Frank Macnally: Last News

Pupils at Cleland Primary School are set to have a great new place to have fun at breaktimes after work to transform the playground got underway.

Secondary pupils across North Lanarkshire are being reminded of the importance of taking Covid tests throughout the new term to “keep disruption to a minimum [and] help prevent outbreaks of the virus”.

A North Lanarkshire councillor has been shortlisted for a local government award.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.Council bosses have written to the Education Secretary in an appeal for cash to construct a new St Aidan’s High within a town hub in Wishaw.NLC’s education convener Frank McNally has contacted John Swinney to seek funding for the hub in the town which would include a new St Aidan’s High and one other associated primary school as well as early years provision.The facility, part of the council’s long-term plans for a Wishaw town hub, would also include wider community assets including sport and leisure, transport and partnership facilities such as spaces for police and health officials to hold drop-in clinics.In the letter sent to Mr Swinney, Councillor

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.Children in North Lanarkshire were going without food because there wasn’t enough for them and their siblings, according to council education chief Frank McNally.North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) is now calling for its flagship Club365, a groundbreaking scheme introduced to ensure thousands of hungry schoolchildren can eat a hot meal every day of the year, to be rolled out across the rest of the country.The local authority move came in 2018 to tackle welfare reforms impacting families facing deprivation and financial hardship.

link.In July this year the Scottish Government announced a delay to the implementation of the 1140 programme due to the current health crisis.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has admitted misleading Parliament about North Lanarkshire Council’s 1140 hours early years education programme.During First Minister’s Questions, Ms Sturgeon claimed NLC had failed to roll out the programme, when in fact 69 per cent of education and childcare establishments are offering the extended hours.The council’s education convener, Councillor Frank McNally, said: “The First Minister’s comments made in Holyrood were entirely false and rightly led to a point of order being raised by Richard Leonard MSP.“North Lanarkshire Council is committed to the full rollout of 1140 funded hours by the end of

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our personalised newsletter.North Lanarkshire Council has restated its intention to double nursery hours as planned by September, despite the national rollout of the programme being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.The planned launch of the 1140 hours initiative – an increase from the current entitlement of 600 hours of funded pre-school learning – was put on hold in March by Scottish Government ministers, who revoked the legal requirement for an August start to allow local authorities to focus on their Covid-19 response.Education convener Councillor Frank McNally said: “We fully recognise the value that the 1140 expansion will bring to children and parents.“Many had

Join thousands of others who have signed up for the Daily Record newsletter.North Lanarkshire’s education convener says nearly half of all Higher candidates across the authority had grades reduced in the SQA moderation process.Frank McNally says analysis of the area’s results shows 4951 individual grades, affecting 2900 young people or 46 per cent of candidates, were downgraded from their teachers’ estimates on Tuesday’s results day.He described the process – which saw pass rate estimates for the most deprived areas reduced by 15.2 per cent, compared to 6.9 per cent for the country’s most affluent areas – as “nothing short of a scandal”.Councillor McNally is now calling for an independent inquiry into the “fiasco” and has lodged an

A NEW programme targeting pupils in North Lanarkshire at the greatest risk of leaving school without a positive post-school destination has transformed the life chances of everyone who took part.

Construction work is under way on three new nurseries in Coltness, Netherton and Newmains, which are expected to open in August.

Join thousands of others who have signed up for the Daily Record newsletter.Newmains residents are being asked for their views on the proposed shared campus for the village’s two primary schools and family learning centre.The campus will include Newmains and St Brigid’s Primary Schools as well as the Newmains Family Learning Centre on the one site.Councillor Frank McNally, the council’s Convener of Education and Families, said: “In spite of the current challenges with Covid-19 we remain determined to continue with plans to replace or refurbishment our school estate.“This exciting development will incorporate high-quality indoor and outdoor facilities, an extensive landscaped shared playground for both schools and a dedicated outside play

Join thousands of others who have signed up for the Daily Record newsletter.North Lanarkshire Council is on track to deliver 1140 hours to all children by September, with some eligible starting in August.Getting up and running is subject to all settings complying with government rules, so they are safe as possible, appropriate staffing levels are in place and getting cracking on NLC's new-build facilities.Councillor Frank McNally, the council’s education convener, says the safety of children and staff is the council’s top priority and they will only move to a full roll-out of the 1140 programme as soon as it is safe to do so.He said: “We fully intend to switch on the 1140 hours programme as soon as our facilities are ready, staff

Almost 200 newly-qualified teachers are to be offered full-time, fixed term contracts with North Lanarkshire Council in the coming academic term.The coronavirus has had an impact on the council’s normal approach to workforce planning and teacher recruitment and a number of teachers who were due to retire deferred in order to provide much-welcomed support with the pandemic.These two factors resulted in a reduced a number of permanent vacancies available for session 2020/21.However, potential additional funding has allowed the council to recruit more teachers to support schools with the delivery of blended learning over the next academic year.Councillor Frank McNally, Convener of Education and Families said: “We are determined to provide