Glass Nursery mothballing concerns after Aberdeenshire Council decision raised in Holyrood
The concerns of families told, with “no consultation”, that their rural nursery school would be shuttered have been heard in parliament.
Glass Nursery, near Huntly, is one of four Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) centres set to be “mothballed”, in a decision announced by Aberdeenshire Council just a day before the Easter holidays.
The doors of the nursery are set to close on July 5, with its five children placed in second or third choice nurseries from August.
A petition launched by members of the local community has garnered a total of 425 signatures.
At Holyrood, Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West Alexander Burnett raised the concerns of parents, who had complained about “poor communication” from council officers during the process which happened with “no consultation”.
In response Minister for Children and Young People Natalie Don-Innes said Mr Burnett’s account was “very concerning”, but added that councils needed “flexibility” when making decisions on schools.
In the chamber, Mr Burnett asked Minister for Children and Young People Natalie Don-Innes whether the Scottish Government would intervene if national guidance has not been followed.
“No consultation has taken place with any of the communities affected, and parents are experiencing poor communication with council officers,” Mr Burnett said.
“We also received the impact assessment — on which the decision for one of the nursery closures was approved — on April 30, over a month after they announced the closures on March 28.
“So can the minister outline what action the Scottish Government will take to ensure that national mothballing guidance is followed, and what can parents do, when councils are not following their own processes?”
Minister for Children and Young People Natalie Don-Innes said: “We are reviewing the guidance to provide greater clarity on whether it is an appropriate action to take.
“I find what Mr. Burnett brings to me very concerning, and we do expect local authorities to consult with parents, carers and families to ensure that they are meeting local needs in relation to childcare.
“Understanding, of course, that there has to be some level of flexibility for local authorities in relation to managing their estate, prompted by, for example, changes to demographics.”
Also in line for mothballing are three other ELC centres: Crossroads near Crathes, Ballogie near Aboyne, and Sandhaven near Fraserburgh.
Aberdeenshire Council guidance states that mothballing is a decision taken by the director of education and children’s services, currently Laurence Findlay, when the pupil roll has fallen very low.
Rules for the process were set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 - to make it harder to close rural schools.
However, in an interview with the Times Education Supplement, Mr Findlay said the law needed to be “refreshed and modernised”.
The education and children’s services director also argued that while Aberdeenshire Council is “passionate about rural education” and wants there to be rural schools, “just not as many as there are now”.
He added: “The 2010 act is there, I guess, to protect rural education.
“You can’t have people just going around closing schools willy-nilly - of course you can’t.
“But I don’t think it is protecting it at all.
“We are passionate about rural education: we want to have rural schools - just not as many as there are now.
“We want to make sure they are in the right places.”
