaelic Music Scene
(Scots Trad Music Award Nomination 2004)
Don’t miss this!

Sat 3 December 2005

Nairn Community Centre

7 – 11pm

Tickets £3 Adults, £1 Children, U2s free

Bilingual Event
Highland Dancing, Children’s Songs, Piping and Open Mike at interval

Stovies, Soup and Home Baking on Sale

Tickets from Parents, Nairn Community Centre,
Tel 07717615177 or at the door

 

Some responses to the Press re the John Matheson article

The Editor Press & Journal
Dear Sir
I am astounded by the comments of Councillor John Matheson of Nairn regarding Gaelic Medium Education (Press and Journal Monday 14 Nov 2005). Does the man in charge of the Council's resources not know that it costs the same for a teacher who speaks Gaelic as for one who speaks English and that is the only difference in a Gaelic Medium Class. Granted, there may be some additional cost associated with start up and the smaller class sizes in the early days but this will be marginal. If Councillor Matheson really wants to save money why hasn't he spoken up against the huge extra cost of the Schools Private Finance Initiative which is going to cost the Highland Council hundreds of millions more than the traditional method of financing? It appears he thinks it is alright for public money to go to line the pockets of private financiers but that he would deny his own claimed Gaelic tradition. With friends like Councillor Matheson Gaelic needs no enemies.
Yours sincerely. Dave Thompson

I was extremely angry, but not surprised, to read John Matheson'sill-informed comments regarding Gaelic medium education in Nairn. He saysthat the provision of a GME unit is financially 'bad timing' - for whom? MrMatheson fails to mention that 75% of the cost of a GME unit would be met bythe Scottish Executive, and that the local council is legally obliged toprovide GME education where a minimum of 4 children require it, (Nairncurrently has a list of at least 25 children whose parents want them to betaught through the medium of Gaelic. Local parents have tried three times toget a GME unit for the town, and have each time come up against a brick wallof intransigence. I was at a meeting a few weeks ago which was organised bya local parents' initiative for GME, at which Mr Matheson was present(although he declined to add his name to the attendance sheet), and it wasobvious from his contributions that the last thing he wants is a Gaelicschool for Nairn. He also thinks there is no Gaelic community in Nairn? I would suggest thenthat Mr Matheson obviously does not know his own town. Is he unaware of theexistence of the Gaelic pre-school nursery, the Gaelic toddler group, theGaelic choir and the Feis Inbhir Narainn which was such a success a fewweeks ago? As for Gaelic speakers, I was in the high street last Saturdayand in the space of 10 minutes I had spoken to two other Gaelic speakers,one a fellow learner and another native speaker. Moreover, the Gaeliclanguage classes are now well-established in Nairn. So if Mr Matheson thinksthat if Nairn gets a Gaelic Medium unit then he may not get re-elected in2007, perhaps this would be a good thing, given that he is so obviouslyout-of-touch with what is really happening in his own backyard.
Sarah RalphNairn

Nairn is going to get a Gaelic Medium Education unit because enough parents want it, and I just hope that when we do, Mr Matheson does not use it as a scapegoat for any future plans going ‘pear-shaped’ as he put it. How easy it will be for him to put the blame for the local council’s failings on the Gaelic Medium Unit!
Peter Ralph

If you listen more carefully about the town perhaps you might hear a bit of Gàidhlig. There are around two hundred people in Nairn who can speak, understand or read Gàidhlig. I’m a learner but I get plenty of chances to speak with native speakers or other learners in Nairn, not quite every time I go up the High Street but near enough. I just heard about the item on this site from a friend who lives locally (she explained it to me in Gàidhlig). There is a Gàidhlig community in Nairn, John! Gàidhlig exists side by side with English . I was just on my way back from the museum, I’d been looking at Census information the Cawdor Heritage group had been working on, in 1901 there were 1007 people in the Cawdor area, 203 of them spoke Gàidhlig. They didn’t get the chance to have their children educated in the language, maybe it is time to put things right? You’ve put in a lot of work over the years for Nairn, please don’t be remembered for this!
Des Scholes

I find it sad that there is such a struggle for people in Scotland to promote and celebrate their heritage and culture. Wales and Ireland look at their native tongue with pride and they thrive alongside English. As one of the parents involved with the request for the Gaelic medium,I would like to say this is the third attempt by parents in Nairn to get a Medium unit, the previous two attempts obviously did not come at the 'right time' either. We have the numbers , we can show continuity, the Scottish Executive will give 75% funding. If Nairn does not get the GMU the money will not be rerouted elsewhere within Nairn, our children will just miss out on a fantastic opportunity to keep gaelic alive, and hopefully help increase some of the statistics quoted from the Sunday Times. Finally for those who don't think there is a Gaelic community in Nairn, please come along to the Nairn Community Centre on the 3rd of December and join our thriving Gaelic community for a ceilidh. C Davidson, Inbhir Narann '

Response to Article in Press and Journal dated 12-11-2005 Article title: Challenge to Plan for Nairn Gael Primary School According to Mr Matheson, Gaelic Medium Education in pre-school has little effect. Little effect on what, might I ask ? Certainly not education. Gaelic Medium Education has been shown to, at the very least, produce equal positive outcomes regarding education and in many instances even better. I also question the supposition that it is, “ the wrong time politically” to grant parents request for a Gaelic Medium Unit. The time is, I believe, right, given that we have the historic Gaelic Act and are only a year and a half away from The Year of Highland Culture, what better time to promote Nairn as well as Gaelic (Pederson and Hecla Consulting, 2004 ). Pederson and Hecla identified that there would be substantial benefits from Gaelic development for Inverness and Nairn area. Benefits, which are already being felt, thanks to Gaelic, in the form of £1.8million generated for the area with 100 full-time jobs earning an average wage of £22.800. The time is financially ripe too, with 75% of the cost of a Gaelic Medium Education Unit being met by the Scottish Executive. I agree with Mr Matheson, when he says that, “you can’t retain a language unless it is the language of the home and the community”, but I disagree with him when he asserts that no community exists. A community, as defined by no less an authority than the Oxford Dictionary, does exist and is thriving. Ask any one who attends the Gaelic Choir, Croileagan (Gaelic nursery), various Gaelic Language learners groups or the Feis. You could also ask any other person of the 7.25% of the local population (Inverness and Nairn area) who have some knowledge of the Gaelic Language. I would certainly argue therefore, that there is a Gaelic Community in Nairn. Incidentally, the best way of ensuring the continuation of a Gaelic Community, according to Mr Matheson’s employers is, ”that education is the most important vehicle through which the decline of the language can be arrested and the route through which a renaissance in the language and culture be promoted. Highland Councils Gaelic Education policy seeks to do just that”. (Highland Council’s response to the Gaelic Bill). Given the opposition at times to Gaelic (something that has been described by the Education Minister Peter Peacock as, “a precious part of our history and culture”), I sometimes wonder if we have really come in the words of the same minister, “a long way since the dark days of 1616 when an act of parliament ruled that Gaelic should be abolished and removed from Scotland”.
Tomaidh MacLeoid
Response to Article in Press and Journal dated 12-11-2005 Article title: Challenge to Plan for Nairn Gael Primary School I am dismayed but not surprised at Councillor Matheson’s views. It is attitudes such as his that hinder Gaelic Development in Nairn. As a parent of a child in the Nairn Gaelic Playgroup, who is involved in the third request for a Gaelic Medium Unit in Nairn, I would like to correct John Matheson on a couple of points. Two of the four local councillors were personally invited to the initial meeting between Parents and Highland Council Officials. Neither of the councillors was able to attend. We then sent detailed minutes of the initial meeting to them. They and Councillor Matheson were then invited to the second and most recent meeting. So it cannot be said that there has been no member involvement. As to the point ‘no Gaelic Community exists in Nairn, why then does Nairn have a large Gaelic Choir, a well attended and valued Gaelic Nursery, a Gaelic Parent and Toddler Group, Adult Gaelic Language Evening Classes and a Feis? As to it being the wrong time politically, there never seems to be a good time. Gaelic Medium Education in Nairn should have happened more than a hundred years ago. In 1826, 62% of the people in Nairnshire spoke Gaelic. If Gaelic Medium Education existed then, Gaelic would still be widely spoken in Nairn. Many people out with the area are amazed that a Highland Town the size of Nairn does not have a Gaelic Medium Unit within a primary school. In fact, I think Nairn is the only Highland town of its size not to have this facility. Thank goodness for the Gaelic Language Act passed recently. We now have a good chance of reversing the trend. As to finance, are the public aware, that 75% of the funding for Gaelic Medium Primary School Education comes from the Scottish Executive Budget and not Local Authority. Councillor Matheson, if you truly wanted to preserve Gaelic Language and Culture, as you say you do, you would have a ‘can do’ attitude rather than the negative and destructive attitude you portray in this article. You are a politician with a Gaelic Heritage, don’t bury your head in the sand. Time is running out.
Seonaid NicLeoid (Janice McLeod)

 

John Matheson' s comments

As reported on the Press and Journal website 12 11 05
CHALLENGE TO PLAN FOR NAIRN GAEL PRIMARY SCHOOL
A Senior Highland councillor has warned that, if a Gaelic medium primary school is opened in Nairn, none of the serving councillors in the area will be re-elected. Councillor John Matheson, who chairs the council's resources committee, said to grant the request of a large number of parents for Gaelic-medium education now was the "wrong time politically". This is the first request to the council following the new Gaelic Language Act, which asks local authorities to consider such requests very seriously. The council's education culture and sport committee has agreed to start a formal consultation process, following the request. Mr Matheson said: "Discussions so far have been between officials and parents and there has been no member involvement. By the time members become involved, it will have already built up a head of steam and there is no chance to stop the consultation process. "I also have concerns about affordability. Because of the state of the budgets, we should not be entering into new commitments. "I am as committed to the preservation of the Gaelic language and culture as anyone else and my family comes from centuries of Gaelic tradition. Sorley MacLean's mother is a family member, as is Karen Matheson of Capercaillie. "But, from my own personal experience, I believe that Highland Council's policy falls short of what is required. Gaelic medium education in primary school has little effect, and you can't retain a language unless it is the language of the home and the community, and no community exists." Councillor Matheson added: "I would like members to be involved in the preparation of the consultation paper. Council policy is to provide Gaelic-medium education within available resources, and we don't have the resources. "Major projects scheduled for Nairn are going pear-shaped, and there is an expectation in Nairn that the council will do what it promised eight years ago. There is a danger that Nairn will end up with no more than a primary school Gaelic-medium unit. If that is the case, serving councillors standing again in 2007 will have little hope of being re-elected." The council's education chief Bruce Robertson said: "This is a formal request from parents and we are duty bound to respond to that."