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Future of schools go under review


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A question mark was raised over the future of Forydce Primary
A question mark was raised over the future of Forydce Primary

A CONSULTATION to seek the views of communities on Aberdeenshire Council’s schools has been agreed by councillors and will run until February 2012.

A report outlining the review came before the authority’s Education, Learning and Leisure Committee at a recent meeting at Woodhill House, Aberdeen.

The committee agreed in May that views should be sought on key principles to be taken into account when considering the school estate, including educational, economic and social factors.

Soon after the meeting, the Scottish Government announced a year-long moratorium on the closure of rural schools.

Fordyce Primary was among schools thought to be under threat.

The latest report highlighted the need for the council to keep its school estate under review, taking account of demographic changes, the condition of buildings, and the impact of key planning documents such as the Local Development Plan.

The moratorium provides the time to carry out detailed consultation with communities, councillors were told.

The committee approved the launch of the consultation with schools, parents and communities regarding the challenges and future requirements for the school estate in Aberdeenshire.

Inevitably, over a period of years, there will be demographic changes which may mean that new schools have to be built in some areas while some existing schools in other areas are no longer as viable as they once were.

School buildings can deteriorate over time and some can reach the stage when replacement makes more economic sense than refurbishment.

Some buildings are constructed in ways which make a meaningful 21st Century education very difficult and as such the buildings are not fully "fit for purpose".

The pupil roll in some schools can become too small for as meaningful an education as possible to take place, whereas some places in Aberdeenshire are experiencing exceptional growth.

The consultation to gather local views will run in two stages until early spring 2012.

The first stage will take the form of a survey based on the guidelines discussed by the committee in May, and will detail some of the pressures affecting schools, with the aim of identifying local issues.

The survey will take account of such factors as the size of schools, distribution of pupils within schools, capacity, condition of buildings, travel times, rural grants and catchment areas.

The second stage of the consultation involves a series of meetings and events across Aberdeenshire to discuss those issues in more detail.

The outcome of the first stage of the consultation is expected to come back before the committee in October, with a further progress report in December.

A final report and project plan will be presented to the committee next March.

E,L&L committee chairman, Richard Stroud, said: "It is vital for education authorities to keep school estates under review and this is a process we must go through.

"This consultation is intended to lead to meaningful engagement with our communities in the broadest sense.

"We want schools to be the hub of our communities, but we need to get involved in a conversation with parents so that we can take their views into account when we make decisions.

"It may be about providing more schools, it may be about providing fewer schools, but it’s about providing what’s best and what people want."

Committee member Brian Topping (Fraserburgh and District) said: "It is I think vital that we do regularly check our school estate, not just now and again."

An additional recommendation made by the chair to circulate the results of the consultation to area committees for their views before coming back to the E,L&L committee was approved.

Following a separate report, The Education, Learning and Leisure Committee also approved a consultation exercise to start on September 5, regarding proposals to close the Mearns and Ellon Academies, in line with the planned replacement of both schools.

To view consultations taking place in Aberdeenshire and to have your say, see: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/consultations/


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