On 18th June Fife Cultural Trust, who run Fife's libraries on behalf of Fife Council, announced the proposal to close 16 libraries across the county: Glenwood (Glenrothes), Thornton, Markinch, Pitteuchar (Glenrothes), Kinghorn, Crail, Lundin Links, Pittenweem, Colinsburgh, Falkland, Freuchie, East Wemyss, Bowhill, Crossgates, Abbeyview (Dunfermline) and Townhill. These libraries provide many people with vital internet services and access to books that they would otherwise not get. Many unemployed people or those on low income cannot afford internet contracts and therefore use the libraries for this: closing them means far more restricted access to things like online banking, bill payments and job searching. Some of the areas affected are rural and by closing these internet access points they will have to use public transport to travel further afield; this is money they do not have, and may lead to benefit sanctions if they cannot apply for jobs. Update (23/6/15): Local councillors have managed to stall the closures by demanding Fife Council give a public consultation. While this is great news we still need to continue having our voices heard.

All children who previously used this partially funded current bus service, as it currently stands face an unsafe pedestrian route to/from school if on foot, due to the lack of a safe crossing point. Alternatively, this will result in many more cars trying to use already heavily congested roads through two bottleneck points, one through Ellon town centre and the other at the foot of Hospital Road. There will be further safety issues regarding the school drop off areas around each primary and this will undoubtedly lead to further risks to the children, caused by insufficient access to safe drop off or parking areas.

Andrew Smith MP sums it up brilliantly: “It would be socially damaging and a false economy if more children and young people are held back in deprivation and troubled lives as a result, because the long term human and economic costs of that are huge.” Please do not shut our childrens' centres, they are invaluable resources in our troubled times, and to remove them will cause even more suffering and hardship for those already most in need. The council has agreed to reduce its £16m budget for children’s centres and early intervention hubs by 2018. It is part of savings of £284m planned, but Councillors say more may be needed in the face of further Government cuts expected next year. (source:Oxford Mail, 16th June 2015.)

Students and teachers alike are frustrated with the constant changes to the education system. Sometimes these changes are necessary but in this case it is simply a great inconvienience not only to teaching but also to employers. I am seriously annoyed by this proposed change to levels 1-9 instead of GCSE grades and extremely glad that I have narrowly escaped from this having just completed my GCSEs. If you want to keep current GCSE grading please sign this campaign.

Children have enough pressure and to constantly either be told their qualifications are not good enough or to put more stress on this age group is not good enough. The vagaries of each examining body need adjusting to structure the same achievements on all pupils.

More than three million UK pupils are being under-funded for their education because central government, incredibly, does not fund basic education costs and extra learning needs equally across the country. Local Authorities are allocated money for schools based on out-dated, historical criteria, which has created shocking underfunding of pupils in more than 50 areas, across the country. Schools in those areas have only managed through their thrift, resourcefulness and others' charity. Their deprived children have not received the extra funding that they need and would receive if they lived elsewhere in England and all of their pupils have been affected. This unacceptable situation has been going on for decades, obscured to the public by layers of funding complexity. But no longer: it is time for parents and communities to push for change urgently, because, with education cuts forecast, more than a ⅓ of the already underfunded schools can no longer make do and mend - they face bankruptcy. Millions of our children's futures are at stake.

Many Students are going to be priced out of education if this grant is cut, many students will not be able to go, or be faced with enormous debt and will feel frightened of the huge lifetime loans. This grant is a lifeline for poorer students. There are students who have worked hard, they’ve got the grades and now they don’t know whether they’ll be able to go to university. Even if they worked part time whilst studying, it still would not be enough money to live on. Please sign and share so we can stop this madness and help our next generations of students become wonderful teachers, scientists, doctors, etc. Education is for people from all walks of life not just rich people. Being poor should not be a trap preventing a university education. We are one of the richest nations in the world, stopping student maintenance grants would be catastrophic for many generations to come, curbing our future development as a country by not investing in young people. This is the wrong place for the government to make savings. Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33444557

There are many children on the Autistic Spectrum in Tower Hamlets who are struggling in their current Education Provisions. This may just be failure to reach their full potential or being very distressed at attending school, which can impact on their mental health. Many parents go along with the struggle as they feel there isn't any alternative, some feel their only option is to Home Educate, some find their child being excluded from school or moved to a Pupil Referral Unit due to challenging behaviour caused by the stress of trying to cope in a class of 30, some children are travelling long distances everyday to attend schools outside of Tower Hamlets that can better cater for their needs and some parents decide to move their child to local special needs schools, but this is not always possible for children who do not also have significant learning difficulties. Children on the Autistic Spectrum can find sensory stimuli overwhelming, this on top of problems with social interaction can make being in a mainstream class of 30 very difficult for them. Please sign this petition if you agree there are not appropriate Education Provisions in Tower Hamlets for children on the Autistic Spectrum who cannot cope in a class of 30 but do not fit the criteria to attend a Special Needs School. Thank you for your support!

This important because these teachers have helped so many students become more successful at school and later life. They also make good contributions to the departments that they work in. Believe it or not but their leaving will also affect the parents because not only do the pupils adore these teachers but so do the parents. These teachers aren't the teachers you might have in your head these teachers make a difference on pupils lives they help all pupils they can grow up and leaving school as successful as possible. These teachers are also someone to trust because they are so kind , caring and considerate on a day to day basis.

Why should a child watch a member of their family or friend suffer in pain and have no idea what to do? That kind of pressure and guilt should not be put on children. First aid should be taught in Primary and Secondary schools so that our children can be the difference between life and death and can even know what to do for themselves if they need first aid. It's all well and good children learning science, mathematics and literacy, but saving a life overrules all of that in retrospect. Give our children a well rounded education with important life skills!

Because children are being failed, families are becoming ill with stress and if something is not done now both the children and the local area will suffer in the future.

A backpack is not uniform, nor is it important and the way children have been shamed for not having them, either because they can't afford them or are refusing to buy them because of their poor quality and high price is a disgrace. The idea that there is a 'cheap' version, a 'girls' version and two other versions in the pipeline goes against the principle of a standardised uniform anyway. It is important for children to go to school to learn and make the most out of their education, not to go to school to be bullied by staff because they don't have the right backpack, not to be threatened with isolation and eventually expulsion, not to queue up at a 'poor door' to hand in their non school branded bags and in turn be bullied by students for being poor or different. All of us, adults and children, have more important things to worry about, you'd think a headteacher would too.