I want to point out though that a major part of the reason our children are not getting the correct amount of education is because teachers have so many rules and regulations with regard to discipline in the classroom that the are rendered impotent.

What is the use of pouring all the resource into the child without involving the parents. Our system does not allow the schools to make the parents responsible. I am afraid that too many parents cannot see or do not care about how the behaviour of their child affects the education of the the others.

Please start a campaign that means that parents have to take responsibility for their own children. The teachers cannot possibly do this without the support of the parents.

Dawn Sim

Taking the YouGov poll from today, and assuming fairly standard ‘tactical’ voting based on what normally happens in such areas, we have:

http://bit.ly/altJNO

That puts Calder Valley firmly in the Lib Dem gain column. Which means that the work we’ve been putting in the last few years has definitely been worth it.

To respond:

I think Cllr Whittaker should resign. Just as I thought Cllr Reason should have resigned over the shortcomings highlighted by the report on the Council’s handling of the Sita contract. Only if local politicians accept their ultimate accountability to the electorate when things go wrong can we hope to restore faith in politics. There seems to be growing confusion amongst some Calderdale Councillors between what it is to be directly responsible for malpractice and what it is to be “accountable” for it. I was sat observing the Council meeting last year when the Liberal Democrats called for both Cllr Reason and Cllr Metcalfe to resign over the Sita affair. I think they should both have done the honourable thing. They may have done nothing wrong. They may have done their best. They may have had the wool pulled over their eyes. The point is, they were the political figureheads of the Directorate and the Scrutiny Panel, respectively, and hence “accountable” to the people of Calderdale for something that went wrong on their watch. Cllr Reason didn’t say a word but stared at the floor throughout the debate. Cllr Metcalfe, a good man without a doubt, took the call for his resignation as a personal attack and behaved quite petulantly. Neither of them did the decent thing which would have been to resign. No wonder trust in politicians is at an all time low.

And Cllr Whittaker is in the same position now with regard to the serious failures in Children’s Services uncovered by this independent review. He should be saying to his colleagues on the Council and to the people of Calderdale “I don’t think this service has been run to an acceptable standard. As I have been the Portfolio Holder for the last three years, I am the person accountable. I am very sorry for what has happened and I resign.” Then someone new can be appointed to take up the role and the Directorate can make a fresh start. I think that would show integrity and would win him and the rest of the Council more public respect.

Call me old fashioned!