Sentinel leader: School trip is all wrong

I T WON'T just be parents who will raise their eyebrows at the news that up to 80 teachers from Edensor Technology College will soon spend two staff training days in Spain. The current state of the economy means that most of us are feeling the pinch. So the thought of thousands of pounds of public money being used to pay for dozens of teachers to fly off to sunny Marbella will not go down well. Headteacher Richard Mercer says that the trip is "cost-effective". By which he means that the jaunt costs less than taking his teachers to a four star hotel in Birmingham or London. However, Mr Mercer is missing the point. The Costa del Sol may be cheaper, at this time of the year, than some of the bigger British cities. But surely the Edensor training programme could be even more "cost-effective" if it was held in the Potteries.

W hich, of course, is the real issue. In life, perception is every- thing. Particularly when we are dealing with public services. And particularly during an economic downturn. We have no doubt that the teachers of Edensor will gain much from their Costa conference. However, the fact that they are discussing the future of education – let alone the future of education in Stoke-on-Trent – only yards from a Spanish beach, sends out the wrong message. Times are tough. And during such times tax-payers expect public servants to spend their money in a sensitive as well as cost-effective fashion. Taking up to 80 teachers to Spain for two days of training is most definitely not sensitive behaviour. What's more, you don't have to be a struggling parent to recognise that fact.