Perth and Kinross Council Lifelong Learning Committee 30 January 2019

Securing the future… • Improving services • Enhancing quality of life • Making the best use of public resources

Council Building 2 High Street Perth PH1 5PH

18 March 2019

A Meeting of the Lifelong Learning Committee will be held in the Council Chamber, 2 High Street, Perth, PH1 5PH on Wednesday, 27 March 2019 at 13:00 .

If you have any queries please contact Committee Services on (01738) 475000 or email [email protected].

KAREN REID Chief Executive

Those attending the meeting are requested to ensure that all electronic equipment is in silent mode.

Please note that the meeting will be recorded and will be publicly available on the Council’s website following the meeting.

Members: Councillor Caroline Shiers (Convener) Mr Adrian Ferguson Councillor Callum Purves (Vice-Convener) Mrs Pat Giles Councillor Willie Wilson (Vice-Convener) Mr Fraser MacDonald Councillor Henry Anderson Mrs Audrey McAuley Councillor Kathleen Baird Mr Robert McCall Councillor John Duff Mrs Margaret McFarlane Councillor Angus Forbes Councillor Xander McDade Councillor Tom McEwan Councillor Beth Pover Councillor John Rebbeck Councillor Crawford Reid Councillor Fiona Sarwar

Page 1 of 194 Page 2 of 194 Lifelong Learning Committee

Wednesday, 27 March 2019

AGENDA

MEMBERS ARE REMINDED OF THEIR OBLIGATION TO DECLARE ANY FINANCIAL OR NON-FINANCIAL INTEREST WHICH THEY MAY HAVE IN ANY ITEM ON THIS AGENDA IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCILLORS’ CODE OF CONDUCT.

1 WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

3 MINUTES

3(i) MINUTE OF THE MEETING OF THE LIFELONG LEARNING 5 - 10 COMMITTEE OF 30 JANUARY 2019 FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE (copy herewith)

3(ii) MINUTE OF THE MEETING OF OF THE EXECUTIVE SUB- 11 - 12 COMMITTEE OF THE LIFELONG LEARNING COMMITTEE OF 29 OCTOBER 2018 FOR NOTING (copy herewith)

3(iii) MINUTE OF THE MEETING OF THE JOINT NEGOTIATING 13 - 18 COMMITTEE FOR TEACHING STAFF OF 4 DECEMBER 2018 FOR NOTING (copy herewith)

4 MINUTE OF THE MEETING OF THE CHILDREN, YOUNG 19 - 22 PEOPLE AND FAMILIES PARTNERSHIP OF 7 DECEMBER 2018 FOR NOTING (copy herewith)

5 STATUTORY CONSULTATION - BLAIRINGONE PRIMARY 23 - 106 SCHOOL Report by Executive Director (Education and Children's Services) (copy herewith 19/92)

6 STATUTORY CONSULTATION - GREENLOANING PRIMARY 107 - 170 SCHOOL Report by Executive Director (Education and Children's Services) (copy herewith 19/93)

Page 3 of 194 7 SCHOOL ESTATE TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME - PHASE 171 - 184 2 UPDATE Report by Executive Director (Education and Children's Services) (copy herewith 19/94)

8 RESERVED PLACES IN SCHOOLS 2019/2020 AND 185 - 194 MAXIMISING CAPACITIES UPDATE Report by Executive Director (Education and Children's Services) (copy herewith 19/95)

Page 4 of 194 3(i) PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL LIFELONG LEARNING COMMITTEE 30 JANUARY 2019

LIFELONG LEARNING COMMITTEE

Minute of meeting of the Lifelong Learning Committee held in the Council Chamber, 2 High Street, Perth on Wednesday 30 January 2019 at 1.00pm.

Present: Councillors C Shiers, W Wilson, C Purves, D Doogan (substituting for Councillor H Anderson), J Duff, A Forbes, R McCall (substituting for Councillor K Baird), X McDade, T McEwan, B Pover, J Rebbeck, C Reid and F Sarwar; Mrs P Giles, Mr R McCall and Mrs C Weston.

In attendance: S Devlin, Executive Director (Education & Children’s Services); J Pepper, G Boland, J Chiles, S Farrer, R Hill, H Robertson and C Taylor (all Education & Children’s Services); C Haggart (Housing & Environment); L Simpson, A O’Brien, C Vaskevicius, C Flynn and L Brown (all Corporate and Democratic Services).

Also in attendance: G Conway, C Haxton and F Reilly (all Tayside Contracts).

Apologies for absence: Councillors H Anderson and K Baird; Mrs A McAuley, Mrs M McFarlane and Mr F Macdonald.

Councillor C Shiers, Convener, Presiding.

46. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

The Convener welcomed all those present to the meeting. Apologies for absence were noted as above.

47. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

In terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct Councillors Doogan and Forbes declared a non-financial interest as members of Tayside Contracts Joint Committee in Art. 53, a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) on the Review of Catering Services.

48. MINUTES

(i) Lifelong Learning Committee

The minute of meeting of the Lifelong Learning Committee of 31 October 2018 (Arts. 617-628) was submitted, approved as a correct record and authorised for signature.

Statutory Consultations on Balhousie, North Muirton and Forteviot Primary Schools With reference to the Statutory Consultations on Balhousie, North Muirton and Forteviot Primary Schools, Arts. 622/18 and 623/18 of the minute of meeting of the Lifelong Learning Committee of 31 October

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2018, the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) advised of a decision made by Scottish Ministers on 20 December 2018 to grant consent to Perth and Kinross Council to implement the Council’s decision to permanently close the schools in line with the timescales that were set out in the Council’s proposals. In the case of Balhousie and North Muirton Primary Schools the Committee gave a commitment to work with the communities of both schools on the establishment of a user group and to ensure that community engagement was widespread and thorough and to ensure there was full engagement with all key stakeholders in the establishment of a new school at North Muirton Primary, Perth.

(ii) Executive Sub-Committee

The minute of meeting of the Executive Sub-Committee of the Lifelong Learning Committee of 21 May 2018 was submitted and noted. (Appendix I)

(iii) Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff

The minute of meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff of 18 September 2018 was submitted and noted. (Appendix II)

49. CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES PARTNERSHIP

The minute of meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 28 September 2018 was submitted and noted.

50. APPOINTMENT OF THIRD RELIGIOUS REPRESENTATIVE ON LIFELONG LEARNING COMMITTEE

There was submitted a report by the Head of Legal and Governance Services (19/31) advising of the process undertaken to appoint a third religious representative to fill a vacancy on the Lifelong Learning Committee.

Resolved: (i) The nominations received for the appointment of a third religious representative to the Lifelong Learning Committee, attached as Appendices 1- 3 of Report 19/31, be noted. (ii) The appointment of Mr Adrian Ferguson as the third religious representative on the Lifelong Learning Committee up until the next local government elections in May 2022, be approved.

51. EDUCATION AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES SIX MONTH PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 2018

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (19/32) reviewing the performance of Education and Children’s

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Services against its Business Management and Improvement Plan for the period 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018.

Resolved: (i) The contents of Education and Children’s Services Six Month Performance Summary 2018, as detailed in Appendix 1 to Report 19/32, be accepted. (ii) It be noted that Report 19/32 will also be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee on 6 February 2019 for scrutiny and comment as appropriate.

52. COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SCHOOL/LEARNING ESTATE TRANSFORMATION

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (19/33) (1) detailing opportunities for Perth & Kinross Council to collaborate with Dundee City Council and Angus Council in the development of the combined school/learning estate; (2) seeking approval to explore the potential for a 3-18 community learning campus which would accommodate pupils from all three Local Authorities; and (3) noting that Perth & Kinross Council would not seek nursery or primary accommodation in the proposed campus.

Resolved: (i) The proposal that Perth & Kinross Council explore in more detail, working in collaboration with Dundee City Council and Angus Council on the practicalities of developing a new joint community learning campus be approved. (ii) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to update Committee on progress in relation to the key points, detailed in paragraphs 2.2 to 2.6 of Report 19/33, at a future meeting. (iii) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to expedite the informal consultation with communities to determine the level of support for the proposal for a joint community learning campus and report back on the finding to a Special Meeting of the Lifelong Learning Committee before the Summer Recess.

53. REVIEW OF CATERING SERVICES

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (19/34) proposing to change and modernise the way primary schools, Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) meals and the main meal element of the secondary schools menu are delivered across Tayside.

Motion (Councillors Purves and Shiers)

(i) The content of Report 19/34 be noted. (ii) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to continue to work in partnership with Angus and Dundee City Councils and Tayside Contracts to plan for the implementation of a cook-freeze centralised meals production facility method for the delivery

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of the primary school and ELC meals service and the main meal element of the secondary schools menu; (iii) The estimated savings of £426,000 (plus £32,000 returned to the Council from surpluses) which could be realised from this project, be noted. (iv) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to update this Committee on the outcome of the detailed consultancy work, as mentioned in paragraph 3.4 of Report 19/34, later in 2019.

Amendment – (Councillors Rebbeck and Sarwar)

(i) Note the content of Report 19/34. (ii) Instruct the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to cease plans to enter into arrangements for a Central Production Unit in Dundee with attendant job losses in Perth and Kinross kitchens. The resulting budget pressure to be addressed at the Council’s budget meeting in February 2019.

THE COMMITTEE ADJOURNED TO CONSIDER THE AMENDMENT.

THE COMMITTEE RECONVENED.

In terms of Standing Order 58, a roll call vote was taken.

6 Members voted for the Amendment as follows: Councillors Doogan, McDade, McEwan, Pover, Rebbeck and Sarwar.

7 Members voted for the Motion as follows: Councillors Duff, Forbes, McCall, Purves, Reid, Shiers and Wilson.

Resolved: In accordance with the Motion.

IT WAS AGREED THAT THE PUBLIC AND PRESS SHOULD BE EXCLUDED DURING CONSIDERATION OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN ORDER TO AVOID THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION WHICH IS EXEMPT IN TERMS OF SCHEDULE 7A TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1973.

MRS GILES LEFT THE MEETING DURING THE FOLLOWING ITEM.

54. REDUCTION IN FACILITY MANAGEMENT COSTS FOR SCHOOLS

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (19/35) providing proposals to meet the £463,000 required savings as agreed at the Special Meeting of the Council of 22 February 2017.

Motion (Councillors Shiers and Purves)

(i) The intent to restructure and realign duties within Business and Resource Services be noted.

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(ii) The ongoing partnership arrangements with Tayside Contracts in the restructure of the Facilities Management Team be noted. (iii) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to proceed with the Lets arrangements, as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of, and Appendix 1 to Report 19/35. (iv) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to proceed with the remodelling of the school crossing patrol service, as detailed in paragraph 2.4 of, and Appendix 2 to Report 19/35. (v) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to proceed with the efficiency saving within the cleaning services budget.

Amendment (Councillors Rebbeck and Doogan)

(i) The intent to restructure and realign duties within Business and Resource Services be noted. (ii) The ongoing partnership arrangements with Tayside Contracts in the restructure of the Facilities Management Team be noted. (iii) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be instructed to proceed with the Lets arrangements, as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of, and Appendix 1 to Report 19/35. (iv) Agree the reduction to the SCP service subject to the deletion of the changes recommended in paragraph 2.4.2, bullet points 1 and 3 of Report 19/35 and meet the resulting budget pressure at the Council’s budget meeting in February 2019.

In terms of Standing Order 58 a roll call vote was taken.

6 Members voted for the Amendment as follows: Councillors Doogan, McDade, McEwan, Pover, Rebbeck and Sarwar.

7 Members voted for the Motion as follows: Councillors Duff, Forbes, McCall, Purves, Reid, Shiers, and Wilson.

Resolved: In accordance with the Motion.

Councillor McDade requested his dissent be recorded to Report 19/35 being considered in private session.

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EXECUTIVE SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE LIFELONG LEARNING COMMITTEE

Minute of Meeting of the Executive Sub-Committee of the Lifelong Learning Committee held in the Council Chambers, Council Building, 2 High Street, Perth on Monday 29 October 2018 at 10.00am.

Present: Councillors C Shiers, C Purves, F Sarwar (substituting for Councillor J Rebbeck) and W Wilson.

In Attendance: R Hill, Head of Education – Secondary; S Johnston, Head of Education – Early Years and Primary; J Chiles, M McDuff, M Neil, B Martin-Scott, M Lyon, Headteacher Arngask Primary School and L Stewart, Headteacher, Balbeggie Primary School, (all Education and Children’s Services); L Brown, Corporate and Democratic Services.

Apologies for absence: Councillors X McDade and J Rebbeck.

Councillor C Shiers, Convener, Presiding.

1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

The Convener welcomed all those present to the meeting. An apology for absence was noted as above.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

3. MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minute of meeting of the Executive Sub-Committee of the Lifelong Learning Committee of 21 May 2018 was submitted, approved as a correct record and authorised for signature.

4. STANDARDS AND QUALITY IN SCHOOLS, LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND PRE-SCHOOL CENTRES/DAY CARE OF CHILDREN

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (18/341), setting out the key findings following inspections of pre-school centres and schools undertaken by Education Scotland and, by exception, Care Inspectorate inspections on the day care of children since the Executive Sub-Committee of Lifelong Learning Committee on 21 May 2018.

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Resolved: (i) The key findings of the inspections reports as appended to 7 to Report 18/341, be noted as follows:

Auchlone Nature Kindergarten (Appendix 1) Honeypot Children’s Nursery, Luncarty (Appendix 2) Paint Pots Nursery (Appendix 3) The Wendy House Nursery (Appendix 4) Arngask Primary School (Appendix 5) Balbeggie Primary School (Appendix 6) Summary of Education Scotland Inspections (Appendix 7)

(ii) The Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) be requested to extend an invitation to Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate to give a presentation to a future meeting of the Sub- Committee on the inspection process.

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JOINT NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHING STAFF

Minute of meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff (JNCT) held in the Council Chambers, Ground Floor, Council Building, 2 High Street, Perth on Tuesday 4 December 2018 at 2.30pm.

Present: Representing Perth and Kinross Council Councillors K Baird, and C Shiers; S Devlin, M Donaghy, R Hill S Hagney, and D MacLeod, (all Education and Children’s Services); P Johnstone (Corporate & Democratic Services).

Representing Teachers’ Associations E Campbell, J Cook, M Laurie, M Swan and C Weston (all EIS); M Mackie (SSTA) and S Topen-Cooper (NASUWT).

In Attendance: A McAuley, Joint Secretary (Trade Unions); L Brown (for Joint Secretary, Management).

Apologies: Councillor J Rebbeck and S Johnston (Management side); E Connon and C Rose (Teachers’ side).

E Campbell, Convener, Presiding.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were submitted and noted as above.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (ELECTED MEMBERS ONLY)

There were no declarations of interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

3. MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minute of meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff of 18 September 2018 was submitted and approved as a correct record.

4. MATTERS ARISING

(i) Inclusion Update – (Item 6 refers)

R Hill reported that the updated inclusion policy and guidance had been reissued to all schools.

5. THE NEW SCHOOL BUTTERSTONE

In light of the recent, unexpected closure of The New School Butterstone the Committee unanimously agreed to hear an update from S Devlin, Executive Director (Education & Children’s Services) as the next item of business:

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Everyone involved in supporting the young people in their transition from the New School Butterstone has the best interests of these young people at heart. The Council absolutely understand that parents/carers and pupils are upset by the decision to close the school, and that the need to move to different support arrangements will be challenging.

The decision to close the New School Butterstone was made by the Board of Governors, and no other body. They informed Perth & Kinross Council on Monday 19 November 2018 that they had decided to close the school on Friday 23 November 2018, shortly before they emailed parents/carers to tell them the news.

This left the Council, and other affected local authorities, with only a few days to make suitable arrangements for pupils before the school closed. It is a testament to the professionalism of our staff that we have been able to provide, prepare and support for this transition in such a short timescale.

The Board has indicated that the school faced financial difficulties. Issues relating to the care and protection of children and young people at the school were identified independently by Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. This resulted in the serving of an Improvement Notice by the Care Inspectorate on 9 November 2018, and Conditions by the Registrar of Independent Schools on 15 November 2018.

The Council priority continues to be the needs of each of the young people from Perth and Kinross.

6. REPORTS OF VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION AGAINST STAFF IN PERTH AND KINROSS SCHOOLS – FINAL YEAR END REPORT FOR ACADEMIC SESSION 2017-18

There was submitted a final report by the Executive Director (Education & Children’s Services) G/13/213 which provided an analysis of reported incidents of violence and aggression against staff in schools during the academic year 2017/18.

Concern was expressed by S Topen-Cooper that the number of reported incidents in specialist provision schools over the last 4 years had, on average, shown an increase, or had not improved. He further advised that training for level 2 CALM had not been available for some time and that when a school requested training on the portal it was not available. In responding R Hill advised there had been an increase in the number of reportable incidents. This was being addressed through the inclusion review and inclusion policy arrangements. He agreed to take the comments on CALM back to the Inclusion team for further discussion.

C Weston welcomed the piloting of an online form and stated that all staff, teaching and non-teaching should be encouraged to use the forms when appropriate. Information was requested about evaluation of the pilot.

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The Committee:

(i) Noted the final year-end report for academic session 2017-18. (ii) Agreed an update on CALM training be submitted to a future meeting.

7. HEADTEACHER/DEPUTE HEADTEACHER APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE FEEDBACK

There was submitted a joint report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) and the Corporate Human Resources Manager G/18/209 providing feedback following the introduction of the revised Headteacher/ Depute Headteacher Appointment Procedure in March 2018.

P Johnstone reported that feedback received from both the candidates and the pupils who had contributed to the selection process had been positive. Some minor improvements are planned to the invitation to assessment in relation to the occupational personality questionnaire and pupil interaction.

J Cook welcomed the pupil involvement in the appointment process and enquired if there would be an opportunity for staff to become involved. In response P Johnstone advised that a report regarding PT recruitment was being prepared for submission to the March 2019 meeting of JNCT and that this would be considered.

The Committee noted the position.

8. PROBATIONER TEACHER SUPPORT IN PERTH AND KINROSS

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education & Children’s Services) G/18/207 advising of updated changes made to the Probationer Support Manual in Perth and Kinross.

The changes to the Probationer Support Manual in Perth and Kinross, as detailed in the appendix to Report G/18/207, be noted.

9. EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES DIGITAL STRATEGY

There was submitted for information a copy of Education and Children’s Services Digital Strategy 2-18 G/18/208.

R Hill advised that the Strategy which was approved by the Lifelong Learning Committee on 31 October 2018 outlined the Council’s vision and the approaches to be undertaken to embed digital literacy, skills, learning and assessment practices in Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Specialist Provision schools from 2018-2020.

C Weston welcomed the paper and requested that there was clarity around the importance of teachers not using their own devices. She acknowledged the aspirations of the strategy and was assured that there would be no

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imposition but that schools need to move as and when ready, including training and support.

The Committee noted the position.

10. FEEDBACK FROM THE EMPOWERMENT INSPECTION BY EDUCATION SCOTLAND

R Hill referred to the Empowerment Inspection carried out by Education Scotland on 13 November 2018 and expressed his thanks to all who had participated in the focus groups. Feedback received from the groups had endorsed the messages from the self-evaluation. Staff had advised Education Scotland that they felt more empowered and supported by the centre. R Hill advised that the evaluation comments from the inspection would be fed in to the national report being prepared by Education Scotland.

S Devlin added that given 32 different inspections on empowerment had been undertaken it might have been helpful if this exercise had been carried out prior to the national consultation on school governance which would have made this consultation more meaningful. She advised that Education Scotland had given very little notice regarding the date of inspection; the first day back after the October school holiday. The date was subsequently changed to 13 November 2018, again at short notice.

The Committee noted the position.

11. PUPIL EQUITY FUND (PEF) UPDATE

S Devlin provided a verbal update on PEF in which she advised there had been some difficulties in terms of spend due to the first allocation being received after schools had agreed their Improvement Plans. An underspend on the allocation for 2017-18 had been carried forward into the 2018-19 session. She advised that headteachers have some latitude on how their PEF allocation is spent. Some schools had faced challenges where the school had identified additional staff and had subsequently experienced recruitment issues and a shortage of appropriate staff to support developments.

The Committee noted the position

12. EXCELLENT RELATIONSHIPS AND EXCELLENT LEARNING AND TEACHING

R Hill provided an update regarding the main development theme for Education Services over the next 3 years – Excellent Relationships, Excellent Learning and Teaching. Education & Children’s Services aims to ensure it is consistently delivering excellence, equity and inclusive practice in Perth and Kinross. As a service, it will be looking to develop a collective vision while sharing its collective knowledge and understanding of what works for our gaps. There needs to be a focus on developing consistently excellent

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classroom practice, supported by an updated Learning and Teaching Strategy.

Through the updated Inclusion Policy, there are clear expectations that children and young people will be:

• Present; • Supported and nurtured; • Participating; • Achieving.

ECS has developed and will continue to develop structures and frameworks to support schools in delivering improved outcomes for young people i.e. literacy, numeracy, inclusion, health and wellbeing, digital, learning and teaching etc.

The Committee noted the position.

13. TIMETABLE OF MEETING – 2019

It was noted the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff would meet on the following dates in 2019:

19 March 18 June (AGM) 17 September 3 December

14. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS

(i) Council Budget

S Devlin advised that the Council would set its final revenue budget for 2019/20 and a provisional budget for the following two years at a special meeting of the Council on 20 February 2019. She then provided members with an update on the pre-budget setting process to date as it related to Education and Children’s Services advising that she would meet with the Leader of the Teachers’ side and the other professional associations in advance of the budget meeting. The Committee noted that the Chief Executive would also meet with the professional associations prior to budget day.

15. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

19 March 2019 at 2.30pm.

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CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES PARTNERSHIP

Minute of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership held in Room 410, Council Building, 2 High Street, Perth on Friday 7 December 2018 at 10am.

Present: Councillor J Rebbeck, Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) Councillor C Shiers, PKC Councillor W Wilson, PKC S Devlin, Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services), PKC A Gerry, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration J Keenan, PKAVS Third Sector S Packham, NHS Tayside (Substituting for J Flynn, Interim Head of Children, Young People & Families, NHS Tayside) J Pepper, Depute Director (Education and Children’s Services), PKC K Reid, Chief Executive, PKC

In Attendance: J Hutton, Independent Advocacy; A Taylor, Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership; J Baker, P Davison, R Drummond, F Greig, F Mackay, C Mackie, H Robertson (from Item 8 onwards) and D Williams, all PKC.

Apologies: J Flynn, Interim Head of Children, Young People & Families, NHS Tayside; R Hill and S Johnston, both Education and Children’s Services, PKC.

1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR

It was unanimously agreed that K Reid, Chief Executive, PKC, be appointed Chair of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership.

K Reid in the Chair

2. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

K Reid welcomed all to the meeting. Apologies for absence were submitted and noted as above.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest in terms of the relevant Codes of Conduct.

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4. MINUTE

The minute of meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 28 September 2018 was submitted and approved as a correct record.

5. MATTERS ARISING

(i) Participation and Engagement Strategy (Item 5 refers)

J Keenan informed partners that PKAVS were not presently in a position to take a leadership role on the Participation and Engagement Strategy. J Pepper advised that this subject would be revisited at a future meeting of the Partnership, also advising that the establishment of a short-life working group had been delayed.

6. ADDRESSING NEGLECT AND ENHANCING WELLBEING – GETTING IT RIGHT PRE-BIRTH AND INTO FIRST YEAR OF LIFE

J Baker, PKC, delivered a presentation on Addressing Neglect and Enhancing Wellbeing, a partnership of NHS Tayside, Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and Perth and Kinross Council.

During the presentation, specific reference was made to the following;

• Perth and Kinross’ ambition for families. • The Transformation Zone – South West Perth. • Progress to date on Midwifery and Health Visiting. • Progress to date on Community Work.

In addition, J Baker highlighted the anti-poverty focus of the work, and informed members that funding would be available for an additional member of staff from Spring 2019.

In response to a query from S Devlin, Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services), PKC, regarding a recent conference on Addressing Neglect and Enhancing Wellbeing, J Baker highlighted the involvement of children and young people in the conference, highlighting the role of young people in delivering presentations in workshops at the conference. In response to a further query from J Pepper, Depute Director, Education and Children’s Services, PKC, J Baker highlighted the links made between staff and researchers on unborn baby protection.

In response to a query from Councillor Wilson regarding fathers and extended family, J Baker advised partners that close work was being undertaken with Father’s Network Scotland.

H ROBERTSON ENTERED THE MEETING DURING CONSIDERATION OF THE FOLLOWING ITEM.

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7. PERTH AND KINROSS CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE BUSINESS ACTIVITY REPORT SINCE 28 SEPTEMBER 2018

There was submitted a report by Independent Chair of Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee (G/18/212) providing a summary of the key business activities of the Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee (CPC) since the last update report was submitted to the Children, Young People and Families Partnership on 28 September 2018.

R Drummond, Education and Children’s Services, advised members that the completion of the Terms of Reference would not be able to take place until the publication of national guidance, but advised partners that this should be published before the end of 2018.

H Robertson advised partners that, in view of Child Concern Reports, the multi-agency screening process was in the process of being reviewed. R Drummond advised partners that the first meeting of the CPC in 2019 would take place at Loch Leven Community Campus, with a view to making the to the CPC more open and accessible.

In response to a query from Councillor Wilson regarding relationships with Partners in health services, R Drummond advised members that there was clear shared responsibility with health services outlined in the guidance.

The Partnership noted and endorsed the contents of report G/18/212.

8. STRATEGIC THIRD SECTOR FORUM UPDATE

There was submitted a report by the J Keenan, Interim Development Officer (Children, Young People and Families), PKAVS (G/18/211) providing the first regular update on the development and activities of the Third Sector Strategic Forum for Children, Young People and Families.

J Keenan, PKAVS, advised partners that J Hutton, Independent Advocacy, would be reporting back to the Third Sector Forum on the work of the Partnership.

The Partnership noted the contents of Report G/18/211.

9. THEMATIC APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE REPORTING

There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (G/18/210) continuing the thematic plan for performance/outcome information focused on children, young people and families. It sets out a suite of information focused on the fourth of the agreed themes, namely Contextual/Inequalities Information and Education Outcomes, for consideration and Scrutiny by the Partnership.

P Davidson, Education and Children’s Services, advised partners that the report captured Educational Outcomes, including Raising Attainment, whilst

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also capturing key inequalities. P Davidson highlighted to members the positive decline in the number of school exclusions.

S Devlin and J Pepper both highlighted the importance of thematic reporting in guiding work and establishing priorities, whilst R Drummond highlighted that the thematic approach had been embraced by a number of other Local Authorities in Scotland.

K Reid, Chief Executive, PKC, highlighted the training available to staff to increase skills and confidence to address emotional wellbeing issues, and how over 1000 members of staff had undertaken this training. S Devlin advised that this theme could be picked up by the Partnership and would be an agenda item for the next meeting of the Partnership. F Mackay, Education and Children’s Services advised that the feedback from the staff undertaking the training had been very positive.

The Partnership noted the contents of Report G/18/210.

10. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS

There was no other competent business.

11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The Partnership noted the next meeting would be held on Friday 1 March 2019.

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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

Lifelong Learning Committee

27 March 2019

Statutory Consultation – Blairingone Primary School

Report by Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (Report No. 19/92)

PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report informs the Lifelong Learning Committee of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to close Blairingone Primary School as detailed in the published Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A). This report also seeks approval from the Lifelong Learning Committee to implement the proposal from 28 June 2019.

1. BACKGROUND/MAIN ISSUES

1.1 The School Estate Strategy (Report No. 12/370 refers) sets out the Council’s aspirations for our schools and, in particular, the high value we place on learning, through our vision for well designed, maintained and managed schools.

1.2 On 30 June 2010, the Council approved the report Securing the Future – Towards 2015 and Beyond (Report No. 10/357 refers). This report set out our continuing strategy for securing the future, aiming to support the delivery of savings through revised service delivery models and ongoing improvement activities in the Council. Education and Children’s Services Service Review Programme within this report contains a re-design project to “review the school estate”.

1.3 The Council’s Transformation Strategy 2015-2020 ‘Building Ambition’ and Organisational Development Framework were approved by Council on 1 July 2015 (Report No. 15/292 refers). Together they detail how Perth and Kinross Council will deliver transformation over the five year period. Accompanying the strategy was a programme of major reviews which are considered to be key drivers and enablers of transformation across the organisation.

1.4 On 24 August 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee (Report No. 16/347 refers) approved principles to be used as a basis for the transformation review, ‘Securing the Future of the School Estate’. The principles approved by Lifelong Learning Committee as a basis for the transformation review were as follows:

Page 23 of 194 (i) schools should have an occupancy rate where possible greater than 60% of the capacity and ideally should be operating at over 80% capacity; (ii) every school should be rated as A or B, ie at least satisfactory for condition and suitability; and (iii) life expired buildings1 within the school estate should be prioritised for replacement. 1.5 On 2 November 2016, the Lifelong Learning Committee approved Report No 16/485 by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services). This report details the outcome of the high level review undertaken in respect of the school estate and proposed to proceed with further detailed work. This report approved the development of an options appraisal in relation to the future of Blairingone Primary School due to under-occupancy. The occupancy of the school was 16% at Census 2017.

1.6 There were four options identified for Blairingone Primary School. Informal pre-consultation was undertaken with the affected communities of both Blairingone and Fossoway to gather and share information, establish possible alternatives and engage the communities to understand and help shape the proposals for Blairingone Primary School to inform the options appraisal.

1.7 Using information obtained during the pre-consultation activities, an options appraisal was developed for Blairingone Primary School. The findings contained within the options appraisal concluded that, of the four options, the only reasonable option is to close Blairingone Primary School because the school roll is not sustainable. None of the other options considered were determined to be reasonable alternatives to closure nor would they allow the school roll to reach a sustainable level.

1.8 On 16 May 2018, the Lifelong Learning Committee considered the Options Appraisal and agreed to commence formal consultation on a proposal to close Blairingone Primary School (Report No 18/155 refers) in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

1.9 The 2010 Act’s principal purpose is to provide strong, accountable statutory consultation practices and procedures that local authorities must apply to their handling of all proposals for school closures and other major changes to schools. These consultation processes are expected to be robust, open, transparent and fair, and seen to be so. They are also expected to be consistent across Scotland.

1.10 The 2010 Act makes special arrangements in relation to rural schools, and establishes a presumption against the closure of rural schools.

1.11 The result of this is that education authorities must have special regard to a number of factors before formalising a proposal to close a rural school and in

1 Life expired buildings are defined as buildings which are uneconomical to maintain.

Page 24 of 194 consulting on and reaching a decision as to whether to implement a rural school closure proposal.

1.12 Councils have a statutory duty in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make adequate and efficient provision of school education across their entire area for the current school population and future pattern of demand.

1.13 Councils also have a statutory responsibility in terms of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 to achieve best value. The organisation of the school estate is therefore kept under regular review, including the need for school provision and other factors, such as altering catchment areas and the provision of school transport.

1.14 Most importantly, the Council would wish to optimise the educational experience for every pupil by providing:

• a range of social and emotional experiences; • an enriched and broad learning experience; and • the best possible education which meets the needs of all learners.

2. STATUTORY CONSULTATION

2.1 The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 sets out the process which must be followed in undertaking a statutory consultation on a proposal affecting a school.

2.2 The Council is required to prepare and publish a Proposal Paper which clearly sets out the proposal on which the Council is consulting. The Proposal Paper must include details of the proposed date for implementation, the educational benefits statement, a summary of the consultation process and details of the supporting evidence or information used to formulate the proposal.

2.3 For a school proposal, the Council is required to consult:

• The parents of the pupils and children at the affected schools • The parents of children expected to attend an affected school within 2 years of the date of publication of this proposal document • The pupils at the affected schools • The Parent Council (if any) of the affected schools • The teaching and ancillary staff at the affected schools • The trade union representatives of the above staff • The Community Councils • Relevant users of the affected schools

2.4 The 2010 Act also requires that Education Scotland must consider the educational aspects of the Council’s proposal and then prepare and submit a report to the Council which the Council must consider when preparing its final Consultation Report.

Page 25 of 194 2.5 The Council is then required to prepare and publish its final consultation report. In preparing the report, the Council must consider the report from Education Scotland and other responses to the consultation. The consultation report must explain how the Council has reviewed the proposal, a summary of the points raised during the consultation and the Council’s response to them, details of any alleged inaccuracies or omissions and, for rural schools, an assessment of the rural school factors.

2.6 The proposal for Blairingone Primary School, subject to the outcome of the consultation process, is that Lifelong Learning Committee agrees that:

• Provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; • The pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School from 1 July 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

2.7 An electronic link to the Proposal Paper was issued by letter to the consultees listed within the document, and was also published on the Council’s website: www.pkc.gov.uk.

2.8 The Proposal Paper made clear to consultees that the consultation period would run from Monday 27 August 2018 until Friday 5 October 2018, which includes a period of 30 school days. Public Notice adverts were also placed in the local press.

2.9 The number of letters issued with details of the Proposal Paper was 231.

2.10 Two public meetings were held on 6 September 2018 at Fossoway Primary School and 18 September 2018 at Blairingone Primary School. No members of the public attended the meeting on 6 September 2018 and 12 members of the public attended the meeting on 18 September 2018.

2.11 Seven written submissions were received during the statutory consultation period representing six individuals, as one member of the public submitted two written submissions. All of the written submissions did not agree with the proposal and five online responses were received of which four responses disagreed with the proposal, with one response agreeing with the proposal.

2.12 One parent established an online change.org petition titled “Save our Rural School, Blairingone Primary School which obtained 374 signatures. Nine signatures were identified as Blairingone or Fossoway residents.

2.13 The main points raised at the public meetings were broadly around the same points as the written responses as a number of those who made written

Page 26 of 194 responses also attended the public meetings. In summary, the verbal responses and written representations can be grouped broadly as follows:

• House building projections, the impact on projected pupil rolls, predictions of what the housing market will be in Blairingone and affordable housing planned for Crook of Devon and future growth of the community. • Consideration of a joint Headship as an interim position until the house building position is known. • School transport, road safety and whether transport costs had been factored into the proposed savings. • Whether a nursery and/or Out of School Care Club would increase pupil numbers and how the data for pre-school pupils is obtained. • The capacity of Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School and what would happen if there was an influx of pupils. • What would happen to staff if Blairingone Primary School was to close and whether Blairingone Primary School would be sold. • Why the school has not been maintained over past years. • The calculation of proposed savings if the proposal was to be implemented. • The process for consulting with pupils at Blairingone Primary School. • The reason for the proposed date of closure and why the decision to defer the report on Blairingone Primary School was taken in March 2018. • When the outcome of the consultation would be reported back to Committee and the process involving Education Scotland. • It is not the best use of limited resources to keep schools such as Blairingone open. Council tax payers should not fund a school for a handful of pupils. • The catchment area should be reviewed to include Powmill. • The nurturing educational experience provided at Blairingone and larger schools do not suit all pupils. Blairingone received very high ratings from its most recent HM Inspection report (Sept 2013). • Blairingone Primary is the last remaining community building in the village. and the relationship Blairingone Primary School has with the local Nursing Home.

3 EDUCATION SCOTLAND REPORT

3.1 In accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, a report was produced by Education Scotland on the educational aspects of the proposal.

3.2 The report supports the proposal and is summarised below:

• Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Blairingone Primary School, has clear educational benefits. Blairingone Primary School children currently enjoy learning in an inclusive and supportive environment. However, Blairingone children will have access to greater learning opportunities, wider experiences and increased socialisation through being part of a larger school at Fossoway. Opportunities to engage in lunchtime,

Page 27 of 194 after school and team events will be increased. Projected numbers of children within the catchment are insufficient to make the school viable. A significant factor in this is parental placing requests to other schools. Fossoway Primary School has the capacity to accommodate additional children. The proposal will assist the council to deliver ‘Best Value’ through making more efficient and effective use of its resources.

• Blairingone Primary School structure has one composite class across stages Primary 1-7. At the time of the HM Inspector’s visit the class consisted of two P2s, one P3, one P6 and one P7. Children currently enjoy a positive and supportive learning environment. There is no physical education hall at Blairingone Primary School.

• Data suggests the roll of Blairingone Primary School has been falling over the last five years. Future projections indicate that pupil numbers are unlikely to increase above their current level. Out of 17 children who could attend the school, currently 12 attend neighbouring schools. If this pattern of parental choice continues, then the future sustainability of Blairingone is more challenging.

• Parents, children and staff from Blairingone Primary School who met with HM Inspectors did not support the proposal. Parents and staff did not agree that there would be any educational benefits for Blairingone children. Concerns were expressed about the perceived loss of the inclusive, supportive environment the children currently experience. Children enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. The small numbers make it easier for them to interact. Parents felt there would be a reduction in the quality of the educational experience and individual attention.

• Parents, including those who live in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area, children and staff from Fossoway Primary School who met with HM Inspectors were supportive of the proposal. They thought that engagement with a wider peer group at age and stage would improve children’s learning.

• Parents from Fossoway Primary School thought children would benefit from access to a wider pool of staff including a full-time Pupil Support Teacher. Attending a larger school would better prepare children for the transition to secondary school. Parents thought the proposal would make better use of limited resources in a time of financial constraints. Fossoway children would welcome improved social opportunities and the chance to make new friends. They thought Blairingone children would benefit from having access to an increased range of physical education activities and lunchtime clubs and opportunities to participate in inter–school team events.

Page 28 of 194 considered as viable or sustainable. The current school building is not used regularly for community activity. The proposal does not impact negatively on children at Fossoway Primary School. Blairingone children will be entitled to free transport. The journey time is not unreasonable when compared with other parts of the authority.

4. CONSULTATION REPORT

4.1 Having considered the verbal representations and Education Scotland’s Report, a Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A) was prepared and published for public scrutiny on the Council’s website (www.pkc.gov.uk) from Friday 22 February 2019 until Friday 15 March 2019.

This allowed for the required full three week review of the document prior to a final Committee decision on Wednesday 27 March 2019, and complies with Section 9 (3) and Section 11 of the 2010 Act.

5. CONCLUSION

5.1 Education Scotland has identified that the proposal has clear educational benefits for young people. This includes the larger number and wider range of peers in Fossoway Primary School which allows children to access a learning environment where there are groups of learners at all stages of school, further allowing them to develop their social and interpersonal skills in a broader range of appropriate contexts.

5.2 The Council recognises that the Council’s proposals have generally not been supported by those parents/carers, staff and the wider community who responded to the proposal. However, the vast majority of those consulted have raised no issues or opposition to the proposal.

5.3 If the Council adopts the proposal, it is understood that the educational benefits set out in the Proposal Paper would materialise.

5.4 A number of children from Blairingone are already attending Fossoway Primary School as the result of successful placing requests.

5.5 The key points that have been highlighted during the consultation period are as follows:

• The report from Education Scotland acknowledges that the proposal has clear educational benefits for pupils. • The Council, having had special regard to the rural school factors, does not consider that the proposal would adversely affect the sustainability of the community, or that there would be an adverse effect from the premises no longer being available for community use. • Whilst the Council’s proposals have generally not been supported by the parents/carers, staff and the wider community who responded to the proposal, the vast majority of those consulted have raised no issues or opposition to the proposal.

Page 29 of 194 6. RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 The outcome of the statutory consultation exercise is detailed in the Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A). Having due regard to relevant written and oral representations and Education Scotland’s Report, it is recommended that the decision is made to implement the proposal that provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter. It is also recommended that the pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter. In addition, it is recommended that the delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

6.2 A comprehensive Proposal Paper containing an Educational Benefits Statement was produced in relation to the proposal. This allowed for informed consideration to be given to the proposal that provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019 through formal consultation with key stakeholders. The outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise have been widely published. On the basis of the feedback received and taking account of the educational and social benefits of the proposal, it is concluded that the following proposal is the most suitable option and it is now recommended to implement the proposal with effect from 28 June 2019.

6.3 It is recommended that the Committee:

(i) Notes the contents of the Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A); and (ii) Approves the implementation of the following proposal that: • Provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; • The pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

Page 30 of 194 Author Name Designation Contact Details Karen Robertson Service Manager Tel: 01738 475000 (Business Services) [email protected]

Approved Name Designation Date Sheena Devlin Executive Director 14/03/19 (Education and Children’s Services)

Page 31 of 194 ANNEX

1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION

Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial Yes Workforce Yes Asset Management (land, property, IST) Yes Assessments Equality Impact Assessment Yes Strategic Environmental Assessment Yes Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance Yes Risk Yes Consultation Internal Yes External Yes Communication Communications Plan Yes

1. Strategic Implications

Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement

1.1 This section should set out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities:

(i) Giving every child the best start in life (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations

This report relates to all of these objectives.

Corporate Plan

1.2 The Perth and Kinross Community Plan 2013-2023 and Perth and Kinross Council Corporate Plan 2013/2018 set out five strategic objectives: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations.

Page 32 of 194

This report relates to all of these objectives.

1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Policy Framework in respect of the following key policy area:

• Maximising Resources

2. Resource Implications

Financial

2.1 The annual recurring net savings of the preferred option is made up of staff costs and building running costs. The financial implications of this proposal is that there would be a saving of £85,626 to be made if the proposal is to be implemented. 2.2 Any savings arising from the proposed option to close Blairingone Primary School would be allocated against Education and Children’s Services budget savings targets which have currently been set for the period 2018/19 – 2020/21. This would mitigate against making alternative budget reductions within other areas of Education and Children’s Services, with a corresponding reduction in service delivery in that area.

2.3 The annual budget is built reflecting cost drivers such as the number of schools, buildings, staff and pupils. Therefore, if Blairingone Primary School were to be closed then future years’ budgets would not contain any allowance for staffing Blairingone Primary School and there would be reduced property costs (and possibly no costs, should the building be declared surplus to the Council’s requirements). Any per capita budgets relating to individual pupils would continue to be budgeted against the school that these pupils would attend following the closure of Blairingone Primary School.

2.4 It is envisaged that the existing Blairingone Primary School would be declared surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council. This would minimise the financial risks associated with vacant buildings.

2.5 A capital receipt would be forthcoming if the building was sold or income could be generated through a lease. 2.6 Combining pupils from both catchment areas into one school maximises use of the school estate and represents good asset management, while also enabling the children to continue to attend a rural school. Additionally, the increased roll at Fossoway Primary School contributes towards ensuring a sustainable pupil roll there.

Page 33 of 194 Workforce

2.7 There may be staffing implications relating to the proposal if implemented. Where necessary, any aspect of the implementation of these proposals that impacts on staff would result in consultation with the relevant trade unions and the individuals concerned.

Asset Management (land, property, IT)

2.8 If the proposal to permanently close Blairingone Primary School is approved, it is envisaged that Education and Children’s services would declare the building surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council. This would provide an opportunity for the building to be sold, leased or could present the local community with an opportunity for alternative uses of the building as part of a Community Asset Transfer.

3. Assessments

Equality Impact Assessment

3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties.

The procedure presented in this report was considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (Eq1A) with the following outcome:

(i) Assessed as relevant and the following positive outcomes expected following implementation:

• The Equality Impact Assessment did not identify that any parent, child or young person would be treated less favourably as a result of this proposal. Pupils would have access to a wider peer group of both sexes at Fossoway Primary School which is a positive impact.

• In terms of Socio Economic Impact, the assessment identified that there may be a small disadvantage for some parents who would have further to travel when attending meetings or events in school. However, the identified benefits significantly outweigh any disadvantage. It is also not considered to be a significant disadvantage as parents are already travelling to access all other services outside Blairingone village. In addition, a number of pupils from Blairingone catchment area are already attending Blairingone Primary School as the result of successful placing requests.

Page 34 of 194 Strategic Environmental Assessment

3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. However, no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and is therefore exempt.

Sustainability

3.3 N/A

Legal and Governance

3.4 The Head of Legal and Governance has been consulted in the preparation of this report which has been prepared in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, as amended.

Risk

3.5 N/A

4. Consultation

Internal

4.1 The Head of Legal and Governance has been consulted in the preparation of this report.

External

4.2 This report contains full details of the Statutory Consultation exercise which has been undertaken in respect of this proposal and this is fully detailed in Appendix A.

5. Communication

5.1 This is fully detailed in the Consultation Report attached as Appendix A.

2. BACKGROUND PAPERS te: No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to any material extent in preparing the above report.

3. APPENDICES

Appendix A: Blairingone Consultation Report

Page 35 of 194

Page 36 of 194 5

APPENDIX A

PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES

CONSULTATION REPORT

REPORT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE CONSULTATION RELATING TO THE PROPOSAL TO CLOSE BLAIRINGONE PRIMARY SCHOOL

22 February 2019

This Consultation Report has been issued by Perth and Kinross Council in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

Page 37 of 194 Contents

Page

1. INTRODUCTION 4

2. BACKGROUND 5

3. CONSIDERATIONS 5

4. OPTIONS CONSIDERED 12

5. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS 16

6. THE PUBLIC MEETINGS 18

7. RESPONSES TO THE CONSULTATION EXERCISE 18

8. EDUCATION AUTHORITY RESPONSE TO WRITTEN AND ORAL 19 REPRESENTATIONS

9. EDUCATION SCOTLAND REPORT 31

10. RURAL SCHOOL – COMPLIANCE WITH SECTIONS 11A TO 13 OF 34 THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) Act 2010 Effect on the Local Community Travel Arrangements

11. ALLEGED OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES 36

12. COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 9(1) OF THE SCHOOLS 36 (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

13. OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE REPRESENTATIONS TO SCOTTISH 38 MINISTERS IN TERMS OF SECTION 15(4) OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

14. LEGAL ISSUES 38

15. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS 39

16. CONCLUSION 39

17. RECOMMENDATIONS 40

Page 38 of 194 Appendices

Page

Appendix 1 Minute of Public Meeting of 6 September 2018 41

Appendix 2 Minute of Public Meeting of 18 September 2018 46

Appendix 3 Summary of Consultation Responses 51

Appendix 4 Pupil and Staff Consultation 57

Appendix 5 Education Scotland Report 67

Page 39 of 194 PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES

This report has been prepared following consultation on the Council’s proposal that:

• Provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; • The pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

Having had regard (in particular) to:

(a) Relevant written representations received by the Council (from any person) during the consultation period;

(b) Oral representations made to it (by any person) at the public meetings held on 6 and 18 September 2018; and

1. INTRODUCTION

This is a consultation report prepared in compliance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 on the above proposal.

1.1 The purpose of this report is to:

• Provide a record of the total number of written responses made during the Statutory Consultation period; • Provide a summary of the written responses; • Provide a summary of oral representations made at the public meeting held on 11 September 2018; • Provide a statement of the Council’s response to those written and oral representations; • Provide the full text of Education Scotland’s report and a statement of the Council’s response to this report; • State how the Council reviewed the above proposal following the representations received during the Statutory Consultation period and the report from Education Scotland; • Provide details of any omission from, or inaccuracy in, the Proposal Paper and state how the Council acted upon it; and • State how the Council has complied with Sections 11A to 13 of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 when reviewing the above proposals.

Page 40 of 194 2. BACKGROUND

2.1 At its meeting on 2 November 2016, the Lifelong Learning Committee of Perth and Kinross Council approved Report No 16/485 by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services). It approved the development of an options appraisal in relation to the future of Blairingone Primary School.

2.2 On 16 May 2018, Lifelong Learning Committee considered the options appraisal and agreed to commence formal consultation on a proposal to close Blairingone Primary School (Report No 18/155 refers) in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

2.3 The 2010 Act’s principal purpose is to provide strong, accountable statutory consultation practices and procedures that local authorities must apply to their handling of all proposals for school closures and other major changes to schools. These consultation processes are expected to be robust, open, transparent and fair, and seen to be so. They are also expected to be consistent across Scotland.

2.4 The 2010 Act makes special arrangements in relation to rural schools, and establishes a presumption against the closure of rural schools. The result of this is that education authorities must have special regard to a number of factors before formalising a proposal to close a rural school and in consulting on and reaching a decision as to whether to implement a rural school closure proposal.

2.5 These duties are outlined in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and the accompanying Statutory Guidance.

2.6 Lifelong Learning Committee reports and the Proposal Paper referred to above are available on the Council’s website www.pkc.gov.uk.

3. CONSIDERATIONS

3.1 The main considerations relating to the proposal are fully explained in the Proposal Paper, and the main points are highlighted as follows:

3.2 Perth and Kinross Council works to enhance quality of life, make best use of public resources and ensure continuously improving services. Perth and Kinross Council’s Corporate Plan “Securing the Future” aims to ensure that individuals, families and communities experience the best possible outcomes from a range of services.

3.3 Perth and Kinross Council has a strong identity and clear priorities which everyone works together to achieve, creating areas which are vibrant and successful; safe, secure, healthy and sustainable environments; educated, responsible and informed citizens; confident and active communities; and places where people are nurtured and supported, giving every child the best start in life.

Page 41 of 194 Accompanying the strategy is a programme of major reviews which are considered to be key drivers and enablers of transformation across the organisation.

3.5 On 24 August 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee (Report No. 16/347 refers) approved principles to be used as a basis for the transformation review, ‘Securing the Future of the School Estate’.

3.6 This approach reflects the Single Outcome Agreement National Outcome 15 that “Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people’s needs”, and the Local Outcome that “Our services will be responsive, of high quality and continually improving”. This report also links with the School Estate Management Plan, Education and Children’s Services Policy Framework Maximising Resources and with the Education and Children’s Services objective to develop the range and quality learning experiences for all.

3.7 Blairingone Primary School is a single teacher primary school serving the village of Blairingone and the surrounding area and is a feeder primary school for Kinross High School. Blairingone Primary School is situated approximately 4.5 miles from Fossoway Primary School. Strathdevon Primary School in Clackmannanshire is approximately 3 miles away.

3.8 The capacity of Blairingone Primary School is 25 pupils. The Blairingone Primary School roll at Census 2011 was 11 pupils and at Census 2017 was 4 pupils giving an occupancy of 16%. There were 17 pupils living within the catchment area for Blairingone Primary School at Census 2017. However, 8 of these pupils attended other schools in Perth and Kinross and 5 pupils from the catchment area attend Strathdevon School in Dollar as a result of successful placing requests made by their parents. At Census 2018, there were 17 pupils living within the catchment area for Blairingone Primary School with 5 of these pupils attending Fossoway Primary School and 6 pupils from the catchment area attend Strathdevon School in Dollar and 1 pupil attends Muckhart Primary School in Clackmannanshire as a result of successful placing requests made by their parents. It is possible that other pupils attend Dollar Academy, however this information is not available as data on pupils attending independent schools is not provided to the local authority. 3.9 Data from the NHS on pre-school children registered with GP practices living in the Blairingone Primary School catchment shows that although potential P1 intake numbers have remained relatively low over the last few years, they are much higher than the number of pupils who are attending the school. 3.10 Future pupil projections have been considered using aggregated GP registration data and Blairingone Primary School pupil numbers are projected to remain static over the next 4 years. There are low numbers of children under 5 years old projected to attend Blairingone Primary School over the next 4 years. Pupil projections in the catchment area do not indicate that the potential pupil numbers will increase in the future and there is no suggestion going forward that this is likely to change.

3.11 As part of an options appraisal, information was collated on pupil numbers, housebuilding, the school, travel arrangements, environmental impact, the local area and community and finances to inform the options.

Page 42 of 194 As part of the review, a pre-consultation exercise was also carried out with the local community to inform the options appraisal for Blairingone Primary School. This allowed the community to consider options for the future of Blairingone Primary School and was an opportunity for the community to provide views on these options and identify any additional options which the Council should consider.

3.12 The Proposed Local Development Plan (LDP2) was approved for consultation by Council on 22 November 2017 (Report No. 17/387 refers). The aspiration is to have a final LDP to adopt by Autumn 2019.

A more flexible LDP2 framework for the landowners/community at Blairingone is being proposed due to the concerns over the effectiveness of site H74 due to concerns over ground stability as a result of past mine operations. The Council’s proposed LDP2 proposes expanding H74 to create a new site named MU74. MU74 will include a maximum of 30 homes ie the same number of homes as in the current LDP, up to 2028.

It will also allow the opportunity for other uses such as community and small scale retail to come forward. The capacity restriction of 30 houses will form part of the adopted LDP2, if the site is not recommended for deletion, as no objection to this restriction has been raised during its consultation. In addition to H74/MU74 there are a number of small sites which are expected to build out in the next 4 to 6 years.

Out of the 5 small sites detailed in the options appraisals only 3 of these sites now remain in the Housing Land Audit (HLA). There are planning applications for 3 houses but no indication if these will go ahead. These 3 houses may produce 1 pupil for the school if they proceed. If all houses in the HLA were to build in the 5 year period from 2020 to 2025 there may be up to 5 additional children up to 2025. However, it must be recognised that most of the current pupils at Blairingone Primary School will no longer be at the school having moved on to secondary school during that period. Whilst the maximum number of potential pupils expected from these sites may be up to 5 pupils in the 5 year period 2020 to 2025, it must also be considered that it is unlikely that should this number materialise, that they would all attend Blairingone Primary School based on the established pattern of placing requests to attend other schools both within and outwith Perth and Kinross.

3.13 The projected future pupil numbers for the school does not include pupil numbers from house building. It is projected that house building in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area will continue to be limited with fewer than 5, if any, additional pupils for the school. Information indicates that housebuilding on suitable sites is unlikely to build out within timescales provided in the Housing Land Audit (HLA). This is because the house building has been in the planning stage for a number of years without sites developing and it is felt the programming contained within the Housing Land Audit (HLA) is optimistic.

Page 43 of 194 The Council is in the process of providing a response to a pre-application consultation for residential development on site MU74. The planning consent for the allocated site on the former Gartwhinzean Hotel in Powmill has lapsed In addition, out of the 5 small sites detailed in the options appraisals only 3 of these sites now remain in the Housing Land Audit (HLA). There are planning applications for 3 houses but no indication if these will go ahead. Projecting future pupil numbers to include potential housebuilding based on the above facts, in this particular circumstance, would provide unreliable and overstated data. For that reason, it is not considered in the future pupil projections for Blairingone Primary School. 3.14 Future pupil projections have been considered using aggregated GP registration data and both Fossoway Primary School and Blairingone Primary School pupil numbers are projected to remain static over the next 4 years. There are very low numbers of children under 5 years old in the Blairingone catchment area over the next 4 years. Pupil projections in the catchment area do not indicate that the potential pupil numbers will increase in the future and there is no suggestion going forward that this is likely to change. The data for Blairingone shows that the number of children eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2021 is 9 pupils.

If all houses in the HLA were to build in the 5 year period from 2020 to 2025 there may be up to 5 additional children up to 2025. Whilst the maximum number of potential pupils expected from these sites may be up to 5 pupils in the 5 year period 2020 to 2025, there is no evidence that confirms that these sites will proceed. Indeed, 2 of the 5 sites are no longer included in the HLA. It must also be considered that it is unlikely that should this number materialise, that they would all attend Blairingone Primary School based on the established pattern of placing requests made by parents for their children to attend other schools both within and outwith Perth and Kinross and, therefore, the number of pupils enrolling for school in Perth and Kinross is likely to be lower.

3.15 The highest projected occupancy rate for Blairingone Primary School is 20% in 2021/22 and at Fossoway Primary School, including pupils from projected housebuilding, is 73% in 2020/21.

3.16 This position presents a diminished and unsustainable school pupil population for Blairingone Primary School with no foreseeable prospect of an increased, stable pupil population. This is based on a reduced birth rate over a sustained period of time and the impact of placing requests being made by parents for pupils to attend other schools.

3.17 The low pupil roll at Blairingone Primary School presents challenges in providing a breadth of social and emotional experiences required to meet the needs of pupils.

3.18 The proposal for pupils from Blairingone to attend Fossoway Primary School has strong educational benefits for pupils from the Blairingone catchment area. It will increase pupils’ resilience through being part of a larger school community and will also help promote their social and emotional development by providing greater challenge as well as the opportunity to be part of a wider, age-appropriate peer group.

Page 44 of 194 3.19 Fossoway Primary School offers high quality learning experiences across the four contexts of learning that encourages high levels of achievement and provides a wide range of opportunities for children to achieve their full potential as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

3.20 The Council has engaged with stakeholders and has considered other options prior to formulating its proposal. The details of the other options are detailed in this report in Section 4.

3.21 Parents still retain the right to make a placing request for another school of their choice as outlined in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.

3.22 The permanent discontinuation of the provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter with the pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receiving their education at Fossoway Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter will have the following benefits:

3.23 Learning and Teaching

• Children attending Fossoway have access to a range of teaching and support staff from early years and primary. Fossoway has a nursery and five primary classes. This allows children to transition throughout the school as they get older and be taught by different practitioners in different settings.

• At Fossoway Primary School, staff are challenged and supported through a range of continuous professional development and review, which comes of having a Headteacher and five members of teaching staff, in five classes for 111 pupils (Census 2018).

Staff collaborate across the school for planning, learning and teaching to ensure children receive experiences that are relevant and present clear challenge and enjoyment. Flexibility in staffing at Fossoway means that good use can be made of the local context, for example by involving children in Outdoor Learning.

Staff also work together to moderate standards of learning and achievement in the school to ensure that children make appropriate progress in a structured and progressive way through Curriculum for Excellence levels.

• A collegiate approach to professional engagement amongst all staff is evident within the school. They come together regularly to review and improve practice as a school, with partner services and other schools in the Local Management Group. There is a strong commitment across all staff to lead improvements in learning and teaching from evidence based research.

• This enhances the quality of learning and teaching through shared opportunities to develop effective approaches and to share and moderate standards. Currently, Fossoway Primary School staff collaborate with other schools on Digital Learning, ensuring that staff share good practice across other schools in the area.

• Work is differentiated to adapt to pupils’ needs and pupils benefit from being able to work on co-operative learning tasks with others. 9

Page 45 of 194 Flexibility in staffing allows staff to be creative in planning for children with additional support needs both universally and for targeted need, thus addressing potential barriers to learning.

• The team at Fossoway Primary School have developed a diverse range of family learning programmes to meet the varying needs of families in the community and draws on expertise and knowledge across the community to enhance the learning and experiences for children across the school.

• Fossoway Primary School affords the opportunity for all children to build relationships with different groups and individuals, develop a range of skills and undertake group responsibilities, which the larger class sizes enable. Pupils work in groups, at peer level and across all stages in the school and in mixed sex groups. This allows the sharing of ideas, peer support, informal mentoring and relationship building, all of which contribute to the whole school experience for all pupils.

• The school has support from a Pupil Support Teacher, allowing for specialist teaching, which not only benefits pupils with Additional Support Needs, but all other pupils.

3.24 Environment for Learning

• The school grounds at Fossoway provide facilities for the pupils to experience a range of team and individual sports, such as football, netball and basketball. • Within the school grounds there are facilities to enhance imaginative learning and play, such as a climbing wall, fort and garden. • Some classrooms are semi open plan, allowing the opportunity for children to work alongside each other in other classes and break out areas. These break out spaces allow for flexibility in teaching methods and afford a range of learning opportunities, from working in small groups, to allowing children of different stages and classes to work together. • All classrooms have interactive screens, providing the opportunity for children to access the curriculum in modern and innovative ways, through the use of smartboards and interactive technology. • The school uses additional classroom space flexibly to offer nurture support, additional support for learning and a meeting space for working groups, meetings and collaboration with partners.

• Fossoway Primary School is accessible for children and adults with Additional Support Needs. It is on one level and has fully accessible toilet facilities for children and adults.

Page 46 of 194 3.25 Experiences and Opportunities

• The school has pupils of both sexes at each stage, allowing all pupils to interact and socialise with groups of children their own age and sex, at appropriate levels.

• The school has a house system that all children are members of, which enhances many aspects of school practice; including learning, promoting positive behaviour, buddying and mentoring, and school events.

• Pupil voice is evident at Fossoway Primary through the Learning Council, which allows them the opportunity to share and discuss learning across the school and identify areas for further improvements in the school.

• The school focuses on pupil led experiences and opportunities in a range of ways. There are pupil councils, facilitated by a teacher, but pupil led. These are the Eco Council, the Rights Respecting group, the Grounds and Outdoor Learning Council. These give pupils opportunities to lead and make decisions.

• Pupils facilitate a range of groups, such as Digital Learning, Fun Learning, Pupil Choir and Ukulele and Guitar Club. In addition, the pupils take control of the weekly school assembly, organising the agenda and ensuring that it runs smoothly, taking into account the needs of pupils and staff.

• Fossoway has an active Parent Council, which support the school in its work with parents and encourages links between school, parents, pupils and the community. Parental support enables the school to gain experiences out with the local community, and trips. Family learning programmes have been developed to further enhance parental involvement in children’s learning.

In Summary

• Fossoway Primary is a bright, modern school, with mixed sex classes at all stages in the school, including nursery.

• The school roll allows all children to participate in peer support, classroom learning, and learning groups across stages and between classes, with the benefit of allowing children to have a wide and varied range of learning experiences.

• Learning and teaching at Fossoway starts with the early years provision, supporting a seamless transition to Primary One.

• The building lends itself to modern teaching methods, with good use of break out space, accessible and flexible teaching and outdoor areas and good facilities for sport and leisure.

• The children and parents of Blairingone Primary School will have access to an educational establishment which has a well-planned and committed approach to taking forward improvement. 11

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• There is sufficient capacity at Fossoway Primary School to fully meet the needs of the Blairingone Primary School children without having a detrimental impact on the learning of the existing pupils of Fossoway Primary School.

4. OPTIONS CONSIDERED

4.1 A number of options were considered for the future of Blairingone Primary School as part of the Options Appraisal:

a) Blairingone Primary School remains open.

The pupil roll projections reflect that there is no evidence to suggest that the roll will significantly increase in future years. Low future pupil numbers are unlikely to lead to a sufficient increase to make the school roll sustainable. It is likely that house building in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area over the next 4 years will be limited and will result in few, if any, additional pupils for the school as a result.

The financial implications of retaining the ‘status quo’ for the school are a continuation of the current running costs of approximately £115,574 per annum. There is a capital cost of approximately £245,424 required to upgrade the building in future years. This option will not affect the community, travel arrangements or current pupils. The reason for taking forward an options appraisal for Blairingone Primary School was that pupil numbers had been consistently low over recent years and there was concern over the sustainability of the school. The pupil roll projections reflect that there is no evidence to suggest that the roll will significantly increase in future years. The key issue is that out of 15 children who could attend the school currently, 10 of them attend neighbouring schools. In addition, low future pupil numbers are unlikely to lead to a sufficient increase to make the school roll sustainable.

It has not been possible to identify other steps which could increase the roll, whilst maintaining the status quo in terms of catchment area. This is therefore not considered a reasonable alternative.

b) Consider mothballing Blairingone Primary School and move pupils to Fossoway Primary School.

If Blairingone Primary School was mothballed, pupils would be accommodated at Fossoway Primary School which is approximately 4.5 miles away and is the nearest school in Perth and Kinross. Four out of 5 of the children at Blairingone are within walking distance of Blairingone Primary School. Children would have to travel between approximately 4.2 miles and approximately 6.4 miles to attend Fossoway Primary School. The maximum time spent travelling on the bus would be 27 minutes for the child who has to travel furthest. In some other more rural areas within Perth and Kinross, pupils are travelling greater distances on more minor roads to reach their school. Pupils would be entitled to free home to school transport if they live more than 2 miles away from the school they are designated to attend. 12

Page 48 of 194 The revenue savings generated from mothballing Blairingone Primary School amount to approximately £85,626 annually. This is made up of staff and building costs however this takes account of additional transport costs of £28,500 for current pupils to attend Fossoway Primary School.

There would be reduced energy consumption if the school is to be mothballed. Children would travel further to school in Crook of Devon, however most would be provided with transport, including those who already attend Fossoway Primary School as the result of a successful placing request currently. The roll at Blairingone Primary School is unlikely to exceed 5 pupils in the next 4 years. There is evidence that pupils from the catchment area currently choose to attend other schools in the area instead of Blairingone Primary School and this will be for a range of reasons. In addition, it is likely that house building in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area over the next 4 years will be limited with few, if any, additional pupils for the school as a result. It is also possible that if the school is mothballed, pending an increase in pupil numbers, children will become settled at Fossoway Primary School and would not return to Blairingone Primary School in the event of the school re-opening at a future date.

It could be considered that mothballing creates continued uncertainty for parents and the community. In addition, there are no opportunities to progress alternative uses for the building, which may include community asset transfer, lease or sale of the building, all of which may benefit the wider community. Therefore, on balance, it is considered that mothballing is more likely to be a negative than a positive, in terms of community impact.

If Blairingone Primary School was mothballed on an indefinite basis, Perth and Kinross Council would incur annual costs to maintain the building. Unoccupied buildings can deteriorate more rapidly than operational premises and can become a focus for opportunistic crimes and/or targets for vandalism whether the premises are located in urban or rural areas.

For the reasons above, mothballing the school in anticipation of increased pupil numbers due to house building is therefore not considered a reasonable alternative. c) Consider closing Blairingone Primary School and move pupils to Fossoway Primary School.

If Blairingone Primary School was closed, pupils would be accommodated at Fossoway Primary School which is approximately 4.5 miles away and is the nearest school in Perth and Kinross. Four out of 5 of the children at Blairingone are within walking distance of Blairingone Primary School. Children would have to travel between approximately 4.2 miles and approximately 6.4 miles to attend Fossoway Primary School.

The maximum time spent travelling on the bus would be 27 minutes for the child who has to travel furthest. In some other more rural areas within Perth and Kinross, pupils are travelling greater distances on more minor roads to reach their school. Pupils would be entitled to free home to school transport if they live more than 2 miles away from their designated school. 13

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Fossoway Primary School currently accommodates a number of pupils from Blairingone Primary as a result of placing requests. Pupil numbers at Fossoway are projected to remain static for the next 4 years. Fossoway Primary has capacity to continue to accommodate the projected pupil numbers should Blairingone Primary School be closed. This option is considered to be reasonable and further detail is provided in relation to educational benefits, travel, environmental impact and community impact.

There will be environmental benefits from a reduction in energy consumption if the school is to be closed. There is little negative environmental impact in relation to the transport of pupils or the travel arrangements of staff due to the relatively short distances and small numbers involved. There would be environmental benefits to Blairingone Primary School pupils being transferred to Fossoway Primary School in that they would be transported by the Council rather than travelling individually.

The revenue savings generated from closing Blairingone Primary School amount to approximately £85,626 including mothball costs annually. This is predominately made up of staff and building costs and is net of the annual transport costs of £28,500. The capital cost of upgrading the building of £245,424 would not be required. A capital receipt would be forthcoming if the building was sold or income would be generated through a lease. Pupil numbers at Blairingone Primary School have been reducing year on year since 2011 when the school had 11 pupils. This is due to primary school age pupils attending alternative schools as a result of placing requests. The P1 intake figures over the next 3 years are also small, with a maximum of 9 children under 5 years old living in the catchment area. There were no pupils with a Blairingone catchment area address registered to start at Blairingone Primary School in August 2018. One child has been registered to start at Blairingone Primary School in August 2019 with one pupil leaving in P7.

It is not considered that the closure of the school would have a negative impact on the sustainability of the community. Blairingone is located approximately 4.5 miles from Fossoway and approximately 3 miles from Dollar. The community currently travel to access health, retail and leisure facilities.

The school has not been used for lets recently by the community with the exception of Fossoway Community Council. There is, therefore, likely to be little impact on other users of the school if the school were to close. It is unlikely that closure of the school would result in the building being used for the community, as other community facilities such as the pub and village hall have closed down. The closure of these facilities would appear to indicate that there has not been enough demand to sustain them, possibly due to there being more and better facilities available in Dollar and Crook of Devon.

Pupil numbers at Blairingone Primary School have been reducing over recent years and the positive impact of Blairingone pupils on the school roll supports the sustainability of Fossoway Primary School which is also in a rural location and is a rural school.

Page 50 of 194 Analysis of recent pupil information shows that the school roll is low primarily due to parents requesting placements at other local schools, including schools in other Local Authority areas. Currently only 5 out of 17 children living in the catchment area attend Blairingone Primary School.

It is likely that house building in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area over the next 4 years will be limited and will result in few, if any, additional pupils for the school as a result.

The number of pre-school children in the catchment area is very low and is likely to remain so.

It is considered that closure of the school is the most appropriate response to the issue of a decreasing roll. Low numbers of pre-school children in the catchment area coupled with parents choosing to place their children at other primary schools, has led to the very small school roll. There is no indication that the roll will increase in future years. This option also has the benefit of supporting the sustainability of Fossoway Primary School, which is approximately 4.5 miles from Blairingone Primary School and is also a rural school. There is no evidence to indicate that this option would have an adverse impact on the community, travelling arrangements or the environment. d) Catchment area is reviewed to determine whether this would increase the school roll sufficiently at Blairingone Primary School to ensure the future sustainability of the school.

A catchment review can in principle be a reasonable option in some cases, to increase the sustainability of a school. An in-depth analysis in each case is required to ascertain if a sustainable increase in school roll could be achieved and a detrimental impact on neighbouring schools is not created as a result. The area to the east of Blairingone as far as Powmill was identified as a potential extension to the catchment area, as it is the only area of Perth and Kinross that borders Blairingone Primary School’s current catchment area.

The maximum number of primary school pupils who could attend Blairingone Primary School currently from this area is 15.

All of these pupils could choose whether to attend the new catchment school or not. There are fewer than 5 children living in this area under the age of 5. A survey was compiled to consult with parents/carers in a specific area that would allow the catchment area of Blairingone Primary School to be expanded. Three out of four parents indicated that they would not send their children to Blairingone Primary School if the catchment was changed.

The pupil population from the area east of Blairingone up to Powmill is not sufficient to increase the pupil roll at Blairingone Primary School unless a large number of the primary school pupils attending Fossoway Primary School from the area choose to move school or children from the Blairingone Primary School catchment area start to attend their catchment school. Parents would not be required to move primary age children from their current school when a catchment review takes place and generally parents are reluctant to do so.

Page 51 of 194 The survey did not evidence that Powmill parents would act contrary to this. There are not enough pre-school children to make the school roll sustainable.

Therefore, it is unlikely that increasing the catchment area into Powmill would create a sustainable pupil roll for Blairingone Primary School.

This is due to children from the Blairingone Primary School catchment area already choosing not to attend their catchment school and the parents living within the proposed extended area indicating that they would not send their children to Blairingone Primary School if the catchment area was changed. This option is therefore not considered a reasonable alternative.

4.2 Alternative Options In developing the Options Appraisal for Blairingone Primary School, Perth and Kinross Council undertook a robust process of consultation work and consulted face to face with key stakeholders which allowed opportunities for parents, staff, pupils and the wider communities to consider and discuss the alternatives with the Council and provide valuable feedback to the Council on the aspects of the alternatives which were reasonable and not reasonable as well as the opportunity to explore other alternatives. This ensured the opportunity for any other alternatives or suggestions to be communicated to the Council in order that the Options Appraisal was comprehensive and inclusive of the key stakeholders’ views. This also ensured further opportunity to provide representation of any other alternatives providing the Council with confidence that the Options Appraisals and assessment of alternatives was robust and comprehensive. The statutory consultation process also provided an opportunity for consultees to suggest other alternatives to the proposal during the statutory consultation process. One alternative option was notified to the Council during this process for a shared headship to be implemented between Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School. Consideration of this option is addressed in Section 8.

5. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

5.1 On 16 May 2018, Lifelong Learning Committee considered the options appraisal for Blairingone Primary School and agreed to commence formal consultation on a proposal to close Blairingone Primary School (Report No 18/155 refers) in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

5.2 An electronic link to the Proposal Paper was issued by letter on 23 August 2018 to those individuals and bodies listed under Distribution within the document. The Proposal Paper was also published on the Council’s website: www.pkc.gov.uk

5.3 The Proposal Paper made clear to consultees that the consultation period would run from Monday 27 August 2018 until Friday 5 October 2018 – a period of at least 30 school days.

5.4 The proposal on which consultation took place was that:

• Provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter;

Page 52 of 194 • The pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

5.5 The requirements for consulting on a relevant proposal relating to schools are set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

• A Proposal Paper was published on Monday 27 August 2018. All statutory consultees were written to providing a link to the proposal paper and details of where and how to obtain a paper copy. A copy of this document was available free of charge to the consultees listed within the document. • The Proposal Paper was published on the Perth and Kinross Council website www.pkc.gov.uk and was available in paper copy upon request. • An advertisement ran in the Courier and Advertiser and the Perthshire Advertiser on 27 August 2018. • Two public meetings were held to discuss the proposal on Thursday 6 September 2018 and Tuesday 18 September 2018. • The Consultation period ended on Friday 5 October 2018. • Education Scotland’s involvement consisted of: the options appraisal and proposal paper documents being sent to them, and visits to the sites of both Fossoway and Blairingone Primary Schools, including discussion with relevant consultees. They also received a copy of all written representations and the minute of the public meeting. They then prepared a report on the educational aspects of the proposal. This is attached as Appendix 5.

5.6 The following schools are affected by the proposal:

• Blairingone Primary School • Fossoway Primary School

5.7 In accordance with statutory requirements and good practice, the following persons were consulted:

• The Parent Council of the affected schools • The parents of the pupils and children at the affected schools • The parents of children expected to attend the affected schools within 2 years of the date of publication of this proposal document • The pupils at the affected schools • The teaching and ancillary staff at the affected schools • The trade union and professional association representatives of the above staff • The Community Council • Relevant users of the affected schools • Elected Members of Perth and Kinross Council • Lay Members of Lifelong Learning Committee • The Constituency MSPs and List MSPs covering the Constituency • The Constituency MP • The Executive Director, Housing & Environment, Perth and Kinross Council • Tayside Contracts 17

Page 53 of 194 • LiveActive Leisure • Education Scotland

5.8 The number of letters issued with details of the Proposal Paper was 231.

5.9 During the consultation period, representations were sought from interested parties, either in oral or written form or electronically. A generic email account was set up by the Council to receive representations and enquiries on the proposal.

5.10 This Consultation Report is the Council’s response to the issues raised during the consultation period on the Proposal Paper.

5.11 This Consultation Report was published on the Council’s website for a period of no less than 3 weeks prior to final consideration by Lifelong Learning Committee on 27 March 2019.

6. THE PUBLIC MEETINGS

6.1 A public meeting was held in Fossoway Primary School on Thursday 6 September 2018. No members of the public attended. A full note of the meeting is attached as Appendix 1 which details the questions and issues raised at the meeting.

6.2 A public meeting was held in Blairingone Primary School on Tuesday 18 September 2018. This meeting was attended by 12 members of the public. A full note of the meeting is attached as Appendix 2 which details the questions and issues raised at the meeting.

7. RESPONSES TO THE CONSULTATION EXERCISE

7.1 In all, 5 online response forms were received. One response agreed with the Council’s proposal and four responses disagreed with the Council’s proposal. Seven written representations were received. This represents 6 individuals as one person submitted 2 written responses. All 7 written representations did not agree with the Council’s proposal. One parent established an online change.org petition titled “Save our Rural School, Blairingone Primary School which obtained 374 signatures. Nine signatures were identified as Blairingone or Fossoway residents.

The details of the respondents are contained within the Summary of Consultation Responses, attached as Appendix 3.

7.2 In summary, the oral and written responses and questions can be grouped broadly as follows:

Page 54 of 194 • Whether a nursery and/or Out of School Care Club would increase pupil numbers and how the data for pre-school pupils is obtained. • The capacity of Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School and what would happen if there was an influx of pupils. • What would happen to staff if Blairingone Primary School was to close and whether Blairingone Primary School would be sold. • Why the school has not been maintained over past years. • The calculation of proposed savings if the proposal was to be implemented. • The process for consulting with pupils at Blairingone Primary School. • The reason for the proposed date of closure and why the decision to defer the report on Blairingone Primary School was taken in March 2018. • When the outcome of the consultation would be reported back to Committee and the process involving Education Scotland. • It is not the best use of limited resources to keep schools such as Blairingone open. Council tax payers should not fund a school for a handful of pupils. • The catchment area should be reviewed to include Powmill. • The nurturing educational experience provided at Blairingone and larger schools do not suit all pupils. Blairingone received very high ratings from its most recent HM Inspection report (Sept 2013). • Blairingone Primary is the last remaining community building in the village. and the relationship Blairingone Primary School has with the local Nursing Home.

7.3 In summary, 231 letters were issued inviting comments and participation in the consultation. Five online submissions and 7 written responses were received in respect of the consultation.

7.4 Specific consultation meetings took place with pupils and staff at both Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School and full details of these is attached as Appendix 4.

8. EDUCATION AUTHORITY RESPONSE TO WRITTEN AND ORAL REPRESENTATIONS

8.1 Clarification was sought regarding the proposed date that Fossoway catchment would subsume Blairingone catchment. Would it not be better to make the change on the first day of the school year rather than the 1 July 2019? The date refers to the last day of the school session in 2019. When a new pupil moves to an area they need to have an identified catchment school. If a new pupil(s) were to move into the area over the summer break this would mean that they would be without a catchment school until the new school session in August, whereas using 1 July 2019 as the date ensures this does not occur.

8.2 Clarification was sought regarding when a report to Lifelong Learning Committee on the results of the statutory consultation would be considered. The indicative timescale is that it is intended to report back to Committee in March 2019.

8.3 Clarification was sought on when looking at the cost implications, did the Council take into account the transport of pupils.

Page 55 of 194 Yes the cost implications of pupil transport were considered. This is detailed in the financial information in the options appraisal.

8.4 Clarification was sought to establish if a decision could be delayed to see if planned housebuilding takes place and whether, as an interim measure, could the Council consider a joint Headship as there is developer interest in Blairingone. The Lifelong Learning Committee approved that statutory consultation was to be undertaken on the proposal to close Blairingone Primary School.

The outcome of the consultation will be reported back to Lifelong Learning Committee which will include details of all representations made during the consultation period. The Lifelong Learning Committee will consider the representations and other facts, including Education Scotland’s full report, and will make a decision on whether or not to proceed with implementing the proposal.

While sites in this area are being promoted by interested Land Owners, sites need the support of the development industry to ensure the delivery of houses. The key elements in site delivery are financial viability and market demand. The market demand in this area has been shown to be weak over the past few decades. To date no planning application has been submitted for housing proposals at Blairingone. If all houses in the HLA were to build in the 5 year period from 2020 to 2025 there may be up to 5 additional children up to 2025. Whilst the maximum number of potential pupils expected from these sites may be up to 5 pupils in the 5 year period 2020 to 2025, there is no evidence that confirms that these sites will proceed. In addition, out of the 5 small sites detailed in the options appraisals only 3 of these sites now remain in the Housing Land Audit (HLA). There are planning applications for 3 houses but no indication if these will go ahead. Perth and Kinross Council operates shared headships across a number of schools. The Council considers shared headship in particular circumstances when recruitment difficulties are experienced.

The policy for Cluster Headship was approved by Lifelong Learning Committee on 3 November 2010 following an evaluation of a 2 year pilot of shared headships. The approved model for Cluster Headships set out the circumstances in which a Cluster Headship would be considered. These circumstances are where a vacancy has arisen for a Headteacher post in a school with a P1-P7 roll of fewer than 120 pupils and where it has not been possible to recruit a replacement Headteacher through the normal recruitment process. The approved Cluster Headship model should not be implemented across schools where there are existing Headteachers employed. The model would not permit the removal of an existing Headteacher to be replaced with the appointment of a principal teacher to create a Cluster Headship where normal recruitment and fair selection processes have not been carried out.

As both Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School currently have appointed headteachers in post, these schools would not be considered for a Cluster Headship. This would only be a consideration if either of the posts became vacant and, following the Council’s recruitment and fair selection process, it was not possible to recruit a replacement headteacher to fill the vacancy.

Whilst a shared headship may provide a means of improving cost effectiveness, it does not address the wider population issues within the Blairingone area or the issue of a 20

Page 56 of 194 declining school roll as the result of placing requests being made for pupil to attend other schools.

8.5 Clarification was sought in terms of process, regarding whether the Education Scotland report comes back to Lifelong Learning Committee before a decision is made. The outcome of the statutory consultation, including Education Scotland’s full report, will be reported back to Lifelong Learning Committee for consideration on whether or not to implement the proposal.

8.6 Clarification was sought regarding if Education Scotland raised significant issues with the proposal could Lifelong Learning Committee put a stop to the proposal. The Council would have to address any issues identified by Education Scotland or specify if they could not. If there were significant concerns that could not be addressed then this would be reflected in the Council’s recommendation to Lifelong Learning Committee. Elected Members would have to be satisfied with how any findings would be addressed.

8.7 A comment was made that the idea of joint Headship only arose after the original options appraisal was conducted. Due to uncertainty regarding housebuilding in the area it is considered this would make a good interim measure. Housebuilding projections are contested for Fossoway and Blairingone because of what is known about development. The interim argument is a good one. If the development does not happen then the school can still be closed and, if not, then the building can be retained as a community asset. The option of shared headship should be explored in this case. The situation regarding housebuilding is not considered to be uncertain. While sites in this area are being promoted by interested Land Owners, sites need the support of the development industry to ensure the delivery of houses. The key elements in site delivery are financial viability and market demand. The market demand in this area has been shown to be weak over the past few decades. To date no planning application has been submitted for housing proposals at Blairingone but the Council is in the process of providing a response to a pre-application consultation for residential development on site MU74. The planning consent for the allocated site on the former Gartwhinzean Hotel in Powmill has lapsed. Through the Local Development Plan process Education and Children’s Service are provided, by the Planning Service, with up to date information on existing housing land allocations, proposed housing land allocations, expected house building rates, housing completion rates, Housing Building Industry projections for sites, current planning applications and approved planning consents which is used to inform future school roll projections. Site MU74 which is covered by the proposed masterplan for Blairingone village has been considered through this process. Perth and Kinross Council operates shared headships across a number of schools. The Council considers shared headship in particular circumstances when recruitment difficulties are experienced.

The policy for Cluster Headship was approved by Lifelong Learning Committee on

Page 57 of 194 3 November 2010 following an evaluation of a 2 year pilot of shared headships. The approved model for Cluster Headships set out the circumstances in which a Cluster Headship would be considered. These circumstances are where a vacancy has arisen for a Headteacher post in a school with a P1-P7 roll of fewer than 120 pupils and where it has not been possible to recruit a replacement Headteacher through the normal recruitment process. The approved Cluster Headship model should not be implemented across schools where there are existing Headteachers employed. The model would not permit the removal of an existing Headteacher to be replaced with the appointment of a principal teacher to create a Cluster Headship where normal recruitment and fair selection processes have not been carried out.

Whilst a shared headship may provide a means of improving cost effectiveness, it does not address the wider population issues within the Blairingone area or the issue of a declining school roll as the result of placing requests being made for pupil to attend other schools.

8.8 A comment was made that LDP2 is limited to 30 houses, but the pre-application discussion was completely different. Developers pitched it that way because of the Tayplan. Also there is more affordable housing planned for the Crook of Devon. Is the Council aware of all that in the projections? The Council has looked at potential housebuilding and potential impact. Education and Children’s Services has worked closely with colleagues in Planning to inform the options appraisal.

The Proposed Local Development Plan 2 identifies land at Blairingone under reference MU74 for a mixed use development including residential with a limit of 30 residential dwellings up to 2028. While sites in this area are being promoted by interested Land Owners, sites need the support of the development industry to ensure the delivery of houses. The key elements in site delivery are financial viability and market demand. The market demand in this area has been shown to be weak over the past few decades. To date no planning application has been submitted for housing proposals at Blairingone but the Council is in the process of providing a response to a pre-application consultation for residential development on site MU74. Pre-application discussions allow for a landowner/developer to receive advice from the Planning Authority as to the suitability of a proposal in terms of adopted planning policy in advance of a planning application being submitted. It does not provide a guarantee that an application will be submitted or a proposal will be progressed on the ground. The planning consent for the allocated site on the former Gartwhinzean Hotel in Powmill has lapsed.

Through the Local Development Plan process Education and Children’s Services are provided, by the Planning Service, with up to date information on existing housing land allocations, proposed housing land allocations, expected house building rates, housing completion rates, Housing Building Industry projections for sites, current planning applications and approved planning consents which is used to inform future school roll 22

Page 58 of 194 projections. Site MU74 which is covered by the proposed masterplan for Blairingone village has been considered through this process.

8.9 Clarification was sought regarding whether the Council honour any comments made before the public meeting. All comments submitted from the 27 August 2018 will be formally recorded as part of the statutory consultation. Any comments regarding Blairingone Primary School made before the Council had agreed to commence statutory consultation on a formal proposal, will have to be submitted as part of the consultation.

8.10 Clarification was sought regarding why in March the decision of Lifelong Learning Committee was different. Lifelong Learning Committee did not proceed with considering the report on Blairingone in March due to Elected Members deciding that they wished to seek confirmed information on the Local Development Plan. This was to clarify what impact there would be in the community regarding housing development.

8.11 A query was raised regarding how can the Council predict what the housing market in Blairingone will look like. It is difficult to be exact but evidence from similar locations suggests that the build rate would be slow (5 per year) due to its rural location. Sites need the support of the development industry to ensure the delivery of houses. The key elements in site delivery are financial viability and market demand. The market demand in the area of Blairingone has been shown to be weak over the past few decades. This evidence of the market demand in the Blairingone area over a prolonged period of time provides the Council with an evidence base on which to make its projections.

8.12 A query was raised regarding childcare and whether Nursery or Out Of School Care would save the school. According to the figures and what is known of the demographics in the area, the number of pre-school pupils living in Blairingone is very low. The data received from the NHS is anonymous by postcode area and exact pupil numbers who will attend each school cannot be confirmed until they register for school as a number of parents do not send their children to their catchment school. However, this is reliable data providing information on the number of children under 5 years old in the Blairingone area.

In planning for the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) as outlined in the Scottish Government’s Blueprint for 2020, Perth and Kinross Council has arranged ELC into geographical areas. The Perth and Kinross Council Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Expansion Plan articulates the planned delivery models of 1140 hours ELC in Perth and Kinross and ensures that within localities there is a range of options for parents/carers to access funded ELC. This will include partner provider nurseries, childminders and a number of local authority settings offering all year round provision and longer opening hours. The ELC options available will be influenced by further consultation with parents/carers in localities.

Page 59 of 194 and out of poverty. Eleven distinct “Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Community Groups” have been developed to take account of the geographical spread of localities across Perth and Kinross.

Specifically, Blairingone falls into the Kinross area where, by 2020, 1140 hours will be available at 3 Partner Providers, 3 Local Authority Nurseries offering term time places and 1 offering an extended year model. Each community group in Perth and Kinross will contain a “mixed economy” of provisions to deliver 1140 hours of ELC made up of local authority settings, partner providers and childminders. Therefore, the overall demand for nursery places within Blairingone can be met by the number of places available within the Kinross ELC community group.

The figures for the number of children under 5 years old in the Blairingone area lead the Council to conclude that there are insufficient numbers of children in the area to sustain nursery provision or out of school care. The number of children under the age of 5 years old are too low and, therefore, it is not considered to be the case that a nursery will attract families into the catchment area to then remain at the school. The fundamental issue is the low numbers of children under 5 years old in the catchment area.

8.13 A query was raised in respect of the work undertaken to seek the views of parents about increasing the catchment area. Aside from NHS data, how do the Council get figures for pre-school pupils as no-one known to them was asked their views? An individual email was sent directly to all parents living in the identified area and to the local private nursery to identify potential pre-school pupils who could attend Blairingone Primary School if the catchment area was extended, to which the Council received 4 responses. The Council under took this work as robustly as it could in terms of the limitations in access to data in identifying potential pre-school pupils who are not known to the Council or the local private nursery.

8.14 A query was raised regarding whether this is all informed guess work. All that is needed is 5 or 6 more children to have the school at full capacity. The capacity of Blairingone Primary School is 25 pupils. The current number of pupils is 5. There are 8 pupils living in the catchment area who attend other Perth and Kinross schools. There are 5 pupils living in the catchment area who attend school outwith Perth and Kinross.

Projecting future pupil numbers is not guesswork although it is not an exact science. Future pupil projections have been considered using aggregated GP registration data from the NHS and both Fossoway Primary School and Blairingone Primary School pupil numbers are projected to remain static over the next 4 years.

In considering future pupil projections, a range of data sources is used to evidence and predict pupil population trends. One of the methodologies for projecting pupil numbers is based on the average intake of pupils in each school across the previous 5 year period. This provides a baseline of pupil projections for a 7 year period within Perth and Kinross which has provided pupil projections within an accuracy tolerance of within 1%. Demographic information on general population data provides actual and trend evidence across all age groups within the defined demographic zone. Projected pupil growth from housebuilding is also considered and there is no planned housebuilding within the catchment area for Blairingone Primary School and this evidence leads the 24

Page 60 of 194 Council to the conclusion that there will be no increase in pupil population through housebuilding. Experience evidences that his data is largely accurate and provides the Council with a stable basis on which to make informed projections across all schools in Perth and Kinross.

There are very low numbers of children under 5 years old in the Blairingone catchment area over the next 4 years. Pupil projections in the catchment area do not indicate that the potential pupil numbers will increase in the future and there is no suggestion going forward that this is likely to change. The data for Blairingone shows that the number of children eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2021 is 9 pupils.

However, based on the pattern of placing requests made for other schools by parents living in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area, the number of pupils enrolling for school in Perth and Kinross is likely to be lower.

8.15 Clarification was sought regarding what is the capacity at Fossoway Primary School and what would happen if an influx of new pupils want to enrol in the next few years. There is space within Fossoway Primary School to accommodate Blairingone pupils. Fossoway Primary School had 111 pupils as at September 2018 and the capacity of the school is 150 pupils. The current forecast pupil roll for 2022 is 117 pupils. Therefore, it is unlikely that the school will reach capacity based on those projections and previous patterns of placing requests.

8.16 A query was raised regarding what would happen if Fossoway Primary School reaches full capacity. This is very unlikely; the projected pupils from all planned house building have been taken into consideration and can be accommodated within the capacity of Fossoway Primary School.

8.17 A query was raised regarding why a Quality Improvement Officer was asking the children questions as most children found it very upsetting. Consultation with pupils is a requirement as part of the statutory consultation process. The Council is very happy to share the questions that the children were asked and the process followed and this is detailed in Appendix 4.

8.18 Clarification was sought regarding possible redundancy of current staff if the decision is made to close Blairingone Primary School. No discussion regarding individual members of staff would be held during a public meeting. Staffing across all schools is fluid dependant on pupil numbers and, as part of the annual staffing exercise, teachers are regularly re-deployed to other schools. This would be the same for Blairingone Primary School if the proposal was to be implemented.

8.19 Clarification was sought regarding why the school hasn’t been maintained over the last few years. The school is graded as category B for both condition and suitability. The suitability and condition of the school is not a factor leading to this consultation as both the condition and suitability of the school are considered satisfactory. Schools are maintained. Councils have a finite budget and not every school is maintained to the same degree on a yearly basis. It is a much wider maintenance programme and

Page 61 of 194 priorities have to be identified across the whole of the school estate within the budget available.

8.20 A comment was made that the savings identified in the report are not correct and are overstated, as staff costs have been included but the Council had confirmed no staff would be made redundant so how can their salaries be included as a saving. The savings are correct and are not overstated. Each school has a budget allocated to it for staff costs and where staff transfer to another school, the budget would not move to the other school. Staff would be redeployed into vacant posts within the Council. If a school had no staff employed, then the budget for that school would no longer be required regardless of whether the staff had moved to a new school location as the staff costs would then be met from the budget for the school they were employed in.

8.21 Clarification was sought on whether the school will be sold. Every consideration would be taken into account before the building would be put up for sale in the event of the proposal being implemented. If the proposal to permanently close Blairingone Primary School is approved, it is envisaged that Education and Children’s services would declare the building surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council. This would provide an opportunity for the building to be sold, leased or could present the local community with an opportunity for alternative uses of the building as part of a Community Asset Transfer.

8.22 Clarification was sought on whether Education and Children’s Services was aware of progress made to date in promoting the mixed-use development opportunity at Blairingone and the intention to bring forward a formal application for planning permission in principle within reasonable timescales and the potential for future house building in Blairingone, Crook of Devon and Powmill and the implications upon education provision within the local area Education and Children’s Services is a key consultee through the delivery of the adopted Local Development Plan and the Proposed Local Development Plan 2.

Through the Local Development Plan process Education and Children’s Service are provided, by the Planning Service, with up to date information on existing housing land allocations, proposed housing land allocations, expected house building rates, housing completion rates, Housing Building Industry projections for sites, current planning applications and approved planning consents which is used to inform future school roll projections. This data is continually reviewed through ongoing liaison between the Planning Service and Education and Children’s Services. The current position regarding the housing allocations and projected timescales for delivery of sites at Blairingone, Crook of Devon and Powmill have been taken into account through assessment of the implications upon education provision within the local area. 8.23 A comment was made regarding the invaluable relationship between Blairingone Primary School and the benefit to service users at the care home at Rumbling Bridge. If the proposal to close Blairingone Primary School was to be implemented, there is no reason why this relationship could not continue with pupils attending Fossoway Primary School. The proposal includes the catchment area serving Blairingone to be included within the catchment area for Fossoway and, therefore, the intergenerational work which is currently taking place would be considered as part of any transition of 26

Page 62 of 194 pupils and activities undertaken at Blairingone Primary School should these pupils move to Fossoway Primary School.

8.24 A comment was made that the pupils at Blairingone Primary School should have a say in the decision of the future of the school. Pupils at both Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School have been consulted on the proposal and have had their views gathered as part of the consultation process.

8.25 A comment was made regarding the transportation of pupils on a bus at a young age. Perth and Kinross Council currently transports in excess of 800 primary school pupils to and from school each day in accordance with the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy. The travel distance and travel time between Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School is not considered to be unreasonable. It is not uncommon for pupils to travel greater distances on more minor roads to reach their school and travelling for primary school education is common across Perth & Kinross because of the geography of the area. A number of pupils from Blairingone already travel to Fossoway Primary School by choice as the result of successful placing requests and for nursery provision.

8.26 A comment was made that the nursery and P1 pupils are all in the same class at Fossoway Primary School and it is not felt that this is good for the children. Curriculum for Excellence is structured into four levels, early level spans across Nursery and Primary One. The focus at this level is learning through play and this would be seen as good practice, not detrimental to children’s development. Planning in this way would aid transition from Nursery to Primary One and provide continuity of learning experiences while providing the right amount of support and challenge.

8.27 A comment was made that pupils from Powmill should be provided with transport which may attract more pupils to Blairingone Primary School. Free home to school transport is provided in accordance with the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy. The Council does not provide free transport for pupils to attend a school which is not their catchment school. As part of the work which was undertaken in assessing the options for Blairingone Primary School, consideration was given to whether the catchment area serving Blairingone Primary School could be extended to include the area of Powmill. The area to the east of Blairingone as far as Powmill was identified as a potential extension to the catchment area, as it is the only area of Perth and Kinross that borders Blairingone Primary School’s current catchment area. The maximum number of primary school pupils who could attend Blairingone Primary School currently from this area is 15. There are fewer than 5 children living in this area under the age of 5. A survey was compiled to consult with parents/carers living in Powmill to determine if they were supportive of an option for the catchment area of Blairingone Primary School to be expanded. Only 4 parents responded and 3 out of these 4 parents indicated that they would not send their children to Blairingone Primary School if the catchment was changed.

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8.28 A comment was made that there is a need to look at ways to develop and stimulate the community including prioritising and encouraging house building and rural development and a view that if the school was to close, this may threaten the potential for future house building in the area. It should be noted that there has been a lot of interest in developing housing in Blairingone area. The Local Development Plan strategy supports rural development but housing delivery is driven by the housing market. The closure of the local school may make a housing site in Blairingone site less attractive to the housing market but this is only one of many factors which influence housing delivery. Importantly, there is a school in Blairingone currently and that has not encouraged any housebuilding development in the area in the past few decades. While sites in this area are being promoted by interested Land Owners, sites need the support of the development industry to ensure the delivery of houses. The key elements in site delivery are financial viability and market demand. The market demand in this area has been shown to be weak over the past few decades. To date no planning application has been submitted for housing proposals at Blairingone but the Council is in the process of providing a response to a pre-application consultation for residential development. 8.29 A comment was made that Blairingone Primary School provides a nurturing educational experience for its pupils. Larger schools do not suit all pupils in meeting the individual needs of pupils. All schools are responsible for meeting the needs of individual children in their care. In larger schools there is a wide range of skill set across teachers and support staff that can be of benefit to meeting the individual needs of children. 8.30 A comment was made that Fossoway Primary School cannot cope with any more pupils and the volume of traffic at the school. The capacity of Fossoway Primary School is 150 pupils and the school roll at Census 2018 was 111 pupils. The current forecast pupil roll for 2022 is 117 pupils. Therefore, there is more than sufficient capacity within Fossoway Primary School. There are no current concerns regarding the volume of traffic at Fossoway Primary School and parents, staff and children did not have any concerns about potential increase in the volume of traffic and impact on safety if the proposal proceeds when meeting with Education Scotland.

8.31 A comment was made that Blairingone Primary School is the last remaining community building in the village. It is recognised that here are no other facilities or services in Blairingone other than the primary school. Although the school is described as important to the community, a large number of pupils attend alternative primary schools. With the exception of Community Council meetings, there have been no regular lets of the school in recent years by the community. This indicates that the community does not rely on the school as a public/community facility at present. There is a Village Hall in nearby Crook of Devon and Fossoway Primary School is available for lets. The Blairingone community require to travel to access most services due to a lack of amenities within the village. This is facilitated by the fact that the village is situated on the main A977 trunk road. Many other communities in rural Perth and Kinross travel significantly further distances on more minor roads to access services.

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8.32 A comment was made that it is the lack of pre-school and after school provision which are the greatest barriers to families enrolling their children at Blairingone Primary School. The recent closure of a private nursery in Powmill supports the need for enhanced nursery provision and this could be made available at Blairingone. In planning for the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) as outlined in the Scottish Government’s Blueprint for 2020, Perth and Kinross Council has arranged ELC into geographical areas. The Perth and Kinross Council Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Expansion Plan articulates the planned delivery models of 1140 hours ELC in Perth and Kinross and ensures that within localities there is a range of options for parents/carers to access funded ELC.

This will include partner provider nurseries, childminders and a number of local authority settings offering a “mixed economy” of provision including, in some settings, all year round provision and longer opening hours. The ELC options available will be influenced by further consultation with parents/carers in localities and available resources.

The expansion of ELC to 1140 hours requires significant changes to how ELC is currently delivered within PKC. There is an opportunity to deliver flexible, affordable and most importantly, high quality ELC for children, which supports more parents to work, train or study, especially those who need routes into sustainable employment and out of poverty. Eleven distinct “Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Community Groups” have been developed to take account of the geographical spread of localities across Perth and Kinross.

Specifically, Blairingone falls into the Kinross ELC community group where, by 2020, 1140 hours will be available at 3 Partner Providers, 3 Local Authority Nurseries offering term time places and 1 offering an extended year model. Each community group in Perth and Kinross will contain a “mixed economy” of provisions to deliver 1140 hours of ELC made up of local authority settings, partner providers and childminders. Therefore, the overall demand for nursery places within Blairingone can be met by the number of places available within the Kinross ELC community group.

In respect of provision of out of school care to be established at Blairingone Primary School, there is a national review of Out of School Care underway as part of the Scottish Government’s National Framework for Out of School Care and Perth and Kinross Council will be taking cognisance of national developments in this area in considering future requirements.

The Childcare Strategy Team support parents and volunteers to explore a range of childcare models and options within communities. Out of School Care is not a statutory service and is not something which the Council would be able to set up or manage. The Childcare Strategy Team can provide support to set up a sustainable childcare service in terms of advice, guidance and training for committees or staff.

There is no evidence to indicate that lack of nursery provision is a barrier to attending Blairingone Primary School. Parents choose ELC provision based on a variety of factors, and provision of ELC within a school would not suit all parents. The figures for the number of children under 5 years old in the Blairingone area lead the Council to conclude that there are insufficient numbers of children in the area to sustain nursery 29

Page 65 of 194 provision or out of school care. The number of children under the age of 5 years old are too low and, therefore, it is not considered to be the case that a nursery will attract families into the catchment area to then remain at the school. The fundamental issue is the low numbers of children under 5 years old in the catchment area.

8.33 A comment was made that it is felt that the educational benefits of pupils remaining at Blairingone are just as strong, if not stronger, as the arguments for moving them. It is in no way being suggested that Blairingone Primary School does not provide a good quality education for pupils who attend the school. The educational benefits which have been set out identify what the potential benefits could be for pupils in attending a larger school with mixed sex classes at all stages in the school, including nursery.

This allows all children to participate in peer support, classroom learning, and learning groups across stages and between classes, with the benefit of allowing children to have a wide and varied range of learning experiences affording opportunities for children at all stages to widen their social and educational experiences.

8.34 A comment was made that as a council tax payer in Perth & Kinross, I feel very strongly that it is not best use of limited resources to keep schools such as this open. It is not in any way remote, being sited on a main road, and is only a short distance from an excellent school, Fossoway Primary School. I understand that the school is NOT used by the community at the moment, so it is ludicrous to suggest that PKC should keep it open for this reason. Why should council tax payers fund a school for a handful of pupils? The comment is noted.

8.35 A comment was made that the proposal paper refers to static projections for pupil numbers at both Blairingone and Fossoway Primary Schools. Proposed housebuilding has been disregarded based on past trends and is not included in the future projected rolls. Developer interest in Blairingone, Crook of Devon and Powmill is significant Developers are in discussion with the Council for a zoned site with a median capacity for up to 95 houses that there is definite interest in. There is support for a masterplan approach in Blairingone that includes the provision of sports facilities adjacent to the current school. The outcome of the masterplan for the village should be concluded before a decision is made on Blairingone Primary School. The Proposed Local Development Plan 2 identifies land at Blairingone under reference MU74 for a mixed use development including residential with a limit of 30 residential dwellings up to 2028. While sites in this area are being promoted by interested Land Owners, sites need the support of the development industry to ensure the delivery of houses. The key elements in site delivery are financial viability and market demand. The market demand in this area has been shown to be weak over the past few decades. To date no planning application has been submitted for housing proposals at Blairingone but the Council is in the process of providing a response to a pre- application consultation for residential development on site MU74. Pre-application discussions allow for a landowner/developer to receive advice from the Planning Authority as to the suitability of a proposal in terms of adopted planning policy in advance of a planning application being submitted. It does not provide a guarantee that an application will be submitted or a proposal will be progressed on the ground. 30

Page 66 of 194 The planning consent for the allocated site on the former Gartwhinzean Hotel in Powmill has lapsed.

Through the Local Development Plan process Education and Children’s Service are provided, by the Planning Service, with up to date information on existing housing land allocations, proposed housing land allocations, expected house building rates, housing completion rates, Housing Building Industry projections for sites, current planning applications and approved planning consents. This is used to inform future school roll projections. Site MU74 which is covered by the proposed masterplan for Blairingone village has been considered through this process. 8.36 A comment was made that pupils being transported to school is not supported, if it can be avoided. Concern was raised regarding the transporting of pupils along the A977 to Fossoway as this road carries the highest number of heavy goods vehicles within Perth and Kinross and the conditions during winter. Perth and Kinross Council provides home to school transport for more than 4000 pupils daily to schools across the whole Council area. It should be noted that pupils attending Kinross High School and Fossoway Primary School already travel daily to and from school on school transport along the A977 without incident. A number of pupils from Blairingone already travel to Fossoway Primary School by choice as the result of successful placing requests and travel along the A977.

It is recognised that adverse weather in the winter can impact on travel arrangements across Perth and Kinross. It is not unusual for pupils travelling to primary schools to be affected by severe weather. Headteachers take into account the local circumstances when deciding to close the school and/or send pupils home early. All schools in Perth and Kinross have an emergency closure plan for severe weather in place which is drawn up by the Headteacher following a risk assessment and in consultation with school transport operators.

8.37 A comment was made regarding why Cleish Primary School catchment has not been considered when it is as close to Blairingone as Fossoway is. The shortest travel time by road from Cleish Primary School to Blairingone Primary School is approximately 14 minutes. This route passes Fossoway Primary School. The travel time by road from Fossoway Primary School to Blaringone Primary School is approximately 9 minutes.

The majority of primary school age pupils living in the Cleish Primary School catchment area live to the east of Cleish Primary School. These pupils would have to travel past Cleish Primary School to attend Blairingone Primary School. This would be an increase in travel distance and time to their closest primary school.

9. EDUCATION SCOTLAND REPORT

9.1 In accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, a report was produced by Education Scotland on the educational aspects of the proposal.

9.2 The purpose of the report is to provide an independent and impartial consideration of Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Blairingone Primary School.

9.3 Education Scotland visited Fossoway and Blairingone Primary Schools the week commencing 22 October 2018 to speak to relevant consultees. Education Scotland 31

Page 67 of 194 attended the public meetings held on 6 September 2018 and 18 September 2018 in connection with the Council’s proposals.

9.4 The Education Scotland report is reproduced in full (Appendix 5).

9.5 The report supports the proposal and is summarised below:

• Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Blairingone Primary School has clear educational benefits. Blairingone Primary School children currently enjoy learning in an inclusive and supportive environment.

However, Blairingone children will have access to greater learning opportunities, wider experiences and increased socialisation through being part of a larger school at Fossoway. Opportunities to engage in lunchtime, after school and team events will be increased. Projected numbers of children within the catchment are insufficient to make the school viable. A significant factor in this is parental placing requests to other schools. Fossoway Primary School has the capacity to accommodate additional children. The proposal will assist the council to deliver ‘Best Value’ through making more efficient and effective use of its resources.

Page 68 of 194 education activities and lunchtime clubs and opportunities to participate in inter– school team events.

• The council has clearly assessed the likely benefits to children and in doing so has given due consideration to any reasonable alternatives. Due to insufficient demand, coupled with parents choosing to place their children at other primary schools, none of the options bar closure were considered as viable or sustainable. The current school building is not used regularly for community activity. The proposal does not impact negatively on children at Fossoway Primary School. Blairingone children will be entitled to free transport. The journey time is not unreasonable when compared with other parts of the authority.

9.6 Perth and Kinross Council’s Response to Education Scotland’s Report

The Council welcomes the report from Education Scotland and accepts its findings and notes the concerns raised by pupils, parents and staff from Blairingone Primary School in response to the Council’s proposal.

In response to the findings contained within the Education Scotland report, Perth and Kinross response is as follows:

9.6.1 In taking forward the proposal the council should set out how it will ensure current Blairingone children are supported to positively make the transition to Fossoway School. The Local Authority has experience of supporting pupils to make a positive transition from one school to another. If the proposal was to be implemented, the schools would work together to ensure that children were familiar with their new school through visits to Fossoway Primary School. The staff from Fossoway Primary School would also visit Blairingone Primary School to get to know the children. Resources and important aspects of Blairingone Primary School would be taken to Fossoway Primary School so that there was still a link and a focus for discussion. All staff are experienced in making children feel welcome and helping to settle them into a new environment. Events would be held with parents at Fossoway Primary School to allow them to meet staff and become familiar with the school and the curriculum offered there. This approach has proved successful with a number of schools over recent years.

9.6.2 It should also work with parents to address the concerns they raised such as bullying and travelling by bus. Perth and Kinross Council will continue to work with parents to address the concerns they have raised should the proposal be implemented. Individual meetings with parents would be offered to discuss any particular issues and address any concerns raised. Every school in Perth and Kinross has its own anti-bullying or positive behaviour management policy which underpins Perth & Kinross Council's Anti-Bullying Strategy. This clearly sets out how the school will deal with reported incidents of bullying and bullying behaviour and address any issues or concerns to ensure all pupils can benefit from learning environments which are free from intimidation, harassment and fear and where bullying behaviour is unacceptable.

Perth and Kinross is committed to working in partnership with parents, children and young people and other stakeholders to ensure that, wherever possible, all children enrolled in our schools receive an education that maximises their opportunity to achieve their potential. A positive ethos in our schools is fundamental to raising 33

Page 69 of 194 achievement and links to the development of anti-bullying, peer support and other whole school strategies. It also encourages achievement, celebrates success, and results in lower exclusion rates and fewer discipline problems. It is important that schools, pupils and parents work together to create a positive ethos.

Perth and Kinross Council successfully transports more than 4000 primary and secondary pupils to and from school each day. The most appropriate and suitable transport is put in place dependent on the numbers of pupils to be transported and distances to be travelled. All home to school transport is arranged in accordance with legislative requirements.

9.6.3 The council should also consider how the vacant school might be used to the benefit of the local Blairingone community. Perth and Kinross Council will continue to engage with the local community regarding options for the future use of the Blairingone Primary School building should the proposal be implemented. The closure of the school could provide the community with an opportunity to use the building as a facility solely for community use.

If the proposal to permanently close Blairingone Primary School is approved, it is envisaged that Education and Children’s services would declare the building surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council.

This would provide an opportunity for the building to be sold, leased or could present the local community with an opportunity for alternative uses of the building as part of a Community Asset Transfer.

10. RURAL SCHOOL – COMPLIANCE WITH SECTIONS 11A TO 13 OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

10.1 Blairingone Primary School is an accessible rural school, and the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 therefore requires the Education Authority to have special regard to the following factors:

• The likely effect on the local community as a consequence of the proposal; and • The likely effect caused by different travelling arrangements that may be required.

10.2 Effect on the Local Community

Community Impact – Loss of the school

10.2.1 The number of primary pupils attending the school has fallen. However, it seems to be the case that families who do live within the catchment area are more mobile and exercising their right to choose other schools for their children. 10.2.2 At the community engagement session there was much comment on the school being the only remaining amenity within the village. The community suggested that the lack of a school, transport and other amenities would deter families moving into the area. The data on pupil numbers would suggest however that there are families living in the area but that they are not attending the local school. It is clear that families living in the catchment area are travelling to access education as well as other services and so it appears to be an accepted part of life within the community. 34

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10.2.3 In 2017, the Council closed schools in Calvine (Struan Primary School) and Enochdhu (Straloch Primary School) after they had been mothballed for 5 years. The evidence from both areas was that families were not deterred from moving into the area by having to travel to a neighbouring village. There are clear parallels with Blairingone in that the communities already travelled to other local communities to access services. Neither school/community was as accessible as Blairingone, which has a main trunk road (A977) running through the village and is only approximately 10 miles from Kinross and approximately 3 miles to Dollar. Fossoway Primary School is approximately 4.5 miles away. 10.2.4 The evidence indicates that the evidence outlined in the paragraphs above are indicators of factors that will promote resilience within the community and, therefore, it is considered that there will be little effect on the sustainability of the community. Community Impact - Use of the Building

10.2.5 There are no other facilities or services in Blairingone other than the primary school. Although the school is described as important to the community, a large number of pupils attend alternative primary schools. 10.2.6 There are no other public buildings in Blairingone. However, with the exception of Community Council meetings, there have been no regular lets of the school in recent years by the community. This indicates that the community does not rely on the school as a public/community facility at present. There is a Village Hall in nearby Crook of Devon and Fossoway Primary School is available for lets.

10.2.7 The Blairingone community require to travel to access most services due to a lack of amenities within the village. This is facilitated by the fact that the village is situated on the main A977 trunk road. Many other communities in rural Perth and Kinross travel significantly further distances on more minor roads to access services.

10.2.8 The closure of the school would provide the community with an opportunity to use the building as a facility solely for community use. If the community do not use the school building upon closure, the Village Hall in Crook of Devon is approximately 4.5 miles from Blairingone accessed by a main road. Closure of the school would therefore have little impact on the existing arrangements of the community.

10.3 Travel Arrangements

10.3.1 As Blairingone Primary School is a rural school, special regard was paid to the rural school factors. These were considered fully in the Options Appraisal stage and were a focus of the pre-consultation with the community.

10.3.2 The travel distance from Blairingone Primary School to Fossoway Primary School is approximately 4.5 miles with an approximate travel time of 9 minutes.

Currently the pupils attending Blairingone Primary School journey between approximately 0.2 miles and 2.7 miles to and from school. Moving to Fossoway Primary School would mean pupil journey distances increase to between 4.2 miles and 6.4 miles each way which is not an unreasonable travelling distance to get to school. Time spent

Page 71 of 194 travelling on the bus would be approximately 27 minutes each way for the child who has to travel furthest. These timings factor in the stop and pick-up times to collect pupils.

10.3.3 If Blairingone Primary School was permanently closed, all children would be transported by the Council to Fossoway Primary School. The travel distance between Blairingone and Fossoway is not far and in other more rural parts of Perth and Kinross it is not uncommon for pupils to travel greater distances on more minor roads to reach their school. Taking this option forward would not adversely affect the travel arrangements for current pupils and future pupils are unlikely to have hugely different travel arrangements.

10.3.4 Travelling for primary school education is common across Perth & Kinross because of the geography of the area. A number of pupils from Blairingone already travel to Fossoway Primary School by choice as the result of successful placing requests which is an indicator that many parents consider this to be a manageable travel distance for their children. 10.3.5 Staff in Perth and Kinross tend to travel throughout the area to work in schools. Many staff do not live within the catchment area of the school in which they work. A distance of 4.5 miles is a relatively short distance to travel in rural Perth and Kinross. It is therefore considered that there would be very limited impact on staff travelling arrangements. 10.3.6 As the school was not generally used by the community, there should be no impact on travelling arrangements for any other users of the school’s facilities. In any event, the distance is relatively small and the local community is used to travelling to access other services such as GP and dental surgeries, shops and post offices. 10.4 Environmental Impact 10.4.1 There are 5 pupils who already travel from the Blairingone Primary School catchment area to other schools in Perth and Kinross as the result of successful placing requests, for which there is an environmental impact. This would be offset by the requirement to run Blairingone Primary School as an operational building.

10.4.2 Pupils from Blairingone catchment area would be transported by the Council to Fossoway Primary School which reduces environmental impact as they would travel together rather than separately with parents.

10.4.3 The community already requires to travel to access other services such as GP and dental surgeries, shops, post offices and community facilities. Therefore there will be little environmental impact if Blairingone Primary School were to close.

11. ALLEGED OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES

11.1 Section (10) (3) of the 2010 Act also places a requirement on the Council to provide details of any inaccuracy or omission within the Proposal Paper which has either been identified by the Council or raised by consultees. This section of the 2010 Act also requires the Council to provide a statement on the action taken in respect of the inaccuracy or omission, or, if no action was taken, to state that fact and why.

Page 72 of 194 11.2 In the course of the consultation exercise, there were no areas identified by respondents as being inaccurate or omitted from the Proposal Paper during the consultation period.

12. COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 9(1) OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

12.1 Section 9(1) of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 states that: After the Education Authority has received Education Scotland’s report, the Authority is to review the relevant proposal having regard (in particular) to:

(i) written representations received by the Authority (from any person) during the consultation period; (ii) oral representations made to it (by any person) at the public Meeting; and (iii) Education Scotland’s report.

12.2 Following receipt of the Education Scotland report, 5 online representations, 7 written representations and oral representations made at 2 public meetings held during the consultation period, officers reviewed the proposals.

12.3 The feedback from the consultation was considered by officers where all the questions and comments raised were considered in detail. Data and factual information was checked where required and advice and input was sought from other Council Services where needed to consider the issues raised. This ensured that the Council met the requirements to review the proposal under section 9(1) and 13(5) of the 2010 Act.

12.4 Officers of the Education Authority have listened carefully to the points made at the public meeting and have considered equally carefully the Education Scotland report and the online representations. The proposal was reviewed to consider whether any of the representations led to the Council to reconsider other options as being reasonable alternatives to the proposal to close Blairingone Primary School. In particular, careful consideration was given to the representations which had been made in respect of housebuilding projections. This was further discussed with Planning Officers and it is concluded that the original projections remain sound.

12.5 None of the representations led officers to conclude that any of these options should be reconsidered as reasonable alternatives.

12.6 The educational benefits were reviewed in respect of the Education Scotland report and representations made.

12.7 There were no factors included in the Education Scotland report or representations made requiring any aspect of the educational benefits to be reconsidered.

12.8 There were no aspects included in the representations made which provided a different conclusion in relation to the rural school factors.

12.9 Having reviewed the Education Scotland report and feedback from consultees, officers concluded that the basis of the original proposal continues to be the most appropriate response to the falling and unsustainable school roll of Blairingone Primary School. 37

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12.10 It is considered that the proposal addresses the issue of the falling and unsustainable school roll and remains the best solution to ensure the children and parents of Blairingone Primary School will have access to an educational establishment which has a well-planned and committed approach to taking forward improvement. There is sufficient capacity at Fossoway Primary School to fully meet the needs of the Blairingone Primary School children without disrupting the learning of the Fossoway Primary School children.

13. OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE REPRESENTATIONS TO SCOTTISH MINISTERS IN TERMS OF SECTION 15(4) OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

13.1 If the Education Authority makes a final decision to implement the proposal, it will require to notify the Scottish Ministers of that decision, and provide them with a copy of the proposal document and consultation report. This must be done within six working days of that decision. The Scottish Ministers have an eight week period from the date of that final decision to decide if they will call-in the proposal.

13.2 Within the first three weeks of that eight week period, the Scottish Ministers will take account of any relevant representations made to them by any person. Until the outcome of the eight week call-in process is known, the Authority cannot proceed to implement the proposal.

13.3 If the Scottish Ministers call-in the proposal, they must refer the proposal to the Convener of the School Closure Review Panels who may refuse to consent to the proposal or grant their consent to the proposal subject to conditions or unconditionally.

13.4 Recipients of this Consultation Report, and other readers, should note that the legislation allows for any person to make representations to Scottish Ministers within three weeks of the Council taking their final decision to implement a closure proposal.

Perth and Kinross Council’s Lifelong Learning Committee will take the decision on whether or not to implement this closure proposal at its meeting on 27 March 2019. If the decision is taken to implement the closure proposal, any representations to Scottish Ministers, therefore, in this context need to be with the Ministers within three weeks of this date. Therefore, any representations must be made to Scottish Ministers by 17 April 2019.

13.5 Anyone wishing to make representation to Scottish Ministers during the three week period referred to above should do so by email to [email protected] or in writing to:

School Infrastructure Unit The Scottish Government Area 2A (South) Victoria Quay EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ

Page 74 of 194 14. LEGAL ISSUES

14.1 The Council has complied in full with the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 throughout this statutory consultation.

14.2 The Council is mindful of its duties in respect of equality and the Equality Impact Assessment did not identify that any parent, child or young person would be treated less favourably as a result of this proposal. Pupils would have access to a wider peer group of both sexes at Fossoway Primary School which is a positive impact.

In terms of Socio Economic Impact, the assessment identified that there may be a small disadvantage for some parents who would have further to travel when attending meetings or events in school. However, the identified benefits significantly outweigh any disadvantage. It is also not considered to be a significant disadvantage as parents are already travelling to access all other services outside Blairingone village. In addition, a number of pupils from Blairingone catchment area are already attending Fossoway Primary School as the result of successful placing requests. If the proposal is implemented, these pupils will be transported to Fossoway Primary School by the Council rather than travelling separately at a cost to the parents.

14.3 Under the terms of the Schools (Scotland) (Consultation) Act 2010, it is a legal requirement that the Council should not reach any formal decision without waiting until a period of three weeks starting on the day on which this Consultation Report is published in electronic and printed form has expired.

14.4 As it is the intention that this Consultation Report should be published, both electronically and in written form, if required, on 22 February 2019, this meets the statutory requirement to publish this report for more than three weeks before consideration of the proposal by Lifelong Learning Committee on 27 March 2019.

15. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS

15.1 There may be staffing implications relating to the proposal if implemented. Where necessary, any aspect of the implementation of these proposals that impacts on staff will result in consultation with the relevant trade unions and the individuals concerned. Appropriate arrangements would be made for staff at Blairingone Primary School in planning and consultation should the proposal be implemented.

16. CONCLUSION

16.1 The Council now has 4 broad options to consider, namely:

(a) adopt the proposal; (b) withdraw the proposal; (c) amend the proposal in some way which allows the proposal to proceed; or (d) amend the proposal significantly and undertake a further consultation exercise on a new proposal.

16.2 Education Scotland has identified that the proposal has clear educational benefits for young people. This includes the larger number and wider range of peers in Fossoway 39

Page 75 of 194 Primary School. This allows children to access learning with groups of learners at all stages within a primary school and to develop their social and interpersonal skills in a broader range of appropriate contexts.

16.3 If the Council adopts the proposal, it is understood that the educational benefits set out in the Proposal Paper would materialise.

16.4 The key points that have been highlighted during the consultation period are as follows:

• The report from Education Scotland acknowledges that the proposal has clear educational benefits for pupils.

This includes the larger number and wider range of peers in Fossoway Primary School, which allows children to access a learning environment where there are groups of learners at all stages of school, further allowing them to develop their social and interpersonal skills in a broader range of appropriate contexts.

• The Council, having had special regard to the rural school factors, does not consider that the proposal will adversely affect the sustainability of the community. Indeed, there may be a positive opportunity for the Blairingone Primary School building to be used for community use if it ceases to be used as a school.

• Whilst the Council’s proposals have generally not been supported by the parents/carers, staff and the wider community who responded to the proposal, the vast majority of those consulted have raised no issues or opposition to the proposal.

• The distance between the two schools is approximately 4.5 miles and a number of pupils are already making this journey attending Fossoway Primary School as the result of successful placing requests. Free home to school transport would be provided for all pupils from Blairingone catchment area to attend Fossoway primary School.

17. RECOMMENDATIONS

17.1 On the basis of the feedback received and taking account of the educational and social benefits of the proposal, it is concluded that the following proposal is the most suitable option and it is recommended that the Council approves:

• The provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; • The pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

Sheena Devlin Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) 40

Page 76 of 194 22 February 2019 Appendix 1 Perth and Kinross Council Education & Children’s Services Statutory Consultation Public Meeting

Minute of meeting held on Thursday 6 September 2018

7.00pm at Fossoway Primary School

Present Sharon Johnston Head of Education – Early Years & Primary Karen Robertson Service Manager - Business Services Councillor Caroline Convener, Lifelong Learning Committee Shiers

In Attendance Councillor Michael Perth and Kinross Council Barnacle Councillor Richard Perth and Kinross Council Watters Ken McAra Education Scotland

Andrew Magee – Minute Perth and Kinross Council

0 members of the public.

1. Welcome and Introductions

Councillor Shiers opened the meeting and welcomed those in attendance. The panel members introduced themselves. Despite there being no members of the public, Council officers agreed to talk through the presentation for the benefit of those in attendance.

2. Context for Statutory Consultation

Sharon Johnston explained the background and context for the School Estate Review. The review stems from the Council’s vision to make the best use of resources while optimising the educational experiences for pupils in Perth and Kinross. In November 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee agreed to include Blairingone Primary School in the review. For ease of reading, questions and comments are detailed at section 5 and 6 respectively.

3. The Proposal

Sharon Johnston explained the consultation proposal to the attendees:

The Council proposes that:

• Provision of a school at Blairingone Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter;

Page 77 of 194 • That the pupils of Blairingone Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Fossoway Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and

• That the delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

4. Presentations

Sharon Johnston and Karen Robertson gave a presentation explaining the proposal in further detail.

Sharon Johnston outlined the process of review so far. Communities were encouraged to respond using a wide variety of mechanisms, including drop-in sessions, email as well as the availability of an online questionnaire. This information was presented to Lifelong Learning Committee on 16 May, who approved statutory consultation on the proposal to close Blairingone Primary School and this meeting is part of that process.

Sharon Johnston explained the details of Blairingone Primary School including, the capacity of the school, pupil roll and placing requests. Based on feedback gathered during the appraisal of options, the Council believes closure of Blairingone PS is likely to have minimal impact on the community.

Councillors Barnacle and Watters sought clarification of which authority Strathdevon Primary School was in. It was confirmed that the Dollar based school is in Clackmannanshire Council.

Sharon Johnston handed over to Karen Robertson who proceeded to detail the possible impact on travel for both pupils and the community of Blairingone. Pupils living in Blairingone would be eligible for free home-to-school transport and it is considered that there would likely be no significant impact for other community members, as the school is not used significantly by the wider community and community members already travel to access other services. Additionally, pupils who live in Blairingone but attend Fossoway as the result of placing requests would become eligible for free home-to-school transport.

Sharon Johnston went on to outline the educational benefits of Blairingone pupils attending Fossoway PS. Advantages include attending a school with a larger pupil roll, opportunities to work in learning groups across stages, a wider range of learning experiences and that the building itself is more suited to modern teaching methods. Sharon concluded that the children would have a good educational experience at Fossoway PS. An overview of comments from the community drop-in sessions was provided.

(Comment from Councillor Watters Re. educational benefits) “We are trying to give a value that is hard to put a cost to”.

Karen Robertson outlined the process of statutory consultation. She highlighted that the process is strictly determined by legislation to ensure thorough and robust process across authorities in Scotland. The legislation sets out how and when we must undertake certain activities. The process started with the consideration of Lifelong Learning Committee on 16 May which granted permission to undertake a statutory consultation. Karen Robertson emphasised that no decisions have been made. The Council must first seek the views of statutory consultees and report back to Committee with recommendations 42

Page 78 of 194 The period of consultation will run from Monday 27 August to Friday 5 October which includes 30 school days. The purpose of this consultation is to seek representation from interested parties. The Council ensures these consultations are open to all, anyone who wishes to make views known to the Council can do so, and there are a number of ways they can do this, whether online or in person. Any representations are minuted and then published so that anyone who cannot attend public meetings can see the views which have been expressed.

At the end of the consultation period the Council is required to send the consultation documentation to Education Scotland, who then have 3 weeks to consider representations, visit affected schools and speak with staff, parents and pupils. The Council will then publish the consultation report which will include representations, Education Scotland’s report and responses to any representations that were made. The report must be published for at least 3 weeks before a decision can be taken by the Lifelong Learning Committee which is likely to be March 2019. It was emphasised that these timescales are indicative and purposefully kept flexible should any part of the process require to be extended.

If the decision of Lifelong Learning Committee is to keep the school open then the Council cannot revisit the decision for 5 years. If the decision is made to close Blairingone Primary School then the Council would notify Scottish Ministers by the end of March 2019. Ministers then have 8 weeks to consider the Council’s decision. Representations can be made in writing to Scottish Ministers during the first 3 weeks. If Ministers decide not to give consent to implement the proposal, then the decision could be referred to the School Closure Panel, who then have a further 16 weeks for consideration.

A discussion followed the presentations.

5. Questions

Question 1 (Regarding the proposed date that Fossoway catchment would subsume Blairingone catchment) Would it not be better to make the change on the first day of the school year rather than the 1st July 2019?

A. The date refers to the last day of the school session in 2019. When a new pupil moves to an area they need to have an identified catchment school. If a new pupil(s) were to move into the area over the summer break this would mean that they would be without a catchment school until the new school session in August, where this date ensures there is no break.

Question 2 When will you report to Lifelong Learning Committee on the results of the statutory consultation?

A. The timescale is indicative, but it is intended to report back to Committee in March 2019.

Question 3 In looking at the cost implications, did you take into account the transport of pupils?

A. Yes. This is detailed in the financial information in the options appraisal.

Page 79 of 194 Question 4 (Re. delaying a decision to see if planned housebuilding takes place) As an interim measure could we consider a joint Headship as there is developer interest in Blairingone?

A. As the options appraisal was developed, we asked for comments, and the options appraisal sets out all the community comments that were put forward and this informed the options that were considered. Any additional options will be recorded and considered as part of the statutory consultation.

Question 5 In terms of process, does the Education Scotland report then come back to Lifelong Learning Committee before a decision is made?

A. Yes. The outcome of the statutory consultation, including Education Scotland’s report, will be reported back to Lifelong Learning Committee to make a decision on whether or not to implement the proposal. All that has been agreed is to commence formal consultation.

Question 6 If Education Scotland raised significant issues with the proposal could Lifelong Learning Committee put a stop to it (the proposal)?

A. Council officers would have to address any issues identified by Education Scotland or say if they could not. If there were significant concerns that could not be addressed then this would be reflected in the Council’s recommendation to Lifelong Learning Committee. Elected Members would have to be satisfied with how any findings would be addressed.

6. Comments

Comment 1 Could the lack of attendance by parents suggest that Fossoway parents are not concerned with the outcome either way? Blairingone parents are definitely concerned, they had representation at the Community Council meeting – (additional comment) the school is the only place to have meetings.

Comment 2 The idea of joint Headship only came to me after the original options appraisal was conducted. Due to uncertainty regarding housebuilding in the area I think this would make a good interim measure. I would contest the (housebuilding) projections for Fossoway and Blairingone because of what I know about development. The interim argument is a good one. If the development does not happen then you can still close the school and if not then you can retain the building as a community asset.

Response The Council is required to consider any additional responses as part of the report and look at whether they are viable or not. Any alternative ideas are worthy of consideration and the Council will respond to those as part of the consultation process.

Page 80 of 194 Comment 3 One of the problems with projections is, if you base it on current housing, then it will be a static situation – as opposed to using Local Development Plan 2. Over the last 20 years I have always wanted Blairingone to be a two teacher school. That is why I suggest the joint Headship – I don’t know if this has been explored?

Comment 4 (Continued from above) LDP 2 is limited to 30 houses, but the pre-application discussion was completely different. Developers pitched it that way because of the Tayplan. Also there is more affordable housing planned for the Crook of Devon. Are you aware of all that in your projections?

Response Yes. The Council has been looking at housebuilding and potential impact. We have been working closely with colleagues in Planning to inform the options appraisal.

Comment 5 I am not happy with the turn out.

Sharon Johnston thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.

Page 81 of 194 Appendix 2 Perth & Kinross Council Education and Children’s Services Statutory Consultation Public Meeting

Minute of meeting held on Tuesday 18 September 2018

7.00pm in Blairingone Primary School

Present Councillor Caroline Shiers Convener, Lifelong Learning Committee Councillor Callum Purves Vice Convener, Lifelong Learning Committee Sheena Devlin Executive Director, Education and Children’s Services Sharon Johnston Head of Education Early Years & Primary Karen Robertson Service Manager, Business Services

In Attendance Councillor Michael Perth and Kinross Council Barnacle Perth and Kinross Council Councillor Richard Watters Gareth Findlay Transformation Project Officer Peter Marshall Strategy and Policy Manager Stewart Maxwell Education Scotland

Janice Johnstone - Perth and Kinross Council Minutes

12 members of the public.

1. Welcome and Introductions Councillor Shiers opened the meeting and welcomed the members of the public in attendance to the statutory consultation public meeting. Councillor Shiers introduced herself and the Council officers to those in attendance.

2. Format of meeting Sheena Devlin briefly outlined the statutory consultation process and the proposal. Sheena Devlin advised that attendees of the meeting are encouraged to express their views or concerns which would be recorded and published in the minute of the public meeting. She explained that she would stop at intervals during the presentation to take questions. Members of the public were advised that the Council officers in attendance would be able to provide more specific information regarding parts of the proposal relating to their respective service areas. Karen Robertson advised that 5 October 2018 is the deadline for any representations to be made on the proposal.

3. Presentations Karen Robertson expanded on the pre consultation work; it is important to explain where the Council is in the process and what will come next. An explanation of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 was given and why this is this legislation that Perth & Kinross Council is following. The only decision which has been taken at this stage is that Elected Members have approved that a Statutory Consultation is to be undertaken.

Page 82 of 194 • A proposal paper has been produced and published including an Education Benefits Statement. • The statutory consultation period will run from 27 August 2018 – 5 October 2018. • A note of questions taken at the meeting tonight will be recorded as representations.

The Council will then publish the consultation report which will include representations, Education Scotland’s report and responses to any representations that were made. The report must be published for at least 3 weeks before a decision can be taken by the Lifelong Learning Committee which is likely to be March 2019. It was emphasised that these timescales are indicative and purposefully kept flexible should any part of the process require to be extended.

If the decision of Lifelong Learning Committee is to keep the school open then the Council cannot revisit the decision for 5 years. If the decision is made to close Blairingone Primary School then the Council would notify Scottish Ministers by the end of March 2019. Ministers then have 8 weeks to consider the Council’s decision. Representations can be made in writing to Scottish Ministers during the first 3 weeks. If Ministers decide not to close the school then the decision could be referred to the School Closure Panel, who then have a further 16 weeks for consideration.

Sheena Devlin explained that any comments can also be made online. And the purpose of this Consultation is to seek views and representations on the proposal.

The Proposal Sheena Devlin gave a presentation explaining the proposal and the background to the proposal which outlined the reasons for the proposal. The reasons included the under occupancy of Blairingone Primary School. The likely effect on the local community was also explained. It was noted that Community Council meetings were held alternately in Blairingone Primary School.

Travel/Transport Karen Robertson advised that a high level assessment had been undertaken to identify how pupils at Blairingone Primary School would be affected by the proposal.

Karen Robertson provided information about the maximum statutory walking distances set out in legislation (2 miles for children aged up to 8 years and 3 miles for children aged 8 and over) for children attending their catchment school. Parents were advised that many primary pupils, including P1 pupils, are transported every day to school in appropriately sized transport and were escorted to and from the transport by school staff ensuring all children arrived and left school safely. It was noted that escorts/supervisors were not normally provided on any mainstream home to school transport.

Educational Benefits Sharon Johnston provided an overview of how the educational benefits were considered and explained that this did not mean that the education being provided at Blairingone Primary School was not good.

Page 83 of 194 The purpose of the educational benefits statement was not to compare the schools but to demonstrate what benefits could be provided.

4. Questions

Q Will the Council honour any comments made before tonight? A All comments submitted from the 27 August 2018 will be formally recorded as part of the statutory consultation. Any comments regarding Blairingone Primary School made before the Council had agreed to commence statutory consultation on a formal proposal, will have to be submitted as part of the consultation as any comments made were prior to a formal proposal being published. Karen Robertson advised parents that the Council wanted to know their views on the proposal; any alternatives and their views on what currently is being proposed. Karen also reiterated these must be submitted no later than 5 October 2018.

There were no other questions pertaining to the statutory process.

Q Back in March the decision was different, why? A Councillor Shiers advised that Lifelong Learning Committee did not proceed with considering the report on Blairingone in March due to Elected Members seeking confirmed information on the Local Development Plan. This was to ascertain what impact there would be in the community regarding new housing at that time. Peter Marshall shared with parents that housing developments have been discussed for the Blairingone area since 1992. The South side of the village is currently being suggested for planning permission for 50 new houses.

Q How can you predict what the housing market in Blairingone will look like? A It is difficult to be exact but evidence from similar locations suggests that the build rate would be slow (5 per year) due to its rural location. Sheena Devlin used Guildtown as an example whereby after building 50 new houses, there were no primary age school children from these houses who attended the local school.

Q What about childcare? Would a Nursery or Out Of School Care save the school? A The Council will record this, but according to the figures and what is known of the demographics in the area according to NHS figures, the number of pre-school pupils living in Blairingone is very low. The data we receive from the NHS is anonymous by postcode area and pupil numbers for school cannot be confirmed until they register for school.

Q In respect of the work undertaken to seek the views of parents about increasing the catchment area, aside from NHS data, how do you get your figures for pre-school pupils as no-one I knew was asked their views? A An email was sent directly to all parents living in the identified area and to the local private nursery to identify potential pre-school pupils who could attend Blairingone Primary School if the catchment area was extended, to which the Council received 4 responses.

Q Is this all informed guess work? All we need is 5/6 more children to have the school at full capacity. A Sheena Devlin advised the current figures: • Capacity of School – 25 pupils • School Roll 2011 – 11 pupils • School Roll in September 2018 – 5 pupils • 8 pupils living in the catchment area attend other Perth and Kinross schools • 5 pupils living in the catchment area attend school outwith Perth and Kinross 48

Page 84 of 194 • The projected pupil roll is expected to remain static over the next 4 years

Q What is the capacity at Fossoway Primary School and what would happen in an influx of new pupils want to enrol in the next few years? A There would be no breach in capacity with the forecast of Blairingone pupils included. Fossoway Primary School currently has 111 pupils as of September 2018 and the full capacity of the school is 150 pupils. The current forecast pupil roll for 2022 is 117 pupils.

Q What happens if it reaches full capacity? A This is very unlikely; the projected pupils from all planned house building has been taken into consideration The last time Blairingone Primary School was at full capacity was the early eighties.

Q Why was a QIO asking the children questions, most children found it very upsetting? A Consultation with pupils is a requirement as part of the statutory consultation process. The Council is very happy to share the questions that the children were asked and the process followed.

Q If the decision is made to close Blairingone PS, would the current teachers be made redundant? A It was confirmed that no discussion regarding individual members of staff would take place during a public meeting. It was advised that staffing across all schools is fluid dependant on pupil numbers and, as part of the annual staffing exercise, teachers are regularly redeployed to other schools. This would be the same for Blairingone Primary School if the proposal was to be implemented.

Q Why hasn’t the school been maintained over the last few years? A The school has been graded as category B for both condition and suitability. The suitability and condition of the school is not a factor leading to this consultation as both the condition and suitability of the school are considered satisfactory. The Council has an obligation to be completely transparent. Councils have a finite budget and not every school is maintained to the same degree on a yearly basis. It is a much wider maintenance programme and priorities have to be identified across the whole of the school estate within the budget available.

Q The savings identified in the report are not correct and are overstated as staff costs have been included but you have confirmed no staff would be made redundant so how can their salaries be included as a saving? A It was explained that each school has a budget allocated to it for staff costs and where staff transfer to another school, then that is the budget used to meet the costs of staff employed in that school. If a school had no staff employed, then the budget for that school would no longer be required regardless of whether the staff had moved to a new school location as the staff costs would then be met from the budget for the school they were employed in.

Q Will the school be sold? A Every consideration would be taken into account before the building would be put up for sale in the event of the proposal being implemented.

Page 85 of 194 Closing Sheena Devlin closed the meeting and thanked everyone for attending and their contribution and again reiterated that this is not a ‘done deal’. Anyone who wishes their views to be included is encouraged to make a representation through the consultation process before the closing date.

Page 86 of 194 Appendix 3

Perth & Kinross Council

Education and Children’s Services

Blairingone Primary School

Summary of Consultation Responses

Page 87 of 194 The statutory consultation on the proposal to close Blairingone Primary School commenced on Monday 27 August 2018 and closed on Friday 5 October 2018.

Details of the proposal document were issued to the list of consultees contained within the Proposal Paper. 231 letters were issued with a link to the proposal paper and details of where and how to obtain a paper copy. The Proposal Paper was also published on the Council website. A Public Notice advert was placed in the local press on 27 August 2018.

A specific email address was set up for representations and enquiries. This was in addition to the usual methods of submitting representations. An online response form was set up on the consultation webpage.

Public Meetings

As part of the statutory consultation process, 2 public meetings were held on 6 September 2018 at Fossoway Primary School and 18 September 2018 at Blairingone Primary School. The same presentation was given at each meeting.

Thursday 6 September 2018 – Fossoway Primary School Attended by 2 Elected Members. No members of the public attended.

Questions and comments were around:

• The reason for the proposed date of closure. • When the outcome of the consultation would be reported back to Committee. • Whether transport costs had been factored into the proposed savings. • Consideration of a joint Headship as an interim position until the house building position is known. • Whether Education Scotland’s report would be provided to Lifelong Learning Committee. • What the process would be if Education Scotland raised any significant issues regarding the Council’s proposal. • The lack of attendance by parents suggests Fossoway Parents are not concerned with the outcome whereas Blairingone parents are concerned. • House building projections and the impact on projected pupil rolls. • Whether Education & Children’s Services was aware of all house building, including affordable housing planned for Crook of Devon.

Tuesday 18 September 2018 – Blairingone Primary School Attended by 12 members of the public.

Questions and comments were mainly around:

• Why the decision to defer the report on Blairingone Primary School was taken in March 2018. • The predictions of what the housing market will be in Blairingone. • Whether a nursery and/or Out of School Care Club would increase pupil numbers. • How the data for pre-school pupils is obtained. 52

Page 88 of 194 • The capacity of Blairingone Primary School. • The capacity of Fossoway Primary School and what would happen if there was an influx of pupils. • The process for consulting with pupils at Blairingone Primary School. • What would happen to staff if Blairingone Primary School was to close. • Why the school has not been maintained over past years. • The calculation of proposed savings if the proposal was to be implemented. • Whether Blairingone Primary School would be sold.

Response Forms

5 online response forms were received. 1 response agreed with the Council’s proposal and 4 disagreed with the Council’s proposal. 2 responses were only partially completed and did not contain the respondents’ names, addresses or respondent groups.

RESPONDENT GROUP NUMBER OF AGREE DISAGREE RESPONSES

Parents - - - Pupils - - - Staff 3 - 3 Elected Members - - - Parent Councils - - - Community Members - - - Grandparents - - - Trade Unions - - - Unknown 2 1 1

Total 5 1 4

Comments Received on Response Forms as Submitted

• As a council tax payer in Perth & Kinross, I feel very strongly that it is not best use of limited resources to keep schools such as this open. It is not in any way remote, being sited on a main road, and is only a short distance from an excellent school, Fossoway Primary School. I understand that the school is NOT used by the community at the moment, so it is ludicrous to suggest that PKC should keep it open for this reason. Why should council tax payers fund a school for a handful of pupils?

• Blairingone Primary School provides a nurturing educational experience for its pupils. Larger schools do not suit all pupils and those currently at Blairingone benefit from the education they get here. It is a good place for learning and pupils are involved in lots of decision making, helping out within the community and have forged links with local nursing home. The grounds and the woods which we have access to are great for outdoor learning and pupils have recently gained John Muir Awards. Additionally a 7th Green Flag.

Page 89 of 194 The community also contributes and our Textile Bank which is used by school and community alike provides the funds for activities in the school including outings which are subsidised by this allowing all pupils to take part without financial considerations. In addition the proposals suggest older people are more likely to move to villages which through my own experience is the opposite with many now moving to places where they have facilities such as doctors, shops on their doorstep as many younger families are happy to drive. It is also shortsighted that future planning is not taken into account as it is one of the preferred places for development on the LDP as voted by other communities as well and feel it is inevitable housing will take place. In addition due to our close proximity to Dollar Academy there are children who would have attended there anyway and will continue to do so.

• Blairingone Primary School is the last remaining community building in the village. In my view PKC have done very little to bring the fallen numbers up. I live in Powmill and would jump at the chance to send my children to Blairingone but it does not fall in my catchment, even though its less mileage from my doorstep.

• Blairingone Primary is a very nurturing, inclusive school were pupils, staff, parents and community members' work very well together to ensure the very best learning and teaching experiences for all of its learners. The school received very high ratings from its most recent HMI inspection report (Sept 2013) gaining an evaluation of 'very good' for improvements in performance, learners' experiences, meeting learning needs, the curriculum and improvement through self-evaluation. In my opinion, these standards have been maintained and built on since this report was published. The report found the following areas of key strengths– • Motivated and enthusiastic children who value their school and each other • Partnerships with staff, children and parents which enhance children's learning • Children's learning experiences, particularly outdoors and in the wider community • Children's achievements, nurtured in a caring school environment. The report also noted that pupils relationships with each other are impressive, treating others with mutual respect. I therefore feel that the education benefits of pupils remaining at Blairingone are just as strong, if not stronger, as the arguments for moving them. Pupil numbers in very small schools fluctuate considerably from term to term and year to year. For example, a new family has recently enrolled their child and they have two siblings who are due to start school in the next year or two. I have found that it is therefore very difficult to predict the school role with any certainty. However, catchment families who have visited the school but have enrolled elsewhere have noted that it is the lack of pre-school and after school provision which are the greatest barriers to families enrolling their children. A difficulty faced by many rural schools. In all my years as Head Teacher, over ten, I have never encountered a family who were not extremely enthusiastic about the educational provision at Blairingone. They particularly value our flexible, creative and relevant curriculum with its emphasis on real life learning and learning outdoors. Our small numbers enable us to travel outwith the school more frequently than most schools would be able to thereby enriching the education experience of our pupils. We also work closely with other catchment schools, take part in local authority events/experiences and join with other small schools to ensure that all of our pupils gain wider educational and social experiences. On the whole our pupils transition very well into High School and tend to know a wider variety of their peers as a result of these activities.

Page 90 of 194 • The educational support that Blairingone provides to individual children. Presently the children on role would for a variety of reasons find a larger educational setting a challenge to their learning. Long standing housing development plan which at some point will go ahead.

Written Representations

During the consultation period between 27 August 2018 and 5 October 2018, representations were invited from statutory consultees and interested parties. 7 written responses were received in total:

Parent - 3 Elected Member - 2 Other - Business - 2

One parent submitted 2 written representations, therefore this represents 6 individuals.

All the written representations stated they did not agree with the proposals. Five of the written responses were from consultees who had also attended either one or both of the public meetings and many of the points/queries submitted were also raised at the public meetings.

Questions and comments were mainly around:

• The provision of a nursery and after school club at Blairingone Primary School. • Pupils should have a say in the decision. • The relationship Blairingone Primary School has with the Nursing Home in Rumbling Bridge. • The nursery and P1 pupils are all in the same class at Fossoway Primary School and it is not felt that this is good for the children. • Pupils from Powmill should be provided with transport which may attract more pupils to Blairingone Primary School. • The potential for future house building in Blairingone, Crook of Devon and Powmill and the implications upon education provision within the local area. • The individual needs of pupils being met in a larger school. • The need to look at ways to develop and stimulate the community including prioritising and encouraging house building and rural development. • If the school was to close, this may threaten the potential for future house building in the area. • Query regarding the future projected pupil numbers for Blairingone Primary School. • The content of the pupil consultation with pupils at Blairingone Primary School. • Volume of traffic at Fossoway Primary School and road safety. • Blairingone Primary School being the last remaining community centre. • Pupils being transported to Fossoway Primary School travelling on the A977. • Why Cleish Primary School catchment has not been considered when it is as close to Blairingone as Fossoway is. • The option for a shared Headship for Blairingone and Fossoway Primary Schools. • Reviewing the catchment to extend Blairingone catchment area to include Powmill.

Page 91 of 194 Other Submissions

One parent established an online change.org petition titled “Save our Rural School, Blairingone Primary School which obtained 374 signatures. Nine signatures were identified as Blairingone or Fossoway residents.

Page 92 of 194 Appendix 4 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

Pupil consultation, Fossoway Primary School

11 September 2018 Mark Neil, Service Manager (Inclusion)

Lorna Hamilton, Project Officer (Early Years & Primary)

Each class group had a short, age appropriate presentation on the proposal, which was to close Blairingone and have all children in the Blairingone and Fossoway catchment areas attend Fossoway Primary School.

The pupils’ understanding of the proposal was checked, with discussion taking place to ensure that all pupils understood.

Pupils were then asked to indicate by sticker which of three emotions best described how they felt about the proposal. These are detailed below.

Pupils were also given the opportunity to ask questions/share thoughts and these are also summarised below, for each class group.

P1/2 (22 pupils)

17 5 0

Comments

“Get lots more money” “Might make new friends” “They might like our teachers” “Better ideas with more people” “We will make them feel welcome”

Page 93 of 194

P2/3 (22 pupils)

18 1 3

Comments

“Good idea for learning” “There might be lots more noise” “Good because we have a much bigger school than them” Questions Does everyone have to come to Fossoway Primary School? No, they have the right to choose which school they will attend. They can attend Fossoway Primary School, or make a placing request to attend any other school of their or their parents’ choice.

P4/5 (20 pupils)

19 1 0

Comments

“Excited for new pupils” “Sad because Blairingone has to close, but happy that we will have more people at our school” “Excited to see what classes the children will join” “Sad because they might not want to change school”

Page 94 of 194 Questions Would we have to make more space for the children coming from Blairingone Primary School? No there is plenty of space in Fossoway to take the children coming from Blairingone Why are there only 6 children at Blairingone Primary School, is this why it is closing? Explained that it might be closing because there were not many pupils at the school What will happen to the teachers at Blairingone Primary School?

We don’t know the answer to that yet Are the children at Blairingone happy to come to Fossoway Primary School? We will be having a meeting with the children there, just like we are doing here with you How many boys and girls are there? We cannot answer that yet What class will the children go into? We cannot answer that yet, either

P5/6 (20 pupils) 11 September 2018

11 9 0

Comments

“It will be nice to have some new pupils in our school” “New opportunities and friendships” “I would like to see new people but it wouldn’t be fair for them to drive all this way when they have a school near them” “I don’t really care about it” “I don’t know”

Page 95 of 194 “I feel quite bad and sorry for them to have to move but I think it will be a good chance to make new friends” “Time for more friends and fun” “It’s a good idea because Blairingone is a small school”

Questions

Won’t the P7’s only be here for a short time? Yes, the current P7s won’t be coming to Fossoway at all, as they will be going to High School. Would the teachers from Blairingone come to Fossoway?

We don’t know yet what where the teachers will go Would the money from Blairingone come to Fossoway? There may be some money, as each pupil has a sum allocated to them, so if the pupils come, money to fund them would also come What would happen to the Blairingone Primary School building?

We don’t know that and we wouldn’t be the ones to decide What ages are the children?

We can’t tell you that yet Do we get to see the proposal report? Yes, it is available for anyone to read it

Primary 7 While the Primary 7 class did not form part of the statutory consultation group, the proposal was shared with them and they were asked for comments. The proposal was outlined, and the comments were as follows:

“Good idea because we can help Blairingone when they close, we have a school for them” “We would welcome them but if they didn’t want to come to our school, that’s ok” “They deserve to be here” “They will make more friends here” 60

Page 96 of 194 “They might feel better when they move into High School because they will have made more friends at Fossoway to move up with”

Page 97 of 194 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

Fossoway Primary School Staff meeting – 11 September 2018

In Attendance Mark Neil, Service Manager (Inclusion) (MN) Lorna Hamilton, Project Officer (Early Years & Primary) (LH) Jodie Watt, Business Assistant – note taker 8 members of staff

This meeting was held to allow staff the opportunity to receive the same information that was shared at the public meeting on 6 September 2018. Staff had the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation.

MN and LH gave an overview of the reasons for the proposal, the current arrangements at both Blairingone and Fossoway, the effect on the community, travelling arrangements and the educational benefits.

In addition, LH talked through the process for consultation, including the input from Education Scotland. The timeline for the different stages was shared.

Staff made the following comments, and asked the undernoted questions.

Comments

“I can understand the wider friend group, but will be sad for families in Blairingone losing their local school”

“This will help us keep the roll of Fossoway Primary up”

“Not sure why Blairingone has been kept open this long”

Questions

Are there a number of schools going through this?

The phasing of the programme was explained, as well as the criteria for schools’ inclusion in the programme.

What about mothballing?

The process for mothballing a school was explained. It would only be done with the agreement of the current parents, and it could not be an indefinite arrangement, so a decision would still need to be taken as to whether to close the school or not.

I know of a parent who has 2 children in nursery, living in Blairingone catchment, where should she register her child for P1?

At the moment, this is still only a proposal, and she should therefore register her child wherever she would normally choose to. Any decision made to close the schools will be after January, so enrolments should be based on the current arrangement.

Page 98 of 194 Copies of consultation proposal response forms were left for staff to complete, either on an individual basis, and/or to be used for a collective staff response.

Page 99 of 194 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

Pupil consultation (5 pupils) – Blairingone Primary School Mark Neil, Service Manager (Inclusion)

Lorna Hamilton, Project Officer (Early Years & Primary)

17 September 2018 There were 5 children in the class. One of the pupils is in P7 and ordinarily would not form part of the statutory consultation, however it was felt that it would be fair to include all pupils in the session.

Consultation was held as a circle time session. Photographs of both Blairingone and Fossoway Primary School were shared with the pupils.

First a check was done that the pupils knew what was meant by “proposal” and the pupils understood that it meant that it was a suggestion but hadn’t been decided. One pupil was initially unclear, but it was explained to them in an age appropriate manner and they agreed that they understood. The pupils were asked if they understood what “pupil consultation” meant. The process was explained to them, making clear that their opinions would be noted and passed to the people that make the decisions.

The proposal was shared as

“How do you feel about the option to close Blairingone, and have all children in the Blairingone and Fossoway catchment areas go to Fossoway Primary School?” There was a short discussion about Fossoway Primary, and the experience the pupils had had of the school – one pupil used to attend, others used to visit the school for PE lessons.

The proposal was explained. The older pupils were clear about the alternative schools they thought they might attend, evidencing that they were aware of the proposal and had been involved in discussion outwith school.

The pupils were asked for their views and the comments made were:

• Won’t get to draw at new school • Other schools, I couldn’t draw, or I was on the computer all the time. • It would feel weird heading to another school • I don’t like too many people. I’m shy • In smaller schools, everyone gets to know each other. In bigger schools, some people don’t like you • X (one of the pupils) had a few bullies at Fossoway. (this was not expressed by the subject, but by an older pupil) • Fossoway is a big school and there are a lot of classes • At Blairingone, you have more friends, and a bigger playground • It depends what big school you go to, what it’s like • There are different types of people. 64

Page 100 of 194 When the pupils were asked if they thought the proposal was right, and Blairingone should close the answers were:

No 4 One pupil expressed at this point that they didn’t want to move

Not sure 1

One pupil was a P7 and would not be impacted by the implementation of the proposal.

One pupil gave a detailed description of what would happen to the building if it closed, including locking doors and gates. They asked what would happen to their drawings and the pictures on the walls.

Finally, the pupils were asked what they liked the most about Blairingone. The answers given were:

• I like the ipads and computer • I like that there are not too many people and you get to choose what you do. • It’s good to interact with each other and the playground is big • I like wet playtimes • I like the ipads • I like playing games on the ipad

At one point, one of the pupils told another that they had “forgotten” to say that small schools let you play with different ages. This was not the view of the pupil who was giving his views. The session ended by thanking the pupils for their comments. It was explained how the comments will be used and when the decision would be made.

The session finished 10 minutes before the end of the day, to allow the Headteacher to finish up the school day with the class, in the normal manner.

Page 101 of 194 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

Blairingone Primary School Staff meeting – 17 September 2018

In Attendance Mark Neil, Service Manager (Inclusion) (MN) Lorna Hamilton, Project Officer (Early Years & Primary) (LH) 3 members of staff

This meeting was held to allow staff the opportunity to receive the same information that was to be shared at the public meeting on 18 September 2018. Staff had the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation.

In addition, LH talked through the process for consultation, including the input from Education Scotland. The timeline for the different stages was shared.

LH also shared information from HR about how the proposals may affect staff, in terms of posts.

Comments

The process is quite clear and straightforward

Questions

Are parents able to appeal the decision?

There is no automatic right to appeal against the Council’s decision

Copies of consultation proposal response forms were left for staff to complete, either on an individual basis, and/or to be used for a collective staff response.

Page 102 of 194 Appendix 5

Report by Education Scotland addressing educational aspects of the proposal by Perth and Kinross Council to close Blairingone Primary School, move pupils to Fossoway Primary School and that the delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019.

1. Introduction

1.1 This report from Education Scotland has been prepared by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HM Inspectors) in accordance with the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”). The purpose of the report is to provide an independent and impartial consideration of Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Blairingone Primary School, move pupils to Fossoway Primary School and that the delineated catchment area of Fossoway Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School from 1 July 2019. Section 2 of the report sets out brief details of the consultation process. Section 3 of the report sets out HM Inspectors’ consideration of the educational aspects of the proposal, including significant views expressed by consultees. Section 4 summarises HM Inspectors’ overall view of the proposal. Upon receipt of this report, the Act requires the council to consider it and then prepare its final consultation report. The council’s final consultation report should include a copy of this report and must contain an explanation of how, in finalising the proposal, it has reviewed the initial proposal, including a summary of points raised during the consultation process and the council’s response to them. The council has to publish its final consultation report three weeks before it takes its final decision. Where a council is proposing to close a school, it needs to follow all statutory obligations set out in the 2010 Act, including notifying Ministers within six working days of making its final decision and explaining to consultees the opportunity they have to make representations to Ministers.

1.2 HM Inspectors considered:

• the likely effects of the proposal for children and young people of Blairingone Primary School, Fossoway Primary School; any other users; children likely to become pupils within two years of the date of publication of the proposal paper; and other children and young people in the council area;

• any other likely effects of the proposal;

• how the council intends to minimise or avoid any adverse effects that may arise from the proposal; and

• the educational benefits the council believes will result from implementation of the proposal, and the council’s reasons for coming to these beliefs.

1.3 In preparing this report, HM Inspectors undertook the following activities:

• attendance at the public meetings in Fossoway Primary School on 6 September 2018 and at Blairingone Primary School on 18 September 2018 in connection with the council’s proposals;

Page 103 of 194 • consideration of all relevant documentation provided by the council in relation to the proposal, specifically the educational benefits statement and related consultation documents, written and oral submissions from parents and others; and

• visits to the site of Blairingone Primary School and Fossoway Primary School, including discussion with relevant consultees.

1.4 As the proposal will lead to the closure of a rural school, HM Inspectors also took account of the council’s consideration of any reasonable alternatives to closure of Blairingone Primary School, the likely effect on the local community and the likely effect of any different travelling arrangements of the proposed closure.

2. Consultation Process

2.1 Perth and Kinross Council undertook the consultation on its proposal(s) with reference to the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

2.2 The formal consultation ran from 27 August 2018 to 5 October 2018. Copies of the proposal were made available electronically on the council website. Two hundred and thirty one letters were issued to identified stakeholders with a link to the proposal paper and details of where and how to obtain a paper copy. An online response form was set up on the consultation website. A public notice advert was placed in the local press on 27 August 2018. Public meetings were held at Fossoway Primary School on 6 September 2018 and at Blairingone Primary School on 18 September 2018. No members of the public attended the public meeting at Fossoway Primary School. Twelve members of the public attended the public meeting at Blairingone Primary School. The majority were not in favour of the proposal.

2.3 The council received five online responses. Of these, one response agreed with the council’s proposal and four disagreed. In addition, six written responses were received. Of these, two were from parents, two from elected members and two from other interested stakeholders including local businesses. All of the written responses did not agree with the proposals. Key areas of concern included: how the needs of individual children would be met in a larger school, the potential impact on future house building and ability to attract families into the area and the increased volume of traffic at Fossoway Primary School. An online petition against the proposal ‘Save our rural School, Blairingone Primary School’ obtained 374 signatures. Of these, nine were identified as Blairingone or Fossoway residents.

3. Educational Aspects of Proposal

3.1 Blairingone Primary School is a non-denominational school providing education to P1– P7 pupils from the village of Blairingone and surrounding area. There is no nursery provision at Blairingone Primary School. Local nursery provision is located at Fossoway Primary School. The school structure has one composite class across stages Primary 1-7. At the time of the HM Inspector’s visit the class consisted of two P2s, one P3, one P6 and one P7. Children currently enjoy a positive and supportive learning environment. There is no physical education hall at Blairingone Primary School. In January 2017, Blairingone Primary School was rated as ‘B’ (satisfactory) for building condition and ’B’ (satisfactory) for educational suitability. Community use of Blairingone Primary School is limited with occasional use by the Community Council. Data suggests the roll of Blairingone Primary School has been falling over the last five years. Future projections indicate that pupil numbers are unlikely to increase above their current level.

Page 104 of 194 Out of 17 children who could attend the school, currently 12 attend neighbouring schools. If this pattern of parental choice continues, then the future sustainability of Blairingone is more challenging.

3.2 The council has set out a reasonable case in support of its proposal. The council states there will be a number of educational benefits for children if the proposal goes ahead. These include improved social interaction opportunities from attending a larger school among children of their own age. Participating in larger year groups will increase the opportunity for collaborative working with children of a similar age and stage of development. Opportunities to engage in a wider range of activities which enrich the curriculum will be increased. Children will benefit from participating in lunchtime and after school activities and the Fossoway House System. Children will benefit from access to physical education on site, rather than having to travel to other schools. Co-location of the nursery in an open plan layout alongside the P1 class will improve the transition experience. Impact on the wider Blairingone community will be minimal as the school is not regularly used for community activity. The proposal will assist the council to make efficient and effective use of its resources as it will not incur costs for running Blairingone Primary School. Fossoway Primary School has the capacity to accommodate additional children as occupancy, based on Census 2017, was 71.3%.

3.3 Parents, children and staff from Blairingone Primary School who met with HM Inspectors did not support the proposal. Parents and staff did not agree that there would be any educational benefits for Blairingone children. Concerns were expressed about the perceived loss of the inclusive, supportive environment the children currently experience. Children enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. The small numbers make it easier for them to interact. Both parents and children were concerned about the potential for bullying in a larger school. Parents felt there would be a reduction in the quality of the educational experience and individual attention. Parents did not accept the projected roll figures. They felt that future housing developments would lead to an increase in the number of children locally. Parents acknowledged that the lack of local nursery provision and parents exercising the right to send their child to other schools contributed to the low numbers at Blairingone. Parents were not happy about their children being bussed to school and the possible increased congestion around Fossoway Primary School. Concern was expressed about the loss of the school as a community facility.

3.4 Parents, including those who live in the Blairingone Primary School catchment area, children and staff from Fossoway Primary School who met with HM Inspectors were supportive of the proposal. They thought that engagement with a wider peer group at age and stage would improve children’s learning. The co-location and open plan nature of the nursery and lower primary department would improve transition. Children would benefit from access to a wider pool of staff including a full-time Pupil Support Teacher. Attending a larger school would better prepare children for the transition to secondary school. Parents thought the proposal would make better use of limited resources in a time of financial constraints. Fossoway children would welcome improved social opportunities and the chance to make new friends. They thought Blairingone children would benefit from having access to an increased range of physical education activities and lunchtime clubs and opportunities to participate in inter–school team events. Parents, staff and children did not have any concerns about potential increase in the volume of traffic and impact on safety if the proposal proceeds.

3.5 As the proposal will lead to the closure of a rural school, HM Inspectors also took account of the council’s consideration of the factors to which it should have special regard. In arriving at its proposal the council has clearly assessed the likely benefits to children and in doing so has given due consideration to any reasonable alternatives. 69

Page 105 of 194 The council carried out a detailed options assessment in which it considered four options. These included: Keeping Blairingone Primary School open; mothballing Blairingone Primary School and moving children to Fossoway Primary School; closing Blairingone Primary School and moving children to Fossoway Primary School; and reviewing the catchment area of Blairingone Primary School to determine whether or not this would increase the roll to a sustainable level. Due to insufficient demand, coupled with parents choosing to place their children at other primary schools, none of the options bar closure were considered as viable or sustainable. The current school building is not used regularly for community activity. The proposal does not impact negatively on children at Fossoway Primary School. Blairingone children will be entitled to free transport. The journey time is not unreasonable when compared with other parts of the authority.

4. Summary

Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Blairingone Primary School, move pupils to Fossoway Primary School and permanently extend the Fossoway Primary School delineated catchment area to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Blairingone Primary School has clear educational benefits. Blairingone Primary School children currently enjoy learning in an inclusive and supportive environment. However, Blairingone children will have access to greater learning opportunities, wider experiences and increased socialisation through being part of a larger school at Fossoway. Opportunities to engage in lunchtime, after school and team events will be increased. Transition from the nursery class to the P1 class will be enhanced. Projected numbers of children within the catchment are insufficient to make the school viable. A significant factor in this is parental placing requests to other schools. Fossoway Primary School has the capacity to accommodate additional children. The proposal will assist the council to deliver ‘Best Value’ through making more efficient and effective use of its resources. In taking forward the proposal the council should set out how it will ensure current Blairingone children are supported to positively make the transition to Fossoway School. It should also work with parents to address the concerns they raised such as bullying and travelling by bus. The council should also consider how the vacant school might be used to the benefit of the local Blairingone community.

HM Inspectors Education Scotland October 2018

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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

Lifelong Learning Committee

27 March 2019

Statutory Consultation – Greenloaning Primary School

Report by Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (Report No. 19/93)

PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report informs the Lifelong Learning Committee of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School as detailed in the published Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A). This report also seeks approval from the Lifelong Learning Committee to implement the proposal from 28 June 2019.

1. BACKGROUND

Page 107 of 194 (i) schools should have an occupancy rate where possible greater than 60% of the capacity and ideally should be operating at over 80% capacity; (ii) every school should be rated as A or B, ie at least satisfactory for condition and suitability; and (iii) life expired buildings1 within the school estate should be prioritised for replacement.

1.5 In October 2016, the decision was taken to ‘mothball’ Greenloaning Primary School. This was as a result of a diminishing school roll and resulting under capacity. This means provision in a school is suspended with pupils temporarily zoned to another catchment area. Mutually agreed arrangements were made with the parents of the remaining Greenloaning Primary School pupils to temporarily zone pupils to Braco Primary School.

1.6 On 2 November 2016, the Lifelong Learning Committee approved (Report No. 16/485 refers) by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services). This report details the outcome of the high level review undertaken in respect of the school estate and proposed to proceed with further detailed work. This report approved the development of an options appraisal in relation to the future of Greenloaning Primary School due to very low occupancy. The school had a pupil roll of 7 as at the Census in September 2016 with an approved capacity of 49 pupils, giving an occupancy of 14%. The pupil roll was due to be 4 pupils by October 2016, giving an occupancy of 8% prior to the school being mothballed.

1.7 There were six options identified for Greenloaning Primary School. Informal pre-consultation was undertaken with the affected communities of both Greenloaning and Braco to gather and share information, establish possible alternatives and engage the communities to understand and help shape the proposals for Greenloaning Primary School to inform the options appraisal.

1.8 Using information obtained during the pre-consultation activities, an options appraisal was developed for Greenloaning Primary School. The findings contained within the options appraisal concluded that, of the six options, the only reasonable option is to close Greenloaning Primary School because the school roll is not sustainable. None of the other options considered were determined to be reasonable alternatives to closure nor would they allow the school roll to reach a sustainable level.

1.9 On 21 March 2018, the Lifelong Learning Committee considered the Options Appraisal and agreed to commence formal consultation on a proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School (Report No. 18/87 refers) in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

1.10 The 2010 Act’s principal purpose is to provide strong, accountable statutory consultation practices and procedures that local authorities must apply to their

1 Life expired buildings are defined as buildings which are uneconomical to maintain.

Page 108 of 194 handling of all proposals for school closures and other major changes to schools. These consultation processes are expected to be robust, open, transparent and fair, and seen to be so. They are also expected to be consistent across Scotland.

1.11 The 2010 Act makes special arrangements in relation to rural schools, and establishes a presumption against the closure of rural schools.

1.12 The result of this is that education authorities must have special regard to a number of factors before formalising a proposal to close a rural school and in consulting on and reaching a decision as to whether to implement a rural school closure proposal.

1.13 Councils have a statutory duty in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make adequate and efficient provision of school education across their entire area for the current school population and future pattern of demand.

1.14 Councils also have a statutory responsibility in terms of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 to achieve best value. The organisation of the school estate is therefore kept under regular review, including the need for school provision and other factors, such as altering catchment areas and the provision of school transport.

1.15 Most importantly, the Education Authority would wish to optimise the educational experience for every pupil by providing:

• a range of social and emotional experiences; • an enriched and broad learning experience; and • the best possible education which meets the needs of all learners.

2. STATUTORY CONSULTATION

2.1 The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 sets out the process which must be followed in undertaking a statutory consultation on a proposal affecting a school.

2.3 For a school proposal, the Council is required to consult:

• The parents of the pupils and children at the affected schools • The parents of children expected to attend an affected school within 2 years of the date of publication of this proposal document • The pupils at the affected schools • The Parent Council of the affected schools • The teaching and ancillary staff at the affected schools

Page 109 of 194 • The trade union representatives of the above staff • The Community Councils • Relevant users of the affected schools

2.5 The Council is then required to prepare and publish its final consultation report. In preparing the report, the Council must consider the report from Education Scotland and other responses to the consultation. The consultation report must explain how the Council has reviewed the proposal, a summary of the points raised during the consultation and the Council’s response to them, details of any alleged inaccuracies or omissions and, for rural schools, an assessment of the rural school factors.

2.6 The proposal for Greenloaning Primary School, subject to the outcome of the consultation process, is that:

• Provision of a school at Greenloaning Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; • The pupils of Greenloaning Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Braco Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Braco Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Greenloaning Primary School from 1 July 2019.

2.7 An electronic link to the Proposal Paper was issued by letter to the consultees listed within the document, and was also published on the Council’s website: www.pkc.gov.uk.

2.9 The number of letters issued with details of the Proposal Paper was 141.

2.10 One public meeting was held in Braco Primary School on Tuesday 11 September 2018. 15 members of the public attended this meeting.

2.11 Three online responses were received during the statutory consultation period. No other written representations were received. 2.12 In summary, the verbal responses raised at the meeting can be grouped broadly as follows:

Page 110 of 194 • The decant arrangements for Braco Primary School to be refurbished. • Whether pupils living in Greenloaning would officially become part of Braco catchment area. • Whether a cost comparison was undertaken for works required at both sites as it is considered that Greenloaning is a superior site. • Why the wider communities were not made aware of this meeting. • Population data, projected rolls and potential future growth. • Why Greenloaning building can’t be used as a community resource whilst mothballed. • School transport and safe walking routes. • Nursery provision, nursery hours and out of school care provision. • The capacity of Braco Primary School. • The use of the village hall for school activities. • The Community Council use of Greenloaning Primary School prior to mothballing and charges for using the school when it was open. • Capacity at Braco Primary School to include the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare and future growth of the school to support the expanded catchment area. • Greenloaning building should be retained for nursery and out of school care provision.

3 EDUCATION SCOTLAND REPORT

3.1 In accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, a report was produced by Education Scotland on the educational aspects of the proposal.

3.2 The report supports the proposal and is summarised below:

• Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal has clear educational benefits. The Council has concluded that there is no foreseeable prospect of an increased and stable pupil roll at Greenloaning Primary School. The Council’s proposal would be consistent with its statutory duty to secure best value in the use of resources.

• Children attending Braco Primary School would benefit from learning and participation with their peers and have access to a broader range of teachers and other staff. Staff would benefit from greater opportunities for professional dialogue at Braco Primary School including arrangements for peer support in assessment and moderation.

• The Council proposes to undertake refurbishment work at Braco Primary School and the village hall to improve the environment for learning.

• Children, parents and staff who spoke with HM Inspectors supported the proposal and agreed with the educational benefits outlined by the Council.

• The Council put forward a clear rationale for its proposal. Five alternative options were explored in detail, including an option to consider closing

Page 111 of 194 Braco Primary School and extend Greenloaning Primary School. This option would have required a greater number of children to travel from Braco to Greenloaning. The Council concluded appropriately that the permanent closure of Greenloaning Primary School was the only reasonable option.

• The Council considered the likely effects on the local community and concluded that there would be little effect on the sustainability of the community arising from the closure of Greenloaning Primary School. The Council has indicated that the closure of the school would provide an opportunity to use the school building as a facility for community use.

• The Council considered the likely effect of different travel arrangements arising from its proposal and concluded reasonably that given the short distance of approximately two miles between the schools the impact of different travel arrangements would be limited.

4. CONSULTATION REPORT

4.1 Having considered the verbal and online representations and Education Scotland’s Report, a Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A) was prepared and published for public scrutiny on the Council’s website (www.pkc.gov.uk) from Friday 22 February 2019 until Friday 15 March 2019.

This allowed for the required full three week review of the document prior to a final Committee decision on Wednesday 27 March 2019, and complies with Section 9 (3) and Section 11 of the 2010 Act.

5. CONCLUSION

5.1 The Council recognises there has been very little (1) opposition from parents, staff and pupils towards the proposal. Based on the responses received, there is no support from statutory consultees, and the wider community to keep the school open. Affected parents do not wish to see the school re-opened.

5.2 Education Scotland has identified that the proposal has many clear and well- founded educational benefits for young people. This includes the larger number and wider range of peers in Braco Primary School which allows children to access a learning environment where there are groups of learners at all stages of school, further allowing them to develop their social and interpersonal skills in a broader range of appropriate contexts.

5.3 If the Council adopts the proposal, it is understood that the educational benefits set out in the Proposal Paper would materialise. There is evidence that children from Greenloaning have become well-integrated into Braco Primary School since the school was mothballed and the children have adjusted well to the move.

Page 112 of 194 5.4 With a declining and unsustainable school roll and facilities requiring investment, potential savings can be secured as a result of the closure, minimising the impact of any cuts to education services and contributing to the Council’s vision of best value.

5.5 The key points that have been highlighted during the consultation period are as follows:

• The Council’s proposals have been supported by the majority of parents/carers, staff and the wider community. • The report from Education Scotland acknowledges that the proposal would lead to clear and well-founded educational benefits for pupils. • The Council, having had special regard to the rural school factors, does not consider that the proposal would adversely affect the sustainability of the community, or that there would be an adverse effect from the premises no longer being available for community use.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 The outcome of the statutory consultation exercise is detailed in the Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A). Having due regard to relevant written and oral representations and Education Scotland’s Report, it is recommended that the decision is made to implement the proposal that provision of a school at Greenloaning Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter. It is also recommended that the pupils of Greenloaning Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Braco Primary School from 1 July 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter. It is also recommended that the delineated catchment area of Braco Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Greenloaning Primary School from 1 July 2019.

6.2 A comprehensive Proposal Paper containing an Educational Benefits Statement was produced in relation to the proposal. Pupils are already attending and are benefiting by attending Braco Primary School which was evident when Education Scotland visited the school. The Proposal Paper allowed for informed consideration to be given to the proposal that education provision at Greenloaning Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019 through formal consultation with key stakeholders. The outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise have been published.

On the basis of the feedback received and taking account of the educational and social benefits of the proposal, it is concluded that the following proposal is the most suitable option and it is now recommended to implement the proposal with effect from 28 June 2019.

Page 113 of 194 6.3 It is recommended that the Committee:

(i) Notes the contents of the Consultation Report (attached as Appendix A); and (ii) Approves the implementation of the following proposal that: • Provision of a school at Greenloaning Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter; • The pupils of Greenloaning Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Braco Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Braco Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Greenloaning Primary School from 1 July 2019.

Author Name Designation Contact Details Karen Robertson Service Manager Tel: 01738 475000 (Business Services) [email protected]

Approved Name Designation Date Sheena Devlin Executive Director 14/03/19 (Education and Children’s Services)

Page 114 of 194 ANNEX

1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION

1. Strategic Implications

Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement

1.1 This section should set out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities:

This report relates to all of these objectives.

Corporate Plan

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This report relates to all of these objectives.

1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Policy Framework in respect of the following key policy area:

• Maximising Resources

2. Resource Implications

Financial

2.1 The annual recurring savings of the preferred option is made up of staff costs and building running costs. The financial implications of this proposal is that there would be a saving of £123,511 to be made if the proposal is to be implemented.

2.2 The annual cost of mothballing Greenloaning Primary School is £1,650 which is made up of costs for energy and property maintenance.

2.3 On 30 June 2010, the Council approved the report Securing the Future – Towards 2015 and Beyond (Report No. 10/357 refers). This report set out our continuing strategy for securing the future, aiming to support the delivery of savings through revised service delivery models and ongoing improvement activities in the Council. Education and Children’s Services Service Review Programme within this report contains a re-design project to “review the school estate”.

2.4 Therefore, any savings arising from the proposed option to close Greenloaning Primary School would be allocated against Education and Children’s Services budget savings targets. This would mitigate against making alternative budget reductions within other areas of Education and Children’s Services, with a corresponding reduction in service delivery in that area.

2.5 The annual budget is built reflecting cost drivers such as the number of schools, buildings, staff and pupils. If Greenloaning Primary School were to be closed, then future years’ budgets would not contain any allowance for staffing Greenloaning Primary School and there would be reduced property costs (and possibly no costs should the building be declared surplus to the Council’s requirements). Any per capita budgets relating to individual pupils would continue to be budgeted against the school that these pupils would attend following the closure of Greenloaning Primary School.

2.6 It is envisaged that the existing Greenloaning Primary School would be declared surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council once the refurbishment works at Braco Primary School are completed. This would minimise the risks associated with vacant buildings.

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Workforce

2.7 There are no staffing implications relating to the proposal. Appropriate arrangements were made for staff at Greenloaning Primary School when the school was mothballed in October 2016 and these arrangements have been in place since then.

Asset Management (land, property, IT)

2.8 If the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School is approved, Education and Children’s services would declare the building surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council. This would provide an opportunity for the building to be sold, leased or could present the local community with an opportunity for alternative uses of the building as part of a Community Asset Transfer.

3. Assessments

Equality Impact Assessment

The procedure presented in this report was considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (Eq1A) with the following outcome:

(i) Assessed as relevant and the following positive outcomes expected following implementation:

• In terms of Socio Economic Impact, the assessment identified that there may be a small disadvantage for some parents who would have further to travel when attending meetings or events in school. However, the identified benefits significantly outweigh any disadvantage. It is also not considered to be a significant disadvantage as parents are already travelling to access all other services outside Greenloaning village. In addition, a number of pupils from Greenloaning catchment area were already attending Braco Primary School as the result of successful placing requests prior to Greenloaning Primary School being mothballed.

Page 117 of 194 Strategic Environmental Assessment

3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals.

However, no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and is therefore exempt.

Sustainability

3.3 N/A

Legal and Governance

3.4 The Head of Legal and Governance has been consulted in the preparation of this report which has been prepared in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, as amended.

Risk

3.5 N/A

4. Consultation

Internal

4.1 The Head of Legal and Governance has been consulted in the preparation of this report.

External

4.2 This report contains full details of the Statutory Consultation exercise which has been undertaken in respect of this proposal and this is fully detailed in Appendix A.

5. Communication

5.1 This is fully detailed in the Consultation Report attached as Appendix A.

3. APPENDICES

Appendix A: Consultation Report

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APPENDIX A

PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES

CONSULTATION REPORT

REPORT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE CONSULTATION RELATING TO THE PROPOSAL TO CLOSE GREENLOANING PRIMARY SCHOOL

22 February 2019

This Consultation Report has been issued by Perth and Kinross Council in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

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Contents

Page

1. INTRODUCTION 4

2. BACKGROUND 5

3. CONSIDERATIONS 5

4. OPTIONS CONSIDERED 11

5. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS 17

6. THE PUBLIC MEETING 19

7. RESPONSES TO THE CONSULTATION EXERCISE 19

8. EDUCATION AUTHORITY RESPONSE TO WRITTEN AND ORAL 20 REPRESENTATIONS

9. EDUCATION SCOTLAND REPORT 26

10. RURAL SCHOOL – COMPLIANCE WITH SECTIONS 11A TO 13 OF 28 THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) Act 2010 Effect on the Local Community Travel Arrangements

11. ALLEGED OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES 31

12. COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 9(1) OF THE SCHOOLS 31 (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

13. OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE REPRESENTATIONS TO SCOTTISH 32 MINISTERS IN TERMS OF SECTION 15(4) OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

14. LEGAL ISSUES 33

15. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS 33

16. CONCLUSION 34

17. RECOMMENDATIONS 34

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Appendices

Page

Appendix 1 Minute of Public Meeting of 11 September 2018 36

Appendix 2 Summary of Consultation Responses 42

Appendix 3 Pupil and Staff Consultation 45

Appendix 4 Education Scotland Report 49

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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES

This report has been prepared following consultation on the Council’s proposal that:

Having had regard (in particular) to:

(a) Relevant written representations received by the Council (from any person) during the consultation period;

(b) Oral representations made to it (by any person) at the public meeting held on 11 September 2018; and

1. INTRODUCTION

This is a consultation report prepared in compliance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 on the above proposal.

1.1 The purpose of this report is to:

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2. BACKGROUND

2.1 Greenloaning Primary School has been mothballed since October 2016. This was as a result of low numbers of primary age pupils living in the catchment area and parental choice to send children living in the catchment area to other schools. The previously agreed arrangements to mothball the school have continued during this period.

2.2 At its meeting on 2 November 2016, the Lifelong Learning Committee of Perth and Kinross Council approved Report No 16/485 by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services). It approved the development of an options appraisal in relation to the future of Greenloaning Primary School.

2.3 On 21 March 2018, Lifelong Learning Committee considered the options appraisal and agreed to commence formal consultation on a proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School (Report No 18/87 refers) in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

2.4 The 2010 Act’s principal purpose is to provide strong, accountable statutory consultation practices and procedures that local authorities must apply to their handling of all proposals for school closures and other major changes to schools. These consultation processes are expected to be robust, open, transparent and fair, and seen to be so. They are also expected to be consistent across Scotland.

2.5 The 2010 Act makes special arrangements in relation to rural schools, and establishes a presumption against the closure of rural schools. The result of this is that education authorities must have special regard to a number of factors before formalising a proposal to close a rural school and in consulting on and reaching a decision as to whether to implement a rural school closure proposal.

2.6 These duties are outlined in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and the accompanying Statutory Guidance.

2.7 Lifelong Learning Committee reports and the Proposal Paper referred to above are available on the Council’s website www.pkc.gov.uk.

3. CONSIDERATIONS

3.1 The main considerations relating to the proposal are fully explained in the Proposal Paper, and the main points are highlighted as follows:

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3.4 The Council’s Transformation Strategy 2015-2020 ‘Building Ambition’ and Organisational Development Framework were approved by Council on 1 July 2015 (Report No. 15/292 refers). They detail how Perth and Kinross Council will deliver transformation over the five year period. Accompanying the strategy is a programme of major reviews which are considered to be key drivers and enablers of transformation across the organisation.

3.5 On 24 August 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee (Report No. 16/347 refers) approved principles to be used as a basis for the transformation review, ‘Securing the Future of the School Estate’.

3.7 Greenloaning Primary School was a single teacher primary school serving the village of Greenloaning and the surrounding area and is a feeder primary school for Crieff High School. Greenloaning is located approximately 1.7 miles (walking) and 2.0 miles (driving) from Braco Primary School and pupils have been zoned to Braco Primary School since the school was mothballed in October 2016.

3.8 The capacity of Greenloaning Primary School is 49 pupils. The Greenloaning Primary School roll at Census 2010 was 29 pupils and at Census 2016 was 7 pupils. At Census 2016, there were 16 pupils in total living within the catchment area for Greenloaning Primary School but 9 of these pupils attended other schools as a result of successful placing requests made by their parents.

3.9 At Census 2017, there were 24 primary age pupils living within the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area with 8 of these pupils attending Braco Primary School and 15 of the pupils attending other schools in the Stirling Council area. At Census 2018, there were 21 primary age pupils living within the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area with 6 of these pupils attending Braco Primary School and 14 pupils attending other schools in the Stirling Council area.

3.10 Greenloaning Primary School and Braco Primary School had a close relationship prior to the mothballing as the result of a shared headship. Whilst a shared headship provided a means of improving cost effectiveness, it did not address the reducing pupil roll at Greenloaning Primary School as the result of placing requests being made for other schools.

3.11 These circumstances result in a diminished and unsustainable school pupil population for Greenloaning Primary School. There is no foreseeable prospect of an increased, stable pupil population. The provision of primary education within Greenloaning needs to be considered in the context of the needs of the pupils and the local community, both now and in the future.

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3.12 As part of an options appraisal, information was collated on pupil numbers, housebuilding, the school, travel arrangements, environmental impact, the local area and community and finances to inform the options. As part of the review, a pre- consultation exercise was also carried out with the local community to inform the options appraisal for Greenloaning Primary School. This allowed the community to consider options for the future of Greenloaning Primary School and was an opportunity for the community to provide views on these options and identify any additional options which the Council should consider.

3.13 Future pupil projections have been considered using aggregated GP registration data from the NHS and both Braco Primary School and Greenloaning Primary School pupil numbers are projected to remain static over the next 4 years. There are low numbers of children under 5 years old in the Greenloaning catchment area over the next 4 years with no house building planned in the area. Pupil projections in the catchment area do not indicate that the potential pupil numbers will increase significantly in the future and there is no suggestion going forward that this is likely to change.

3.14 The data for Greenloaning shows that the number of children eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2022 is 13 pupils. At the time of undertaking the options appraisal, the number of children eligible to start school over that period was 5 pupils. Updated aggregated GP registration data received from the NHS indicates that this number has increased during that period. However, this is highly unlikely to be an continuing upward trend because the child population in this area is not increasing by 50%.

In considering future pupil projections, a range of data sources is used to evidence and predict pupil population trends. The available data does not evidence that this is an upward trend which will continue. One of the methodologies for projecting pupil numbers.is based on the average intake of pupils in each school across the previous 5 year period. This provides a baseline of pupil projections for a 7 year period within Perth and Kinross which has provided pupil projections within an accuracy tolerance of within 1%. Demographic information on general population data provides actual and trend evidence across all age groups within the defined demographic zone. Evidence from this data shows a trend of significant and steady decline in the 0-4 years population of 67% over the past 15 years. The 0-15 years age group makes up 16.4% of the general population in this area with 63% of the population in this area being in the 40-90 and over years age group. The overall general population in this area has declined by 11.8% in that period.

Projected pupil growth from housebuilding is also considered and there is no planned housebuilding within the catchment area for Greenloaning Primary School and this evidence leads the Council to the conclusion that there will be no increase in pupil population through housebuilding. With such low numbers, it is more likely the increase has come about as a result of a very small number of families moving into existing housing stock.

In considering the potential impact of this increase, it continues to be the case that this presents a low pupil population for Greenloaning. This would provide an occupancy level of 29% if these pupils were all to attend Greenloaning primary School. However, based on the established pattern of placing requests made for other schools by parents living in the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area, the number of pupils enrolling for school in Perth and Kinross is likely to be lower. 7

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This increase in pupils eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2022 would not create a sustainable pupil roll for Greenloaning Primary School.

3.15 The highest projected occupancy level up to 2022/23 at Greenloaning Primary School is 29%. This is based on pupils who attended the school when it was mothballed returning to the school if it were to re-open. The highest projected occupancy level at Braco Primary School is 77%. This includes pupils who currently attend the school from Greenloaning.

3.16 Prior to Greenloaning Primary School being mothballed, the majority of parents had already made placing requests for their children to be educated in Braco Primary School and other schools outwith Perth and Kinross.

3.17 Based on there being low numbers of children living in the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area and the impact of placing requests being made by parents for pupils to attend other schools both within and outwith Perth and Kinross, there is no foreseeable prospect of a sustainable school population in the near future.

3.18 The low pupil roll at Greenloaning Primary School presented challenges in providing a breadth of experiences required to meet the needs of pupils.

3.19 The proposal for pupils from Greenloaning to attend Braco Primary School has strong educational benefits for pupils from the Greenloaning catchment area. It will increase pupils’ resilience through being part of a larger school community and will also help promote their social and emotional development by providing greater challenge as well as the opportunity to be part of a wider, age-appropriate peer group.

3.20 Pupils from the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area have been zoned to Braco Primary School for more than 2 years. Braco Primary School offers high quality learning experiences across the four contexts of learning that encourages high levels of achievement and provides a wide range of opportunities for children to achieve their full potential as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

3.21 The Council has engaged with stakeholders and has considered other uses for the premises prior to formulating this proposal. The details of the other options are detailed in this report in Section 4.

3.22 Parents still retain the right to make a placing request for another school of their choice as outlined in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.

3.23 The permanent discontinuation of provision of a school at Greenloaning Primary School with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter with the pupils of Greenloaning Primary School catchment area permanently receiving their education at Braco Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter will have the following benefits (based on Braco Primary School as children from Greenloaning Primary School catchment area have been attending the school since October 2016).

Learning and Teaching 3.24 Children attending Braco have access to a range of teaching and support staff from early years and primary. Braco has a nursery and three primary classes.

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This allows children to transition throughout the school as they get older and be taught by different practitioners in different settings. 3.25 Pupils have access to early years provision within the setting of the school, allowing for seamless transition to P1, with pupils already familiar with the physical setting as well as the opportunity for regular work with primary peers. 3.26 At Braco Primary School, staff are challenged and supported through a range of continuous professional development and review, which comes of having a Headteacher and three members of teaching staff, in three classes for 44 pupils (Census 2018). Staff are able to collaborate across the school for planning learning and teaching to ensure children receive experiences that are relevant and present clear challenge and enjoyment. Flexibility in staffing at Braco means that good use can be made of the local context for example by involving children in Forest Schools. Staff are also able to work together to moderate standards of learning and achievement in the school to ensure that children make appropriate progress in a structured and progressive way through Curriculum for Excellence levels. 3.27 A collegiate approach to professional engagement amongst all staff is evident within the school. They come together regularly to review and improve practice as a school, with partner services and other schools in the Local Management Group. This enhances the quality of learning and teaching through shared opportunities to develop effective approaches to learning and teaching and to share and moderate standards. Currently, Braco Primary School staff collaborate with other schools on 1+2 languages, maths development work and moderation of writing, allowing staff to share good practice across other schools in the area to enhance learning and teaching in Braco.

3.28 Work is differentiated to adapt to pupils’ needs and pupils benefit from being able to work on co-operative learning tasks with others. Flexibility in staffing allows Braco to be creative in planning for children with additional support needs both universally and for targeted need thus removing potential barriers to learning. 3.29 Braco affords the opportunity for all children to build relationships with different groups and individuals, develop a range of skills and undertake group responsibilities, which the larger class sizes enable. This gives all pupils the opportunity to work in groups, at peer level and across all stages in the school and in mixed sex groups. This allows the sharing of ideas, peer support, informal mentoring and relationship building, all of which contribute to the whole school experience for all pupils. 3.30 Braco has support from a Pupil Support Teacher, which not only benefits pupils with Additional Support Needs, but all other pupils. Environment for Learning 3.31 Braco Primary makes use of the village hall. As part of the planned improvements to the school, the hall will benefit from improved access and upgraded toilet and redecoration providing better facilities for PE and community learning space. The adjacent park offers a wide range of opportunities for the pupils to experience a range of team and individual sports, such as football and cricket. The school also makes good use of local land and forest for the Forest Schools programme.

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3.32 Braco Primary School’s building will benefit from significant upgrade and adaptations. The refurbishment will provide upgraded accessible classroom spaces and flexible spaces to offer nurture support and meetings. 3.33 The school has a strong Restorative Practices values base to the learning environment where children are able to work together to investigate and solve problems. Experiences and Opportunities 3.34 Braco currently has pupils of both sexes at each stage other than P7, allowing all pupils to interact and socialise with groups of children their own age and sex, at appropriate levels and within composite classes.

3.35 The school hosts weekly ‘Get Togethers’ with children across the school coming together to celebrate and share learning. These also include parents and partners in the life of the school. 3.36 Braco has an active Parent Council, which supports the school in its work with parents and encourages links between school, parents, pupils and the community. Parental support enables the school to gain experiences outwith the local community, with trips to the theatre, ski trip for P5-7 and residential trip. The support of the Parent Council and the wider Parent Forum helps to provide resources to allow these to take place, as well as support through attendance on the trips. 3.37 There are opportunities available to pupils at Braco, through links with a school in Malawi, supporting resources and widening their understanding of the experiences and opportunities presented to children in another part of the world. 3.38 There are numerous opportunities, for both present and future pupils, for social interaction in terms of peer activities in class and at break times and access to school clubs and extra-curricular activities, team activities and sports, such as football and athletics. In addition, there are pupil committees, facilitated by a teacher, but pupil led. These are the Eco Council, Arts & Crafts, Baking and Health & Wellbeing. These Pupil Councils are comprised of children of all stages. 3.39 School pupils at Braco enjoy a number of links with the community, providing entertainment, church services and festivals and the inclusion of local people in the children’s learning experiences. These opportunities foster a feeling of belonging for the children and their social and emotional skills are enhanced through the relationships built. In Summary 3.40 The school roll allows all children to participate in peer support, classroom learning, and learning groups across stages and between classes, with the benefit of allowing children to have a wide and varied range of learning experiences. 3.41 Braco Primary School building will benefit from a significant upgrade and adaptations, enhancing the environment for learning. 3.42 Re-designating the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area to Braco Primary School will allow all pupils access to a school with learning groups across all stages.

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3.43 The range of learning experiences for children will be wide and varied, with classroom learning being supplemented by learning groups across stages and between classes, bringing with that the opportunity to share learning experiences between the youngest and oldest pupils, as well as within the immediate peer group. 3.44 All pupils will have access to peer support, helping to develop their social and interpersonal skills, both in the classroom and in the social activities available at the school.

3.45 The children and parents of Greenloaning Primary School will have access to an educational establishment which has a well-planned and committed approach to taking forward improvement. There is sufficient capacity at Braco Primary School to fully meet the needs of the Greenloaning Primary School children without having a detrimental impact on the learning of the existing pupils of Braco Primary School.

4. OPTIONS CONSIDERED

4.1 A number of options were considered for the future of Greenloaning Primary School as part of the Options Appraisal:

a) Continue with mothballing of Greenloaning Primary School – all pupils remain at Braco Primary School and suitability rating improved.

The school has been mothballed since October 2016. Leaving the school open but with continued mothballing of the school is only a reasonable option if there are likely to be significant changes within the catchment area in the next 2 -3 years which would result in an increase in the pupil roll. Pupil numbers are not projected to increase significantly in the next 4 years. There has been a downward trend in the number of people under 16 living in the catchment area in recent years. Pupil numbers had reduced relatively rapidly from 29 to 7 over the previous 6 years. Prior to mothballing, a large number of pupils from Greenloaning Primary School catchment attended schools in the Stirling Council area or Braco Primary School as a result of parental choice. The number of children of pre-school age living in the catchment area is very small, and in recent years there have been occasions where there have been no P1 age children choosing to attend Greenloaning Primary School. There are no housing or other developments which are likely to impact positively on the size of the pupil population in the next 2-3 years.

If the school remains mothballed, the building would remain out of use awaiting a potential reopening or final closure. While the school is mothballed, there is a possibility of it reopening, which could be viewed as a positive. However, continued mothballing creates continued uncertainty for parents and the community. In addition, there are no opportunities to progress alternative uses for the building, which may include community asset transfer, lease or sale of the building, all of which may benefit the wider community. Therefore, on balance, it is considered that continued mothballing is more likely to be a negative than a positive, in terms of community impact.

If Greenloaning Primary School was left mothballed on an indefinite basis, Perth and Kinross Council would incur annual costs to maintain the building.

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Unoccupied buildings can deteriorate more rapidly than operational premises and can become a focus for opportunistic crimes and/or targets for vandalism whether the premises are located in urban or rural areas.

In summary, on the basis that there is no indication that pupil numbers will increase significantly in the next 2-3 years, mothballing is not considered a good use of resources and would prevent the building being used to benefit the community. Therefore, continued mothballing was not viewed as a reasonable alternative. b) Consider closing Greenloaning Primary School – pupils remain at Braco Primary School and suitability rating improved.

This option would see the suitability rating for Braco Primary School improved. Facilities within the Braco Village Hall would also be improved for the benefit of both Braco and Greenloaning communities

Braco Primary School currently accommodates a number of pupils from Greenloaning Primary as a result of the mothballing. Pupil numbers at Braco are projected to remain static for the next 4 years. Braco Primary has capacity to continue to accommodate the projected pupil numbers should Greenloaning Primary School be closed. This option is considered to be reasonable and further detail is provided in relation to educational benefits, travel, environmental impact, community impact and financial impact.

Greenloaning Primary School and Braco Primary School already had links with each other prior to the mothballing, including a shared headship and pupils who moved there in October 2016 following the mothballing are now settled at Braco Primary School. Travel arrangements for pupils and staff have been in place since October 2016 and there are no known issues with that. There are environmental benefits to Greenloaning Primary School pupils being transferred to Braco Primary School in that they would be transported by the Council rather than travelling individually. Pupil numbers at Greenloaning Primary School have been reducing year on year since 2005 when the school had 42 pupils. This is due to the increase in pupil numbers from housebuilding levelling off and fewer primary school age pupils living in the village. Pupil numbers have further decreased due to parents requesting placements at other schools both within and outwith Perth and Kinross. The data for Greenloaning shows that the number of children eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2022 is 13 pupils. At the time of undertaking the options appraisal, the number of children eligible to start school over that period was 5 pupils. Updated aggregated GP registration data received from the NHS indicates that this number has increased during that period. This is more than likely to be as a result of families moving into the Greenloaning area since the initial data was provided as there has been no additional housebuilding in the area. In considering the potential impact of this increase, it continues to be the case that this presents a low pupil population for Greenloaning. This would provide an occupancy level of 29% if these pupils were all to attend Greenloaning primary School. However, based on the established pattern of placing requests made for other schools by parents living in the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area, the number of pupils enrolling for school in Perth and Kinross is likely to be lower.

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This increase in pupils eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2022 would not create a sustainable pupil roll for Greenloaning Primary School. The highest projected occupancy level, including projected pupils through house building, up to 2022/23 at Greenloaning Primary School is 29%. This is based on pupils who attended the school when it was mothballed returning to the school if it were to re-open. If the school was to close, there would be no significant impact on the community in terms of access to facilities for community events. Braco Village Hall is available for community use and is currently well used by the community. Greenloaning Primary School was used by the Community Council to hold their meetings prior to the school being mothballed.

It is not considered that the closure of the school would have a negative impact on the sustainability of the community. Greenloaning is located approximately 2 miles from Braco. The community currently travel to access health, retail and leisure facilities. The Council has received requests from a number of sources for the use of the school should it close. Closure of the school would provide opportunities for the building to be used for the benefit of the community, either for business or residential use, or for community use if a suitable plan was identified. Pupil numbers at Greenloaning Primary School have been reducing over recent years and the positive impact of Greenloaning pupils on the school roll supports the sustainability of Braco Primary School which is also in a rural location and is a rural school. Improving the suitability rating of Braco Primary School benefits the pupils from both Braco and Greenloaning by providing a better environment for learning. It is considered that closure of the school is the most appropriate response to the issue of a decreasing roll. Low numbers of pre-school children coupled with parents choosing to place their children at other primary schools, has led to the school being mothballed. There are currently 14 pupils attending schools in the Stirling Council area. There is no indication that the roll will increase significantly in future years. This option also has the benefit of supporting the sustainability of Braco Primary School, which is approximately 2 miles from Greenloaning Primary School and is also a small rural school. There is no evidence to indicate that this option would have an adverse impact on the community, travelling arrangements or the environment. c) Re-open Greenloaning Primary School and suitability rating at Braco Primary School improved.

Calculations show that if the school re-opened in August 2019, the school roll would be a maximum of 4 pupils, rising to 14 pupils if all the catchment pupils attended in the next 4 years. At the time of undertaking the options appraisal, the school roll was projected to be a maximum of 3 pupils rising to 6 pupils in the next 3 years. Updated aggregated GP registration data received from the NHS indicates that this number has increased during that period. This is more than likely to be as a result of families moving into the Greenloaning area since the initial data was provided as there has been no additional housebuilding in the area. In considering the potential impact of this increase, it continues to be the case that this presents a low pupil population for Greenloaning. This would provide a highest occupancy level of 29% if these pupils were all to attend Greenloaning primary School. 13

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However, based on the established pattern of placing requests made for other schools by parents living in the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area, the number of pupils enrolling for school in Perth and Kinross is likely to be lower. This increase in pupils eligible to start school over the period 2019 – 2022 would not create a sustainable pupil roll for Greenloaning Primary School. However, based on the settled pattern of placing requests made for other schools by parents living in the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area, the number of pupils enrolling for school in Perth and Kinross is likely to be lower.

There would be a revenue cost of approximately £125,451 annually if Greenloaning Primary School were to re-open. This is predominantly made up of staff and building costs. The capital cost of upgrading the building of £319,987 would be required for Greenloaning Primary School, in addition to the costs associated with improving the suitability rating at Braco Primary School. The cost to improve the suitability and condition of Braco Primary School is approximately £2.1m. There would be additional costs for transporting the pupils to Greenloaning Primary School for the duration of the decant whilst improvement works were underway at Braco Primary School. Estimated preliminary costs for the decant is £233,500. There would also be a cost of £62,000 to improve facilities in the Braco Village Hall. This is not a sustainable school roll and would incur significant increased costs and therefore this option was not considered to be a reasonable alternative. d) Re-open Greenloaning Primary School and split the stages of education between both schools. Suitability rating improved at Braco Primary School.

This option proposed to transport children from Braco to Greenloaning to retain an operational school building in the village of Greenloaning. This option would in effect be the closure of Greenloaning Primary School with the retention of the building and its operation as part of Braco Primary School operating over a split site.

This would require Braco Primary School building to be used for nursery to P3 pupils and the building at Greenloaning would be used for P4 – P7 pupils. Arrangements would need to be put in place to ensure that the educational and social environment for both sets of pupils was managed to take into consideration the separate locations. The school would have to consider how it may adapt learning and teaching to ensure that there is still a ‘whole school’ ethos over the two sites. In particular, arrangements would have to be made to ensure that younger children and older children were given opportunities to interact both socially and educationally and that vertical learning is still a feature of the curriculum. The transition between P3 and P4 would also need to be considered carefully.

Staggered school start and end times and possibly lunchtimes would need to be implemented to accommodate families who have children of different ages, who would be accommodated on separate sites two miles apart.

The costs for the upgrade of Braco Primary School are approximately £2.1m with additional decant costs of approximately £233,500. In addition there is a capital cost of £319,987 for upgrading the building at Greenloaning.

There would also be an annual cost of £125,451 if Greenloaning Primary School was to re-open as an ‘annex’ of Braco Primary School. This is predominantly made up of staff and building costs. There would also be transport costs of approximately 14

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£35,100 to transport pupils from Greenloaning to Braco for PE and whole school events. Home to school transport for this option would currently be approximately £104,500 per annum. This option would result in an operational school building remaining in Greenloaning. However, the benefits of having pupils attend a school building in Greenloaning as part of Braco Primary School are outweighed by the compromises that would have to be made. These include operating hours, logistical issues created for both parents and staff and the increase in daily travel of pupils and the impact this may have on learning and teaching. This would result in 18 pupils having to travel further to school than their current journey to Braco Primary School.

Careful consideration would be required to ensure that the educational and social environment for both sets of pupils was managed to take into consideration the separate locations. The school would have to consider how it could adapt learning and teaching to ensure that there is still a ‘whole school’ ethos over the two sites. In particular, arrangements would have to be made to ensure that younger children and older children were given opportunities to interact both socially and educationally and that vertical learning was still a feature of the curriculum. The transition between P3 and P4 would also need to be considered carefully.

Staffing and timetabling for personalised support would require to consider staff moving between both sites and how this would impact on their direct work with children. Arrangements would have to consider the possibility of leaving one site without additional support for unforeseen circumstances. Arrangements for family learning projects and initiatives would also have to be considered for parents with children with siblings in different sites. Similar considerations would require planning for buddy and mentoring programmes where children from older classes support younger children both in the classroom and during break and lunch periods.

In terms of safeguarding and child protection both buildings sites would require a trained Child Protection Officer who was able to deal with child protection concerns and wellbeing concerns raised by staff. In relation to the ethos and life with whole school projects, working groups, assemblies etc, consideration would have to be given to arrangements for transporting children between both schools during the school day, while minimising the reduction in curriculum learning and teaching time. Travelling will also have to consider staffing ratios for children travelling between both sites.

Staggered school start and end times and possibly lunchtimes would need to be implemented to accommodate families who have children of different ages, who will be accommodated on separate sites two miles apart and for those pupils who have lunch at home Therefore this option was not considered to be a reasonable alternative. e) Catchment area of the schools are reviewed to determine whether this would increase the school roll at Greenloaning Primary School and ensure the future sustainability of both schools.

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A catchment review can in principle be a reasonable option, in some cases, to increase the sustainability of a school. An in-depth analysis in each case is required to ascertain if a sustainable increase in school roll could be achieved and a detrimental impact on neighbouring schools is not created as a result.

There are limited numbers of pupils living in the catchment areas surrounding Braco Primary School and Greenloaning Primary School catchments and the boundaries would have to be moved a significant distance in each direction to increase pupil rolls. This would lead to some other rural school rolls being detrimentally impacted and pupils having increased travel time to reach their school.

Therefore, it is unlikely that increasing the catchment areas for the schools would lead to a sustainable roll at Greenloaning Primary School. This is due to the small numbers of children living in these areas. This option was therefore not considered a reasonable alternative. f) Consider closing Braco Primary School and pupils moved to an extended Greenloaning Primary School

The Greenloaning Primary School building and outdoor areas currently have a higher suitability rating than Braco Primary School, however the suitability at Braco Primary School can be improved.

This option would see the majority of pupils ie those from Braco Primary School having to travel further to reach their catchment school than they do currently.

The revenue cost for operating Greenloaning Primary School would increase to a similar amount of £248,443 which it costs to operate Braco Primary School as the schools would be a similar size. A revenue saving of approximately £125,161 would be anticipated if Braco Primary School closed. There would be additional transport costs of £108,000 associated with Braco pupils being transported to Greenloaning, which would reduce the revenue saving to £17,161.

Capital funding of approximately £2.2m would be required to increase the capacity at Greenloaning Primary School which is broadly equivalent to the cost of improving the suitability of Braco Primary School.

It is also possible that this option would put the future of the village hall in Braco in jeopardy. The Council has a management agreement with Braco Hall Committee for the village hall and the school is one of the main users of Braco Village Hall.

The Hall is used daily for lunches and a number of times a week for other activities including PE. The school pays for the use of the hall and, therefore, it is possible that the future of Braco Village Hall would be at risk if the school no longer used and paid for the facilities. This would have a negative impact on both villages.

This option was not considered a reasonable alternative due to the fact that the majority of pupils live in or near Braco Primary School and would have to travel further to get to their local school.

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4.2 Discounted options

Immediate re-opening of the school was not considered to be a reasonable option, given the very small number of children resident in the catchment area who attended the school prior to mothballing. If the school had re-opened in August 2018, the maximum pupil numbers from the catchment would be 2.

It is highly unlikely that any of the pupils from the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area would return to the school were it to re-open, based on feedback from the pre-consultation sessions.

Even assuming all future P1 pupils living in Greenloaning catchment area were to attend Greenloaning Primary School if it were to re-open, the school roll would only reach between 4 and 14 pupils for the period 2019 - 2022. This was, therefore, not included as an option for consideration.

4.3 Alternative Options

In developing the Options Appraisal for Greenloaning Primary School, Perth and Kinross Council undertook a robust process of consultation work and consulted face to face with key stakeholders which allowed opportunities for parents, staff, pupils and the wider communities to consider and discuss the alternatives with the Council. Stakeholders were able to provide valuable feedback to the Council on the aspects of the alternatives which were reasonable and not reasonable as well as being given the opportunity to explore other alternatives, ensuring that these were communicated to the Council. The result of this was an Options Appraisal that was comprehensive and inclusive of the key stakeholders’ views. In giving further opportunity to provide representation of any other alternatives, the Council has confidence that the Options Appraisals and assessment of alternatives was robust and comprehensive. The statutory consultation process also provided an opportunity for consultees to suggest other alternatives to the proposal during the statutory consultation process. No other alternatives were notified to the Council during this process.

5. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

5.1 On 21 March 2018, Lifelong Learning Committee considered the options appraisal for Greenloaning Primary School and agreed to commence formal consultation on a proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School (Report No 18/87 refers) in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

5.3 The Proposal Paper made clear to consultees that the consultation period would run from Monday 27 August 2018 until Friday 5 October 2018 – a period of at least 30 school days.

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5.4 The proposal on which consultation took place was that:

5.5 The requirements for consulting on a relevant proposal relating to schools are set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

• A Proposal Paper was published on Monday 27 August 2018. All statutory consultees were written to providing a link to the proposal paper and details of where and how to obtain a paper copy. A copy of this document was available free of charge to the consultees listed within the document. • The Proposal Paper was published on the Perth and Kinross Council website www.pkc.gov.uk and was available in paper copy upon request. • An advertisement ran in the Courier and Advertiser and the Perthshire Advertiser on 27 August 2018. • One public meeting was held to discuss the proposal on Tuesday 11 September 2018. • The Consultation period ended on Friday 5 October 2018. • Education Scotland’s involvement consisted of: the options appraisal and proposal paper documents being sent to them, and visits to the sites of both Braco and Greenloaning Primary Schools, including discussion with relevant consultees. They also received a copy of all written representations and the minute of the public meeting. They then prepared a report on the educational aspects of the proposal. This is attached as Appendix 4.

5.6 The following schools are affected by the proposal:

• Greenloaning Primary School • Braco Primary School

5.7 In accordance with statutory requirements and good practice, the following persons were consulted:

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• The Constituency MSPs and List MSPs covering the Constituency • The Constituency MP • The Executive Director, Housing & Environment, Perth and Kinross Council • Tayside Contracts • LiveActive Leisure • Education Scotland

5.8 The number of letters issued with details of the Proposal Paper was 141.

5.10 This Consultation Report is the Council’s response to the issues raised during the consultation period on the Proposal Paper.

5.11 This Consultation Report was published on the Council’s website for a period of no less than 3 weeks prior to final consideration by Lifelong Learning Committee on 27 March 2019.

6. THE PUBLIC MEETING

6.1 The public meeting was held in Braco Primary School on Tuesday 11 September 2018. This meeting was attended by 15 members of the public. A full note of the meeting is attached as Appendix 1 which details the questions and issues raised at the meeting.

7. RESPONSES TO THE CONSULTATION EXERCISE

7.1 In all, three online response forms were received. All three responses received were from parents. Two responses agreed with the Council’s proposal and one response disagreed with the Council’s proposal. No other written representations were received. The details of the respondents are contained within the Summary of Consultation Responses, attached as Appendix 2.

7.2 In summary, the oral responses can be grouped broadly as follows:

• The decant arrangements for Braco Primary School to be refurbished.

• Whether pupils living in Greenloaning would officially become part of Braco catchment area.

• Whether a cost comparison was undertaken for works required at both sites as it is considered that Greenloaning is a superior site.

• Why the wider communities were not made aware of the public meeting.

• Population data, projected rolls and potential future growth.

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• Why Greenloaning building can’t be used as a community resource whilst mothballed.

• School transport and safe walking routes.

• Nursery provision, nursery hours and out of school care provision.

• The capacity of Braco Primary School.

• The use of the village hall for school activities.

• The Community Council use of Greenloaning Primary School prior to mothballing and charges for using the school when it was open.

• Capacity at Braco Primary School to include the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare and future growth of the school to support the expanded catchment area.

• Greenloaning building should be retained for nursery and out of school care provision.

7.3 In summary, 141 letters were issued inviting comments and participation in the consultation. Three parents participated in the consultation to make their views known in writing, with two of those parents supporting the Council’s proposal.

7.4 Specific consultation meetings took place with pupils and staff at Braco Primary School and full details of these is attached as Appendix 3.

8. EDUCATION AUTHORITY RESPONSE TO WRITTEN AND ORAL REPRESENTATIONS

8.1 Clarification was sought regarding how the proposal fits in with the temporary decant arrangements being planned when Braco is being refurbished. . A timeline has been planned for the statutory consultation and this will be concluded well in advance of the decant arrangements starting. The outcome of the consultation will be reported back to the Lifelong Learning Committee for a final decision on whether or not to implement the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School. This proposal is not seeking views on whether or not to refurbish Braco Primary School as that decision has already been taken by Lifelong Learning Committee on 21 March 2018. It has been agreed that works are to be carried out at Braco Primary School and Braco Village Hall to improve the suitability of the school environment. These works will be carried out whether or not the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School is implemented.

8.2 Clarification was sought regarding pupils who live in Greenloaning catchment area where parents had already made a placing request for their child to attend Braco Primary School and whether these pupils will officially become part of Braco catchment area. If the decision is taken to implement the proposal, then Braco Primary School catchment area would be permanently extended to include all of Greenloaning and all pupils living in Greenloaning would then be eligible to be included as part of the new, larger Braco Primary School catchment area. Pupils from Greenloaning would be 20

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entitled to free home to school transport to attend Braco Primary School. It was noted that some parents currently transported their own children to Braco as they had attended as a result of placing requests. Parents were advised that should the proposal be implemented, they could complete a transport application form online to apply for home to school transport.

8.3 It was queried that a superior site has been abandoned at Greenloaning and whether a cost comparison had been undertaken for the works required at both schools and whether the future potential growth had been considered. This has been considered as part of the options appraisal. The capacity at both sites has been considered. Greenloaning Primary School currently has capacity for 49 pupils which is not sufficient for current and future pupil numbers from both Braco and Greenloaning. Capital funding of approximately £2.2m would be required to increase the capacity at Greenloaning Primary School which is broadly equivalent to the cost of improving Braco Primary School. The cost for the refurbishment of Braco Primary School is approximately £2.1m plus additional decant costs. However, as the costs are much the same, additional consideration has to be given to the fact that the majority of pupils live in or near Braco Primary School and would have to travel further to get to school than they currently do.

In addition, the option to close Braco and move pupils to an extended Greenloaning Primary School could potentially put the future of the village hall in Braco in jeopardy if the school no longer used and paid for the facilities, with a potential negative impact on both communities.

The future potential growth has been considered based on what is known now and will continue to be monitored as is the case for all schools.

8.4 Clarification was sought regarding when the decision was made, was the population looked at. Population data for under 5s was provided by the NHS for both Braco and Greenloaning communities and pupil numbers are projected to remain static over the next 4 years. Pupil projections in the catchment area do not indicate that the potential pupil numbers will increase in the future. There are low numbers of pre-school children over the next 4 years and no house building planned in the area. The demographics will continue to be monitored.

8.5 A query was raised why the community was not made aware of this meeting. Legislation sets out who must be consulted when a Council is consulting on a school proposal. The Council has specifically written to those statutory consultees who require to be notified of the proposal. Individual members of the wider community who are not parents of pupils who are attending an affected school are not statutory consultees. The Community Council is a statutory consultee representing the wider community and they were notified of the consultation. Community Councils would normally publish this information for the wider community through their communication channels/social media etc. Public notice adverts have been published in the local press and it has also been published on the Council’s website for interested members of the wider community.

Attendance at the public meeting is not the only way representations can be made and anyone wishing to express a view on the proposal, was able to do so online or by email

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or in writing by 5 October 2018. It was agreed that the Council would post an article on social media regarding the consultation following the public meeting.

8.6 Clarification was sought regarding why Greenloaning building can’t be used when it is mothballed and whether it can be used as a community resource. When a school is mothballed, it is a temporary ceasing of operations and the building must be able to be reinstated as a school, if required, at short notice. It is acknowledged that this is frustrating for the community not to be able to use the building when it is still mothballed. The Council has taken advice on this matter but there are risks to the Council and the Council’s ability to use the building at short notice in terms of any lease arrangements and, therefore, this is not considered appropriate.

In respect of whether the building could be temporarily retained as a school but available to the community to book for let access, this would need to be investigated further in terms of the requirements of the community and to see if it would be feasible to provide access to the building in terms of staffing costs, energy costs etc. It is not part of the statutory consultation proposal but could be looked at to see if costs are a factor and whether the building could be used in the evenings and weekends. There was, however, no pattern of previous regular community use by Greenloaning community.

8.7 A query was raised regarding school transport and what will be provided given the unsuitability of some of the roads used with different speeds and lack of safe walking routes, including why the speed limit has not been reduced and there being no safe area to cross. It is acknowledged that whilst almost all the children live within the statutory walking distance to Braco Primary School and to Greenloaning Primary School during the decant, one particular part of the road does not meet the national criteria for a safe walking route to school. Therefore, home to school transport would be provided for pupils from Greenloaning to attend Braco Primary School. The Council can investigate whether the speed limit could be reduced and pavement areas improved as part of the decant/refurbishment plans. However, it should be noted that it takes a very long time to implement a speed limit reduction.

8.8 A query was raised regarding whether there will be changes to the nursery hours as the nursery day is longer than the school day. To help working parents, will pre-school and school finish at the same time? As part of the work that is being undertaken on the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare to 1140 hours, the Early Years Team will be considering this further with parents. It is recognised that there are difficulties where nursery and school start and finish times are different. There is a national review of Out of School Care underway as part of the Scottish Government’s National Framework for Out of School Care and Perth and Kinross Council will be taking cognisance of national developments in this area. It is noted that the additional hours being delivered in nursery may have an impact on parents’ choices for nursery.

8.9 Clarification was sought regarding the capacity of Braco Primary School. . The capacity at Braco Primary School is 68 pupils based on the space standard of 2m2. At Census 2018, the school roll was 44 pupils and the future projections predict the highest roll will be 52 pupils. There is an expansion plan for nursery places and there is flexibility, if required, in terms of the space standard used to calculate capacity.

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8.10 A query was raised regarding whether the community is able to use the hall as a community facility and not just for school activities. The village hall is used for school activities during the school day as the village hall is owned by the Council and the Council has a management agreement with Braco Hall Committee for the village hall. The use of the hall is required by the school for lunches and PE, as well as some other activities. The refurbishment works to the hall, as part of the refurbishment of Braco Primary School, will benefit both communities. It is considered that the hall can be used by the community when not required during the school day for the school.

8.11 A query was raised regarding whether movement in/out of the community has been properly considered when projecting pupil numbers as the methodology does not show true figures regarding placing requests. If projections are based on those currently attending Braco and not the total number of pupils who could attend, the projections will be underestimated. A number of factors are considered when projecting pupil numbers. If pupils attend another school as the result of a placing request, it is most unlikely that they will return to their catchment school. Therefore, the base number for projections is based on the numbers of pupils who are actually in attendance along with consideration of NHS data for pre-school pupils and expected pupils from planned housebuilding.

8.12 Clarification was sought regarding where information will be shared about the refurbishment. . There will be a separate project to take the refurbishment forward. Pupils, staff, parents and wider community representatives will be involved as part of a User Reference Group for the project.

8.13 A comment was made that it is misleading to state that there is little evidence that Greenloaning Primary School building was well used by the community when it was operational. The Community Council held meetings in the school before it was mothballed and it has not been available for use since then. However, the Council charges for using the school when it was open were prohibitive for community groups to use the school. Therefore, it is not the case that the community did not want to use the school building; it was due the school being unaffordable for community groups to use and then being mothballed. The comment is noted. The charges levied for the use of Greenloaning Primary School building were in accordance with the Council approved charges for School Lets which apply to all schools in Perth and Kinross. School let charges are between £4.00 - £15.00 per hour for multiple concession bookings and between £15.00 - £30.00 per hour for single concession bookings. Community halls also charge for their use and typically charge between £3.85 – £30.45 per hour depending on venue, facility and peak/off peak times. Community halls charge a flat rate regardless of whether the booking is a single or multiple booking. Therefore, there is little difference in the level of charges and, in many cases, a school let will be cheaper for block bookings for junior community activities such as Brownies, Beavers etc.

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8.14 A comment was made that a number of parents choose to send their children to schools and nurseries outwith the local area but that may not always be the case and this pattern cannot be relied upon going forward when considering future pupil numbers. With improved childcare, new families may be encouraged into the area. The comment is noted.

8.15 A comment was made that there may not be enough space at Braco (even after the refurbishment) to also include the extra statutory early years childcare that will need to be provided from 2020. I would like PKC to consider using the present Greenloaning Primary site and premises to deliver future nursery education for the Braco and Greenloaning catchment area, and also before and after school childcare with some staffing provided by PKC. This would provide more space on the existing Braco site for the planned refurbishment for primary education and future growth should more children move to the area, particularly if out of school childcare was available. The Greenloaning Primary School site (next to A9) is also very central for parental drop-off and pick-up before and after school for children attending other schools locally, e.g. Blackford and Auchterarder, helping alleviate some of the current childcare pressures in the surrounding communities.

A comment was made that the related planned improvements for Braco Primary School potentially have insufficient nursery places to support a thriving school for the revised catchment area. The predictions re numbers may be wrong in that the impact of the additional nursery hours provision may well not be very predictable.

The Perth and Kinross Council Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Expansion Plan articulates the planned delivery models of 1140 hours ELC in Perth and Kinross and ensures that within localities there is a range of options for parents/carers to access funded ELC. This will include partner provider nurseries, childminders and a number of local authority settings offering a “mixed economy” of provision, including in some settings, all year round provision and longer opening hours. The ELC options available will be influenced by further consultation with parents/carers in localities and available resources.

The concern from parents/carers that there may be insufficient capacity at Braco to deliver 1140 hours ELC from 2020 has been taken into account in terms of planning for Early Learning and Childcare in the area.

Specifically, Braco Primary School catchment area forms part of the Auchterarder Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) community group. Each community group in Perth and

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Kinross will contain a “mixed economy” of provisions to deliver 1140 hours of ELC made up of local authority settings, partner providers and childminders. Within each ELC community, there will be a mix of providers, and a range of delivery models for families to choose from.

There are 203 nursery places within the Auchterarder ELC community group, comprising 121 local authority places and 82 partner provider places. The projected number of nursery places required within the Auchterarder ELC community group for 2019 is 189 and in 2020 is 187. There are also 11 childminders in this community group, which will increase the supply further.

Therefore, the overall demand for nursery places within Braco and Greenloaning can be met by the number of places available within the Auchterarder ELC community group assuming all eligible children access the service. This position would be no different to that where Greenloaning Primary School was continuing to operate as a school as it did not have a nursery class.

The refurbished Braco Primary School will have sufficient capacity to accommodate the projected number of pupils from Braco and Greenloaning. The highest projected occupancy of Braco Primary School is 77%. However, there is flexibility to increase the capacity of Braco Primary School, should it be required, within the planned refurbishment.

Therefore, there is no requirement for the Council to establish nursery provision at Greenloaning. There is sufficient capacity within Braco Primary School for the projected number of primary school pupils. The overall demand for nursery places within Braco and Greenloaning can be met by the number of places available within the Auchterarder ELC community group.

In respect of the request for before and after school care to be established at the Greenloaning site, there is a national review of Out of School Care underway as part of the Scottish Government’s National Framework for Out of School Care and Perth and Kinross Council will be taking cognisance of national developments in this area in considering future requirements.

The Childcare Strategy Team supports parents and volunteers to explore a range of childcare models and options within communities. Out of School Care is not a statutory service and it is not something which the Council would be able to set up or manage. The Childcare Strategy Team can provide support to set up a sustainable childcare service in terms of advice, guidance and training for committees or staff.

8.16 A comment was made that Greenloaning school site should be conserved for the local community especially in view of the dire need for before and after school care. The Council has received formal enquires from members of the community for the use of the building to benefit the community. The closure of the school would provide the community with an opportunity to use the building as a facility solely for community use. Greenloaning Primary School building is to be used as a decant facility for Braco Primary School during the refurbishment of Braco Primary School. If the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School is approved, the building will be surplus to the requirements of Education and Children’s Services when the

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refurbishment and decant is complete. This would provide an opportunity for consideration to be given to a community asset transfer. As there have been notes of interest in the school building should it close and subsequently be sold or leased, it is likely that an alternative use for the building could be found.

9. EDUCATION SCOTLAND REPORT

9.1 In accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, a report was produced by Education Scotland on the educational aspects of the proposal.

9.2 The purpose of the report is to provide an independent and impartial consideration of Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School.

9.3 Education Scotland visited Braco and Greenloaning Primary Schools the week commencing 22 October 2018 to speak to relevant consultees. Education Scotland did not attend the public meeting held on 11 September 2018 in connection with the Council’s proposals.

9.4 The Education Scotland report is reproduced in full (Appendix 4).

9.5 The report supports the proposal and is summarised below:

• The Council proposes to undertake refurbishment work at Braco Primary School and the village hall to improve the environment for learning.

• Children, parents and staff who spoke with HM Inspectors supported the proposal and agreed with the educational benefits outlined by the Council.

• The Council put forward a clear rationale for its proposal. Five alternative options were explored in detail, including an option to consider closing Braco Primary School and extend Greenloaning Primary School. This option would have required a greater number of children to travel from Braco to Greenloaning. The Council concluded appropriately that the permanent closure of Greenloaning Primary School was the only reasonable option.

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closure of the school would provide an opportunity to use the school building as a facility for community use.

9.6 Perth and Kinross Council’s Response to Education Scotland’s Report

The Council welcomes the report from Education Scotland and accepts its findings and notes that pupils, parents and staff have raised no objections to the Council’s proposal.

In response to the findings contained within the Education Scotland report, Perth and Kinross response is as follows:

9.6.1 In its final paper, the Council will need to provide a timescale for refurbishment of Braco Primary School and village hall and, if possible, further details on the work proposed. The programme for Braco Primary School has not been finalised, however it is currently anticipated that works will be completed by summer 2021. The works will include reconfiguration of the existing building to allow all teaching facilities to be on the ground floor. A small extension will be provided for ancillary services, this will include offices and meeting rooms. The whole building will be rewired and IT facilities upgraded. There will be new heating and lighting and the building will be redecorated throughout.

Work on the village hall began in 2018. The scope of the project includes redecoration, additional storage, creation of a disabled access and toilet refurbishment.

9.6.2 In its final paper, the Council will need to provide reassurance to parents on sufficient capacity for early years provision as parents were concerned that there might not be enough space at Braco Primary School to meet demand for local nursery provision. The Perth and Kinross Council Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Expansion Plan articulates the planned delivery models of 1140 hours ELC in Perth and Kinross and ensures that within localities there is a range of options for parents/carers to access funded ELC. This will include partner provider nurseries, childminders and a number of local authority settings offering a “mixed economy” of provision, including in some settings, all year round provision and longer opening hours. The ELC options available will be influenced by further consultation with parents/carers in localities and available resources.

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The concern from parents/carers appear to be that the additional hours being delivered at Braco Primary School as part of 1140 hours may increase the number of pupils choosing to attend the nursery. This assumption has been taken into account in terms of planning for Early Learning and Childcare in the area. Specifically, Braco Primary School catchment area forms part of the Auchterarder Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) community group. Each community group in Perth and Kinross will contain a “mixed economy” of provisions to deliver 1140 hours of ELC made up of local authority settings, partner providers and childminders. Within each ELC community, there will be a mix of providers, and a range of delivery models for families to choose from.

This position would be no different to that where Greenloaning Primary School was continuing to operate as a school as it did not have a nursery class.

9.6.3 The Council will also need to outline its plans to engage with the local community on options for future use of the Greenloaning Primary School building. Perth and Kinross Council will continue to engage with the local community regarding options for the future use of the Greenloaning Primary School building should the proposal be implemented. The future use of the Greenloaning Primary School building can only be considered following the conclusion of the decant arrangements which will be in place for the duration of the refurbishment of Braco Primary School.

If the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School is approved, Education and Children’s services would declare the building surplus to the requirements of Perth and Kinross Council. This would provide an opportunity for the building to be sold, leased or could present the local community with an opportunity for alternative uses of the building as part of a Community Asset Transfer. The Council has received enquiries from members of the community for the use of the building to benefit the community should it be closed.

10. RURAL SCHOOL – COMPLIANCE WITH SECTIONS 11A TO 13 OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

10.1 Greenloaning Primary School is an accessible rural school, and the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 therefore requires the Education Authority to have special regard to the following factors:

• The likely effect on the local community as a consequence of the proposal; and • The likely effect caused by different travelling arrangements that may be required.

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10.2 Effect on the Local Community

Community Impact – Loss of the school

10.2.1 The number of primary pupils has fallen leading to a drop in the numbers of children living in the catchment area. However, it also seems to be the case that families who do live within the catchment area are more mobile and exercising their right to choose other schools for their children.

10.2.2 The community did not suggest that the lack of a school would deter new families from moving into the area. It is clear that families living in the catchment area are travelling to access education as well as other services and so it appears to be an accepted part of life within the community. 10.2.3 In 2017, the Council closed schools in Calvine (Struan Primary School) and Enochdhu (Straloch Primary School) after they had been mothballed for 5 years. The evidence from both areas was that families were not deterred from moving into the area by having to travel to a neighbouring village. There are clear parallels with Greenloaning in that the communities already travelled to other local communities to access services. Neither school/community was as accessible as Greenloaning, which is close to Dunblane, Auchterarder and Crieff and has good road links. 10.2.4 The evidence indicates that there will be little effect on the sustainability of the community if the school were to close.

Community Impact - Use of the Building

10.2.5 Community events between Braco and Greenloaning are generally held within Braco Village Hall. Although the Community Council held meetings in Greenloaning Primary School prior to the school being mothballed, there is little evidence that the Greenloaning Primary School was well used by the wider community when it was operational.

10.2.6 There are no other facilities or services in Greenloaning other than the primary school. Although the school is described as important to the community, a large number of pupils attend alternative primary schools and the school has been mothballed due to lack of pupil numbers.

10.2.7 The Greenloaning community require to travel to access most services due to a lack of amenities within the village. This is facilitated by the fact that the village lies in close proximity to the main A9 trunk road. Many other communities in rural Perth and Kinross travel significantly further distances on more minor roads to access services.

10.2.8 The closure of the school would provide the community with an opportunity to use the building as a facility solely for community use. If the community do not use the school building upon closure, Braco Village Hall is approximately 2 miles from Greenloaning accessed by a main road. Closure of the school would therefore have little impact on the existing arrangements of the community.

10.2.9 This option supports the retention of Braco Village Hall for the use of both communities.

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10.2.10The Council has received enquiries from members of the community for the use of the building to benefit the community should it be closed. 10.3 Travel Arrangements

10.3.1 As Greenloaning Primary School is a rural school, special regard was paid to the rural school factors. These were considered fully in the Options Appraisal stage and were a focus of the pre-consultation with the community.

10.3.2 The travel distance from Greenloaning Primary School to Braco Primary School is approximately 2 miles (driving) with an approximate travel time of 4 minutes. The current travel arrangements have been in place since Greenloaning Primary School was mothballed in October 2016 and there are no known issues. There is a small number of pupils who are currently travelling from Greenloaning to Braco to attend school.

10.3.3 If Greenloaning Primary School was permanently closed, all children would be transported by the Council to Braco Primary School. The travel distance between Greenloaning and Braco is not far and in other more rural parts of Perth and Kinross it is not uncommon for pupils to travel greater distances on more minor roads to reach their school. Taking this option forward would not adversely affect the travel arrangements for current pupils and future pupils are unlikely to have hugely different travel arrangements.

10.3.4 Travelling for primary school education is common across Perth & Kinross because of the geography of the area. Prior to the mothballing of Greenloaning Primary School, a number of pupils from Greenloaning travelled to Braco Primary School by choice as the result of successful placing requests which is an indicator that many parents consider this to be a manageable travel distance for their children. 10.3.5 Staff in Perth and Kinross tend to travel throughout the area to work in schools. Many staff do not live within the catchment area of the school in which they work. A distance of 2 miles is a relatively short distance to travel in rural Perth and Kinross. It is therefore considered that there would be very limited impact on staff travelling arrangements. 10.3.6 As the school was not generally used regularly by the community, there should be no impact on travelling arrangements for any other users of the school’s facilities. In any event, the distance is relatively small and the local community is used to travelling to access other services such as GP and dental surgeries, shops and post offices. Braco Primary School is closer than most other facilities which the community require to access and community events are generally held in Braco Village Hall.

10.4 Environmental Impact

10.4.1 At the time Greenloaning Primary School was mothballed, 8 pupils were travelling to Braco Primary School from the Greenloaning Primary School catchment area as the result of successful placing requests, for which there is an environmental impact. This has been offset by the requirement to run Greenloaning Primary School as a mothballed building rather than as an operational building currently. This would continue to be offset if the school were closed.

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10.4.2 Pupils from Greenloaning catchment area would be transported by the Council to Braco Primary School which reduces environmental impact as they would travel together rather than separately with parents.

11. ALLEGED OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES

11.2 In the course of the consultation exercise, there were no areas identified by respondents as being inaccurate or omitted from the Proposal Paper during the consultation period.

12. COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 9(1) OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

(i) written representations received by the Authority (from any person) during the consultation period, (ii) oral representations made to it (by any person) at the public meeting, and (iii) Education Scotland’s report.

12.2 Following receipt of the Education Scotland report, three online representations and oral representations made at a public meeting held during the consultation period, officers reviewed the proposals.

12.5 The proposal was reviewed to consider whether any of the representations led to the Council to reconsider other options as being reasonable alternatives to the proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School. None of the representations led officers to conclude that any of these options should be reconsidered as reasonable alternatives.

12.6 The educational benefits were reviewed in respect of the Education Scotland report and representations made. 31

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12.7 There were no factors included in the Education Scotland report or representations made requiring any aspect of the educational benefits to be reconsidered.

12.8 There were no aspects included in the representations made which provided a different conclusion in relation to the rural school factors.

12.10 It is considered that the proposal addresses the issue of the falling and unsustainable school roll and remains the best solution to ensure the children and parents of Greenloaning Primary School will have access to an educational establishment which has a well planned and committed approach to taking forward improvement. There is sufficient capacity at Braco Primary School to fully meet the needs of the Greenloaning Primary School children without disrupting the learning of the Braco Primary School children.

13. OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE REPRESENTATIONS TO SCOTTISH MINISTERS IN TERMS OF SECTION 15(4) OF THE SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010

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13.5 Anyone wishing to make representation to Scottish Ministers during the three week period referred to above should do so by email to [email protected] or in writing to:

School Infrastructure Unit The Scottish Government Area 2A (South) Victoria Quay EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ

14. LEGAL ISSUES

14.1 The Council has complied in full with the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 throughout this statutory consultation.

In terms of Socio Economic Impact, the assessment identified that there may be a small disadvantage for some parents who would have further to travel when attending meetings or events in school. However, the identified benefits significantly outweigh any disadvantage. It is also not considered to be a significant disadvantage as parents are already travelling to access all other services outside Greenloaning village. In addition, a number of pupils from Greenloaning catchment area were already attending Braco Primary School as the result of successful placing requests prior to Greenloaning Primary School being mothballed. If the proposal is to be implemented, these pupils would receive free home to school transport provided by the Council to attend Braco Primary School rather than being transported separately and at a cost to their parents.

15. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS

15.1 There are no staffing implications relating to the proposal. Appropriate arrangements were made for staff at Greenloaning Primary School when the school was mothballed in October 2016 and these arrangements have been in place since then.

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16. CONCLUSION

16.1 The Council now has 4 broad options to consider, namely:

16.2 Education Scotland has identified that the proposal has clear educational benefits for young people. This includes the larger number and wider range of peers in Braco Primary School. This allows children to access learning with groups of learners at all stages within a primary school and to develop their social and interpersonal skills in a broader range of appropriate contexts.

16.3 If the Council adopts the proposal, it is understood that the educational benefits set out in the Proposal Paper would materialise.

16.4 The key points that have been highlighted during the consultation period are as follows:

• The report from Education Scotland acknowledges that the proposal has clear educational benefits for pupils.

This includes the larger number and wider range of peers in Braco Primary School, which allows children to access a learning environment where there are groups of learners at all stages of school, further allowing them to develop their social and interpersonal skills in a broader range of appropriate contexts.

• The Council, having had special regard to the rural school factors, does not consider that the proposal will adversely affect the sustainability of the community. Indeed, there may be a positive opportunity for the Greenloaning Primary School building to be used for community use if it ceases to be used as a school following the decant arrangements during the refurbishment of Braco Primary School.

• The Council’s proposals have been generally supported by parents/carers, staff and the wider community. In withdrawing the proposal, the Council would be failing to recognise or respond to there being no opposition from parents, staff and pupils towards the proposal.

17. RECOMMENDATIONS

• The provision of a school at Greenloaning Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter;

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• The pupils of Greenloaning Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Braco Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and • The delineated catchment area of Braco Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Greenloaning Primary School from 1 July 2019.

Sheena Devlin Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) 22 February 2019

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Appendix 1 Perth and Kinross Council Education & Children’s Services Statutory Consultation Public Meeting

Minute of meeting held on Tuesday 11 September 2018

7.00pm at Braco Village Hall, Braco

Present Councillor Callum Purves Vice Convener, Lifelong Learning Committee Sheena Devlin Executive Director, Education and Children’s Services Sharon Johnston Head of Education, Early Years & Primary Karen Robertson Service Manager, Business Services

In Attendance Councillor Murray Lyle Perth and Kinross Council Gareth Findlay Transformation Project Officer

Rose Harcus – Minute Perth and Kinross Council

15 members of the public.

1. Welcome and Introductions

Councillor Purves opened the meeting and welcomed the members of the public in attendance to the statutory consultation public meeting. Councillor Purves introduced himself and the Council officers to those in attendance.

2. Context for Statutory Consultation

Sheena Devlin explained the background and context for the School Estate Review. The review stems from the Council’s vision to make the best use of resources while optimising the educational experiences for pupils in Perth and Kinross. In November 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee agreed to include Greenloaning Primary School in the review. For ease of reading, questions and comments are detailed at section 5 and 6 respectively.

3. The Proposal

Sheena Devlin explained the consultation proposal to the attendees:

The Council proposes that:

Provision of a school at Greenloaning Primary School be permanently discontinued with effect from 28 June 2019, or as soon as possible thereafter;

That the pupils of Greenloaning Primary School catchment area permanently receive their education at Braco Primary School, from 1 July 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter; and

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That the delineated catchment area of Braco Primary School be permanently extended to subsume the whole delineated catchment area of Greenloaning Primary School from 1 July 2019.

4. Presentations

Sheena Devlin, Sharon Johnston and Karen Robertson gave presentations explaining the proposal in further detail.

Sheena Devlin outlined the process of the review so far. Communities had been encouraged to participate in the pre consultation work to inform the options appraisal using a wide variety of mechanisms, including a drop-in session, email as well as the availability of an online questionnaire. This information was presented to Lifelong Learning Committee on 21 March 2018, and it was approved that a statutory consultation be undertaken on the proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School and this meeting is part of that process.

Sheena Devlin explained that Greenloaning Primary School had been mothballed since October 2016 and provided information on the capacity of the school, pupil roll and projected pupil roll. The options appraisal had demonstrated that the option of closure was considered the only reasonable option and presents the best value for education purposes. Based on feedback gathered during the appraisal of options, the Council believes the closure of Greenloaning PS is likely to have minimal adverse impact on the community.

Karen Robertson then provided information on the possible impact on travel for both pupils and the community of Greenloaning. If Greenloaning Primary was to close permanently, pupils living in Greenloaning would be eligible for free home-to-school transport. It is considered that there would likely be no significant impact caused by different travel arrangements for the wider community as they already travel to access other services.

Sharon Johnston then outlined the main educational benefits of Greenloaning pupils attending Braco PS. Braco Primary School is to benefit from a significant upgrade and adaptations, enhancing the environment for learning for all pupils. Advantages include attending a school with a larger pupil roll, opportunities to work in learning groups across stages, allowing children to have a wide and varied range of learning experiences. The early years provision at Braco supports a seamless transition in Primary 1.

Sheena Devlin summarised the rationale for the proposal, highlighting a number of pupils attend alternative primary schools, the travel distance to Braco is not unreasonable, it is unlikely the school roll at Greenloaning will increase to a sustainable level and Braco Primary School can accommodate the projected and potential pupils from the combined catchment area.

Karen Robertson outlined the process of statutory consultation. She highlighted that the process is strictly determined by legislation to ensure thorough and robust processes across authorities in Scotland. The legislation sets out how and when the Council must undertake certain activities. The process started with the consideration by Lifelong Learning Committee on 21 March 2018 which granted permission to undertake a statutory consultation. Karen Robertson emphasised that no decisions regarding the permanent future of Greenloaning Primary School have been made. The Council must first seek the views of statutory consultees and report back to Committee with recommendations. 37

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The period of consultation will run from Monday 27 August to Friday 5 October which includes 30 school days. The purpose of this consultation is to seek representations from interested parties.

Anyone who wishes to make their views on the proposal known to the Council can do so, and there are a number of ways they can do this, whether online or in person. Any representations are minuted and then published so that anyone who cannot attend public meetings can see the views which have been expressed.

If the decision of Lifelong Learning Committee is to keep the school open then the Council cannot revisit the decision for 5 years. If the decision is made to close Greenloaning Primary School then the Council would notify Scottish Ministers by the end of March 2019. Ministers then have 8 weeks to consider the Council’s decision. Representations can be made in writing to Scottish Ministers during the first 3 weeks. If Ministers decide not to close the school then the decision could be referred to the School Closure Panel, who then have a further 16 weeks for consideration.

A discussion followed the presentations.

5. Questions

Q. How does this proposal fit in with the temporary decant arrangements being planned when Braco is being refurbished? A. A timeline has been planned for the statutory consultation and this will be concluded well in advance of the decant arrangements starting.

The outcome of the consultation will be reported back to the Lifelong Learning Committee for a final decision on whether or not to implement the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School. This proposal is not seeking views on whether or not to refurbish Braco Primary School as that decision has already been taken by Lifelong Learning Committee on 21 March 2018. It has been agreed that works are to be carried out at Braco Primary School and Braco Village Hall to improve the suitability of the school environment. These works will be carried out whether or not the proposal to permanently close Greenloaning Primary School is implemented.

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Q. If pupils live in Greenloaning catchment area and parents had already made a placing request for their child to attend Braco Primary School, will these pupils officially become part of Braco catchment area? A. If the decision is taken to implement the proposal, then Braco Primary School catchment area would be extended to include all of Greenloaning and all pupils living in Greenloaning would then be eligible to be included as part of the new, larger Braco Primary School catchment area. Pupils from Greenloaning would be entitled to free home to school transport to attend Braco Primary School. It was noted that some parents currently transported their own children to Braco as they had attended as a result of placing requests. Parents were advised that they could complete a transport application form online to apply for home to school transport.

Q. There is concern that a superior site has been abandoned at Greenloaning. Has a cost comparison been undertaken for the works required at both schools? What about the future potential growth? A. Yes, this has been considered as part of the options appraisal. The capacity at both sites has been considered. Greenloaning Primary School currently has capacity for 49 pupils which is not sufficient for current and future pupil numbers from both Braco and Greenloaning. Capital funding of approximately £2.2m would be required to increase the capacity at Greenloaning Primary School which is broadly equivalent to the cost of improving Braco Primary School. The cost for the refurbishment of Braco Primary School is approximately £2.1m plus additional decant costs. However, as the costs are much the same, additional consideration has to be given to the fact that the majority of pupils live in or near Braco Primary School and would have to travel further to get to school than they currently do.

In addition, the option to close Braco and move pupils to an extended Greenloaning Primary School could potentially put the future of the village hall in Braco in jeopardy. If the school no longer used and paid for the facilities, it is possible that the future of Braco Village Hall would be at risk which would have a negative impact on both communities.

The future potential growth has been considered based on what is known now and will continue to be monitored as is the case for all schools.

Q. When the decision was made was the population looked at? A. Population data for under 5s was provided by the NHS for both Braco and Greenloaning communities and pupil numbers are projected to remain static over the next 4 years. Pupil projections in the catchment area do not indicate that the potential pupil numbers will increase in the future. There are low numbers of pre-school children over the next 4 years and no house building planned in the area. The demographics will continue to be monitored.

Q. Why was the community not made aware of this meeting? A. Legislation sets out who must be consulted when a Council is consulting on a school proposal. The Council has specifically written to those statutory consultees who require to be notified of the proposal. Individual members of the wider community who are not parents of pupils who are attending an affected school are not statutory consultees. The Community Council is a statutory consultee representing the wider community and they have been notified of the consultation.

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Community Councils would normally publish this information for the wider community through their communication channels/social media etc. Public notice adverts have been published in the local press and it has also been published on the Council’s website for interested members of the wider community. It was stated that most people do not read the press or the Council’s website and were unaware of this meeting.

It was noted that attendance at the public meeting is not the only way representations can be made and anyone wishing to express a view on the proposal, can do online or by email or in writing by 5 October 2018. It was agreed that the Council would post an article on social media regarding the consultation.

Q. Why can’t Greenloaning building be used when it is mothballed? Can it be used as a community resource? A. When a school is mothballed, it is a temporary ceasing of operations and the building must be able to be reinstated as a school, if required, at short notice. It was acknowledged that this is frustrating for the community not to be able to use the building when it is still mothballed. The Council has taken advice on this matter but there are risks to the Council and the Council’s ability to use the building at short notice in terms of any lease arrangements and, therefore, this is not considered appropriate.

Discussion then focused on whether the building could be temporarily retained as a school but available to the community to book for let access. It was confirmed that this would need to be investigated further in terms of the requirements of the community and to see if it would be feasible to provide access to the building in terms of staffing costs, energy costs etc. It is not part of the statutory consultation proposal but will be looked at to see if costs are a factor and whether the building could be used in the evenings and weekends.

Q. In terms of school transport, what will be provided given the unsuitability of some of the roads used with different speeds and lack of safe walking routes? Why has the speed not been reduced, there is no safe area to cross? A. it is acknowledged that whilst almost all the children live within the statutory walking distance to Braco Primary School and to Greenloaning Primary School during the decant, one particular part of the road does not meet the national criteria for a safe walking route to school. Therefore, home to school transport would be provided. The Council can investigate whether the speed limit could be reduced and pavement areas improved as part of the decant/refurbishment plans. It was noted that it takes a very long time to implement a speed limit reduction.

Q. Will there be changes to the nursery hours? The nursery day is longer than the school day. To help working parents, will pre-school and school finish at the same time? A. As part of the work that is being undertaken on the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare to 1140 hours, the Early Years Team will be considering this further with parents. It is recognised that there are difficulties where nursery and school start and finish times are different. It was noted that the additional hours being delivered in nursery may have an impact on parents’ choices for nursery if options such as full-time was available in the local school, as many parents do not currently use the school nursery due to full-time placements not being available and lack of child care in the local area. This may increase the number of pupils attending nursery and subsequently moving into to P1 at Braco Primary School.

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Q. What is the capacity of Braco Primary School? A. The capacity at Braco Primary School is 68 pupils based on the space standard of 2m2. As at yesterday, the school roll was 44 pupils and the future projections predict the highest roll will be 56 pupils. There is an expansion plan for nursery places and there is flexibility, if required, in terms of the space standard used to calculate capacity.

Q. Are we able to use the hall as a community facility and not just for school activities? A. The village hall is used for school activities during the school day and the Council has a management agreement with Braco Hall Committee for the village hall. The use of the hall is required by the school for lunches and PE, as well as some other activities. The refurbishment works to the hall, as part of the refurbishment of Braco Primary School, will benefit both communities. It is considered that the hall can be used by the community when not required during the school day for the school.

Q. Is movement in/out of the community properly considered when projecting pupil numbers as the methodology does not show true figures regarding placing requests? If projections are based on those currently attending Braco and not the total number of pupils who could attend, the projections will be underestimated? A. A number of factors are considered when projecting pupil numbers. If pupils attend another school as the result of a placing request, it is most unlikely that they will return to their catchment school. Therefore, the base number for projections is based on the numbers of pupils who are actually in attendance along with consideration of NHS data for pre-school pupils and expected pupils from planned housebuilding.

Q. Where will information be shared about the refurbishment? A. There will be a separate project to take the refurbishment forward. Pupils, staff, parents and wider community representatives will be involved as part of a User Reference Group for the project.

6. Comments

It was stated by a member of the public that the Council’s statement that there is little evidence that Greenloaning Primary School building was well used by the community when it was operational, is misleading. The Community Council held meetings in the school before it was mothballed and it has not been available for use since then. However, the Council charges for using the school when it was open were prohibitive for community groups to use the school. Therefore, it is not the case that the community did not want to use the school building; it was due the school being unaffordable for community groups to use and then being mothballed.

It was stated by a member of the public that a number of parents choose to send their children to schools and nurseries outwith the local area but that may not always be the case and this pattern cannot be relied upon going forward when considering future pupil numbers. With improved childcare, new families may be encouraged into the area.

Closing Sheena Devlin thanked everyone for attending and for their contribution and closed the meeting.

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Appendix 2

Perth & Kinross Council

Education and Children’s Services

Greenloaning Primary School

Summary of Consultation Responses

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The statutory consultation on the proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School commenced on Monday 27 August 2018 and closed on Friday 5 October 2018.

Details of the proposal document were issued to the list of consultees contained within the Proposal Paper. 141 letters were issued with a link to the proposal paper and details of where and how to obtain a paper copy. The Proposal Paper was also published on the Council website. A Public Notice advert was placed in the local press on 27 August 2018.

Public Meeting

As part of the statutory consultation process, one public meeting was held on 11 September 2018 at Braco Village Hall, Braco.

Tuesday 11 September 2018 – Braco Village Hall Attended by 15 members of the public.

Questions and comments were mainly around:

• The decant arrangements for Braco Primary School to be refurbished. • Whether pupils living in Greenloaning would officially become part of Braco catchment area. • Whether a cost comparison was undertaken for works required at both sites as it is considered that Greenloaning is a superior site. • Why the wider communities were not made aware of this meeting. • Population data, projected rolls and potential future growth. • Why Greenloaning building can’t be used as a community resource whilst mothballed. • School transport and safe walking routes. • Nursery provision and out of school care provision. • The capacity of Braco Primary School. • The use of the village hall for school activities.

Response Forms

3 online response forms were received. 2 responses agreed with the Council’s proposal and 1 disagreed with the Council’s proposal.

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RESPONDENT GROUP NUMBER OF AGREE DISAGREE RESPONSES

Parents 3 2 1 Pupils - - - Staff - - - Elected Members - - - Parent Councils - - - Community Members - - - Grandparents - - - Trade Unions - - - Unknown - - -

Total 3 2 1

Comments Received on Response Forms as Submitted

• Although I agree with the proposals outlined, I am concerned that there may not be enough space at Braco (even after the refurbishment) to also include the extra statutory early years childcare that will need to be provided from 2020. With this in mind, I would like PKC to consider using the present Greenloaning Primary site and premises to deliver future nursery education for the Braco and Greenloaning catchment area, and also before and after school childcare with some staffing provided by PKC. This would provide more space on the existing Braco site for the planned refurbishment for primary education and future growth should more children move to the area, particularly if out of school childcare was available. The Greenloaning Primary School site (next to A9) is also very central for parental drop- off and pick-up before and after school for children attending other schools locally, e.g. Blackford and Auchterarder, helping eleviate some of the current childcare pressures in the surrounding communities.

• I disagree with the aspect of the related planned improvements for Braco school potentially having insufficient nursery places to support a thriving school for the revised catchment area. I believe that the predictions re. necessary numbers may be wrong in that the impact of the additional nursery hours provision may well not be very predictable.

• I believe the Greenloaning school site should be conserved for the local community especially in view of the dire need for before and after school care.

Written Representations

During the consultation period between 27 August 2018 and 5 October 2018, representations were invited from statutory consultees and interested parties. No written responses were received.

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Appendix 3 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

Pupil consultation, Braco Primary School

10 September 2018 Mark Neil, Service Manager (Inclusion)

Lorna Hamilton, Project Officer (Early Years & Primary)

Each class group had a short, age appropriate presentation on the proposal, which was to close Greenloaning permanently and have all children in the Greenloaning and Braco catchment areas attend Braco Primary School.

The pupils’ understanding of the proposal was checked, with discussion taking place to ensure that all pupils understood.

Pupils were then asked to indicate by sticker which of three emotions best described how they felt about the proposal. These are detailed below.

Pupils were also given the opportunity to ask questions/share thoughts and these are also summarised below, for each class group.

P1/2 (13 pupils)

10 2 1

Questions Why is everyone coming to Braco Primary School? It was explained that there were not many pupils at Greenloaning School, and then all the children had moved to other schools, leaving the school empty.

Why can’t we go to Greenloaning Primary School? It was explained that Braco had been chosen as it was a bigger school, and was big enough to take all the pupils.

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P3/4 (14 pupils)

1 12 1

Comments

“Excited because of new people to make friends with” “Sad because I live in Greenloaning and Braco is far away” “Sad because Braco is a nice small school” Questions

I don’t understand what that means?

MN explained that there won’t be much difference to how Braco school is now, because all children from the Greenloaning catchment area are already at Braco Primary School or other schools. We are just making it permanent.

P5/6/7 (16 pupils)

12 2 2

Comments

“I think closing down Greenloaning School would be a good idea because both schools are quite close so there isn’t much point in having Greenloaning School there.” “I think it might be sad, the children of Greenloaning Primary are moving from a school where they’ve been for so long but apart from that I think it is a good choice because Greenloaning has been around for so long.” “I think it would be good for Braco Primary School, but a bit sad that Greenloaning is closing because I went there.” “I don’t really mind what happens.” “It might spoil Greenloaning.” “It doesn’t really affect me or any other children. I honestly thought it had already been shut down.”

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“I think Greenloaning Primary School should maybe be turned into a High School for this area!”

Questions

Does this mean if you move to Greenloaning or Braco, you will go to Braco Primary School? Children who went to Greenloaning PS moved to another school because they didn’t want to attend Braco PS.

Yes, it will mean that it will be what is called the catchment school. Children that have moved to other schools have done so because their parents made that choice, which they are entitled to make.

If all children go to Braco, won’t there be too many children and the school won’t be big enough?

No, PKC do projections and know that Braco Primary School is not too small to accommodate the children in Braco and Greenloaning catchment area.

What will you do with Greenloaning Primary School when it permanently closes?

We do not know as we do not make this decision.

How will this affect Braco Primary School?

If someone buys a house in the Greenloaning catchment area, they will attend Braco Primary School and not Greenloaning Primary School. Nothing will change for the children already attending Braco Primary School.

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Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 Braco Primary School Staff meeting – 10 September 2018

In Attendance Mark Neil, Service Manager (Inclusion) (MN) Lorna Hamilton, Project Officer (Early Years & Primary) (LH) Jodie Watt, Business Assistant – note taker 6 members of staff

This meeting was held to allow staff the opportunity to receive the same information that will be shared at the public meeting on 11 September 2018. Staff had the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation.

MN and LH gave an overview of the reasons for the proposal, the current arrangements at both Braco and Greenloaning, the effect on the community, travelling arrangements and the educational benefits.

In addition, LH talked through the process for consultation, including the input from Education Scotland. The timeline for the different stages was shared.

Questions

Does entitlement to free school transport only commence when Greenloaning Primary School officially closes its doors?

As PKC have zoned the children from Greenloaning to Braco, we would provide transport if it is required, as the pupils are temporarily within the catchment area for Braco.

Is closing Greenloaning Primary School the only option?

The Lifelong Learning Committee were given options, but this is the proposal that the elected members decided should be progressed. The Proposal paper gives background to how this decision was reached.

Copies of consultation proposal response forms were left for staff to complete, either on an individual basis, and/or to be used for a collective staff response.

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Appendix 4

Report by Education Scotland addressing educational aspects of the proposal by Perth and Kinross Council to close Greenloaning Primary School.

1. Introduction

1.1 This report from Education Scotland has been prepared by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HM Inspectors) in accordance with the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”). The purpose of the report is to provide an independent and impartial consideration of Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal to close Greenloaning Primary School. Section 2 of the report sets out brief details of the consultation process. Section 3 of the report sets out HM Inspectors’ consideration of the educational aspects of the proposal, including significant views expressed by consultees. Section 4 summarises HM Inspectors’ overall view of the proposal. Upon receipt of this report, the Act requires the council to consider it and then prepare its final consultation report. The council’s final consultation report should include a copy of this report and must contain an explanation of how, in finalising the proposal, it has reviewed the initial proposal, including a summary of points raised during the consultation process and the council’s response to them. The council has to publish its final consultation report three weeks before it takes its final decision. Where a council is proposing to close a school, it needs to follow all statutory obligations set out in the 2010 Act, including notifying Ministers within six working days of making its final decision and explaining to consultees the opportunity they have to make representations to Ministers and the special provisions that apply to proposals to close a rural school.

1.2 HM Inspectors considered:

• the likely effects of the proposal for children and young people of the Greenloaning Primary School and Braco Primary School; any other users; children likely to become pupils within two years of the date of publication of the proposal paper; and other children and young people in the council area;

• any other likely effects of the proposal;

• how the council intends to minimise or avoid any adverse effects that may arise from the proposal; and

• the educational benefits the council believes will result from implementation of the proposal, and the council’s reasons for coming to these beliefs.

1.3 In preparing this report, HM Inspectors undertook the following activities:

• consideration of all relevant documentation provided by the council in relation to the proposal, specifically the educational benefits statement and related consultation documents, written and oral submissions from parents and others; and

• visits to the sites of Greenloaning Primary School and Braco Primary School, including discussion with relevant consultees.

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1.4 As the proposal will lead to the closure of a rural school, HM Inspectors also took account of the council’s consideration of any reasonable alternatives to the closure of Greenloaning Primary School, the likely effect on the local community and the likely effect of any different travelling arrangements of the proposed closure.

2. Consultation Process

2.1 Perth and Kinross Council undertook the consultation on its proposal with reference to the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

2.2 The council undertook its consultation from 27 August to 5 October 2018. An advertisement was placed in local newspapers and a letter containing a link to an electronic copy of the proposal document was sent to stakeholders. A public meeting held on 11 September 2018 was attended by 15 people. The council received three responses to its consultation of which two agreed with the proposal and one disagreed. Those who responded raised questions about the sufficiency of space for early years provision in the area and felt that the school building should be retained for community use.

3. Educational Aspects of Proposal

3.1 Greenloaning Primary School was officially mothballed in October 2016 when the school roll dropped to four pupils. Since then, children zoned for Greenloaning Primary School have attended Braco Primary School. Perth and Kinross Council proposes to permanently discontinue the provision of a primary school at Greenloaning with effect from June 2019. Thereafter, children would receive their primary education at Braco Primary School.

3.2 Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal has clear educational benefits. The council has concluded that there is no foreseeable prospect of an increased and stable pupil roll at Greenloaning Primary School. The council’s proposal would be consistent with its statutory duty to secure best value in the use of resources.

3.3 The school roll at Braco Primary School is currently 51 pupils. The school has capacity for 68. It currently has three primary classes and a nursery. Children attending Braco Primary School would benefit from learning and participation with their peers and have access to a broader range of teachers and other staff. Children would benefit from better transition experiences from nursery to primary stages. Staff would benefit from greater opportunities for professional dialogue at Braco Primary School including arrangements for peer support in assessment and moderation.

3.4 The council proposes to undertake refurbishment work at Braco Primary School and the village hall to improve the environment for learning. It has approved budget for this purpose. The council proposes to make temporary use of the Greenloaning Primary School building during these works. In its final paper, the council will need to provide details of its timescale for this work and, if possible, further details on the work proposed.

3.5 Children, parents and staff who spoke with HM Inspectors supported the proposal and agreed with the educational benefits outlined by the council. Parents were concerned about the lack of a safe walking route between Greenloaning and Braco Primary School and welcomed the council’s assurances that transport would be provided.

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Parents were concerned that there might not be enough space at Braco Primary School to meet demand for local nursery provision. The council will need to provide assurance on this point in its final paper.

3.6 As the proposal will lead to the closure of a rural school, HM Inspectors also took account of the council’s consideration of the factors to which it should have special regard.

3.7 Prior to the statutory consultation Perth and Kinross Council undertook a pre- consultation exercise to inform an options appraisal for the future of Greenloaning Primary School. The council put forward a clear rationale for its proposal. Five alternative options were explored in detail, including an option to consider closing Braco Primary School and extend Greenloaning Primary School. This option would have required a greater number of children to travel from Braco to Greenloaning. The council concluded appropriately that the permanent closure of Greenloaning Primary School was the only reasonable option.

3.8 The council considered the likely effects on the local community and concluded that there would be little effect on the sustainability of the community arising from the closure of Greenloaning Primary School. The council has indicated that the closure of the school would provide an opportunity to use the school building as a facility for community use. In its proposal paper, the council outlined potential opportunities to progress alternative uses for the school building, including community asset transfer, lease or sale of the building. In its final paper, the council will need to include details of how it will engage with the local community to explore future use of the school building.

3.9 The council considered the likely effect of different travel arrangements arising from its proposal and concluded reasonably that given the short distance of approximately two miles between the schools the impact of different travel arrangements would be limited. The council has undertaken to provide transport for children affected by its proposal.

4. Summary

Perth and Kinross Council’s proposal has clear educational benefits. It will enable the council to secure best value and make best use of educational resources. It will provide pupils with opportunities to learn and participate with their peers and improve children’s experiences of transition from nursery to primary stages. The proposal will enable staff to work together and share practice more easily. In its final paper, the council will need to provide a timescale for refurbishment of Braco Primary School and village hall and provide reassurance to parents on sufficient capacity for early years provision. The council will also need to outline its plans to engage with the local community on options for future use of the Greenloaning Primary School building.

HM Inspectors Education Scotland October 2018

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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

Lifelong Learning Committee

27 March 2019

School Estate Transformation Programme - Phase 2 Update

Report by Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (Report No. 19/94)

PURPOSE OF REPORT

This report provides an update on the position of Phase 2 of the School Estate Transformation Programme. This Phase consists of Cleish Primary School, Grandtully Primary School, Logierait Primary School, Pitlochry High School and Ruthvenfield Primary School.

This report also seeks approval for the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to proceed with a number of proposals for each of the schools as part of the review.

1. BACKGROUND / MAIN ISSUES

School Estate Transformation

1.1 The school estate is a significant and valuable asset to the communities of Perth and Kinross. Between 2018 and 2028, the Council will invest £178m in the school estate. This funding supports a wide range of projects including the replacement of Perth High School and Blairgowrie Recreation Centre. A substantial upgrade programme for primary and secondary schools is also being funded. In addition, the new £32.5m Bertha Park High School will open in August 2019.

1.2 The School Estate Strategy (Report No. 12/370 refers) sets out the Council’s aspirations for our schools, and in particular the high value we place on learning, through our vision for well designed, maintained and managed schools.

1.3 It is important, in light of the significant investment and cost associated with the school estate, that it is managed in an efficient and effective manner, and that the priorities which are addressed meet the wider strategic objectives of the Council and the needs of our communities.

1.4 There are significant challenges for managing the school estate over the coming years. These include changing demographics including population growth and movement, house building in certain locations, ongoing deterioration in building infrastructure, pressure on planned maintenance budgets, increasing revenue costs and the expansion of funded Early Learning and Childcare from 600 to 1140 hours annually.

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1.5 The Council’s Transformation Strategy 2015-2020 ‘Building Ambition’ and Organisational Development Framework were approved by Council on 1 July 2015 (Report No. 15/292 refers). Together they detail how Perth and Kinross Council will deliver transformation over the next five years. Accompanying the strategy is a programme of major reviews which are considered to be key drivers and enablers of transformation across the organisation. The School Estate Transformation Programme is one such review.

1.6 On 24 August 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee (Report No. 16/347 refers) approved principles to be used as a basis for the transformation review, ‘Securing the Future of the School Estate’.

The principles approved by Lifelong Learning Committee as a basis for the transformation review were as follows:

(i) schools should have an occupancy rate where possible greater than 60% of the capacity and ideally should be operating at over 80% capacity; (ii) every school should be rated as A or B ie at least satisfactory for condition and suitability; and (iii) life expired buildings1 within the school estate should be prioritised for replacement.

1.7 On 2 November 2016, Lifelong Learning Committee (Report No. 16/485 refers) approved the development of a number of options appraisals to consider in detail schools which were identified as requiring further consideration.

1.8 The development of the options appraisals is being phased. Phase 1 is close to completion. Phase 1 schools are:

• Abernyte Primary School; • Balhousie Primary School; • Blairingone Primary School; • Braco Primary School; • Forteviot Primary School; • Greenloaning Primary School; • Logiealmond Primary School; • Methven Primary School; • North Muirton Primary School; and • St Ninians Episcopal Primary School.

1.9 Work on Phase 2 options appraisals began in August 2018 in relation to the following schools:

• Cleish Primary School; • Grandtully Primary School; • Logierait Primary School; • Pitlochry High School (Secondary); and • Ruthvenfield Primary School.

1 Life expired buildings are defined as buildings which are uneconomic to maintain.

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2. CURRENT POSITION AND PROPOSALS

2.1 This report provides an update on the current position for each of the Phase 2 options appraisals. Proposals are also put forward for Grandtully Primary School, Logierait Primary School and Pitlochry High School (Secondary).

Cleish Primary School

2.2 Cleish Primary School was included in the School Estate Transformation Programme due to the condition and suitability rating of the school. The overall condition of the building is rated “C” (Poor – showing major defects and/or not operating adequately). The overall suitability of the building is rated “C” (Poor – showing major problems and/or not operating optimally).

2.3 The school roll at Census 2018 was 53 with an occupancy level of 83%.

2.4 A high level feasibility study has been undertaken on the school which will inform options for improving the suitability and condition of the school building. A more detailed analysis of the feasibility is still required, however there is a strong indication that it will be possible to create an affordable, improved learning environment for the pupils. The outcome of this more detailed analysis will be reported to this Committee on 22 May 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Grandtully Primary School

2.5 Grandtully Primary School was included in the schools to be considered as a result of being under-occupied at Census2 2015. The school had 11 pupils, out of a possible capacity of 43, with an occupancy level of 26% at that time.

2.6 The school roll has since increased and at Census 2018 was 27 pupils with an occupancy level of 63%.

2.7 The following options were identified for Grandtully Primary School as part of the options appraisal:

1. Grandtully Primary School catchment area is reviewed to determine whether this would increase the school roll sufficiently to ensure the future sustainability of the school. 2. Do nothing – school remains open. 3. Consider closing Grandtully Primary School – pupils move to a neighbouring school.

2.8 An informal community drop-in session took place on 21 November 2018. The informal community drop-in session was an opportunity to gather the views of the wider community on the options for the school and to understand the impact each of the options may have on the community.

2 An annual pupil census in publicly funded schools in Scotland is carried out every year for publication by the Scottish Government. This usually takes place in September.

Page 173 of 194 The wider community were also encouraged to suggest options that the council may not have considered. Online questionnaires were also available for the wider community to provide feedback.

2.9 The informal community drop-in session for Grandtully Primary School was attended by 111 people and 46 online questionnaires were completed. The detailed feedback has been shared through the council website.

The key themes that emerged from the feedback were as follows:

• Parents are satisfied with the quality of education at Grandtully Primary School; • Parents are satisfied that Grandtully Primary School meets the needs of children with additional support needs; • A catchment review would not deliver any benefits as a large proportion of catchment children do not attend the school; • The Parent Council felt that their efforts have led to an increased school roll; and • Parents of current pupils would not wish their children to attend Breadalbane Academy or Logierait Primary School.

2.10 Appendix A provides information on current, historic and projected pupil rolls and occupancy at Grandtully Primary School. As detailed previously the roll has more than doubled since 2015. This increase is due mainly to the number of placing requests into the school in recent years.

2.11 Appendix A also shows that the increased pupil roll at Grandtully Primary School is likely to be sustained. It is proposed therefore that Grandtully Primary School should remain open.

Logierait Primary School

2.12 Logierait Primary School was included in the School Estate Transformation Programme due to low occupancy. At Census 2015 the school roll was 17 out of a potential capacity of 50, with an occupancy level of 34%. The school roll at Census 2018 was 16 which is an occupancy level of 32%.

2.13 The following options were identified for Logierait Primary School as part of the options appraisal:

1. Logierait Primary School catchment area is reviewed to determine whether this would increase the school roll sufficiently to ensure the future sustainability of the school; 2. Do nothing – school remains open; 3. Consider closing Logierait Primary School – pupils move to a neighbouring school or schools.

2.14 An informal community drop-in session for Logierait Primary School was held on 27 November 2018. The informal community drop-in session was an opportunity to gather the views of the wider community on the options for the school and to understand the impact each of the options may have on the community.

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2.15 The wider community were also encouraged to suggest options that the Council may not have considered. Online questionnaires were also available for the wider community to provide feedback.

2.16 The informal community drop-in session for Logierait Primary School was attended by 76 people and 64 online questionnaires were completed. The detailed feedback has been shared through the Council’s website.

The key themes that emerged from the feedback were as follows:

• Parents are satisfied with the quality of education at Logierait Primary School; • Many respondees were of the view that a lack of childcare options, such as a nursery or after school club, impact on the school roll with parents choosing to send their children to schools where these options are available; and • The community were of the view that measures needed to be taken to increase the roll, as without this closure of the school in future years was more likely.

2.17 The most recent projections indicate that there may be sufficient ante pre- school and pre-school children to establish a small early learning and childcare provision at Logierait Primary School.

2.18 Logierait Primary School catchment area forms part of an Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Community Group which includes Blair Atholl, Kinloch Rannoch, Pitlochry and Royal School of Dunkeld. Each community group in Perth and Kinross will contain a “mixed economy” of provisions to deliver 1140 hours of ELC made up of local authority settings, partner providers and childminders. Within each ELC community, there will be a mix of providers, and a range of delivery models for families to choose from.

2.19 One of the principles of the ELC expansion plan for extended local authority provision is to use existing settings where possible. Therefore, at Lifelong Learning Committee on 16 May 2018 (Report No. 18/156 refers) it was proposed that extended provision for this ELC community group would be delivered through providing parents and carers extended day, extended year and outdoor provision at Pitlochry Primary School nursery. There is now an opportunity to consider whether some of that provision could be delivered at Logierait Primary School.

2.20 There is a legal requirement to explore all feasible alternatives prior to considering closure of a rural school. It is therefore proposed that the School Estate Transformation team work with ELC colleagues to determine the feasibility and implications of establishing ELC provision at Logierait Primary School. Any proposals will have to be considered in relation to the overall ELC provision, delivery models, costs and demand within this ELC community group.

2.21 A feasibility study will be required which will establish whether ELC could be delivered from the school building and the cost of any alterations.

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2.22 Consultation would also take place with potential parents/carers of children who might attend such a provision to establish the sustainability of demand for ELC provision at Logierait Primary School.

2.23 The potential establishment of ELC provision at Logierait Primary School will be included in the final options appraisal to be presented to Lifelong Learning Committee on 4 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Pitlochry High School

2.24 Pitlochry High School (Secondary) was included in the School Estate Transformation Programme due to low occupancy and the condition rating of the school.

2.25 The occupancy of the school at Census 2015 was 61% (144 pupils). The occupancy of the school was 47% (112 pupils) at Census 2018. The decrease is due to smaller numbers of secondary age pupils living in the catchment area.

2.26 It should be noted that, based on pupils attending primary school, the occupancy of Pitlochry High School (Secondary) is likely to rise from 2021/22 and is projected to reach 56% (133 pupils) by 2024/25.

2.27 There has been ongoing investment in the Pitlochry High School site/building with a view to improving the condition of the building. As a result of this investment, the site/building has now been improved and is now rated as condition ‘B’.

2.28 The following options were identified for Pitlochry High School as part of the options appraisal:

1. Improve condition rating of school. 2. Improve condition rating of school and include S5 & S6 at Pitlochry High School to increase occupancy level. 3. Improve condition rating of school and extend catchment area to increase occupancy level. 4. S4 pupils move to Breadalbane Academy and review use of Pitlochry High School building. 5. Close Pitlochry High School and pupils move to Breadalbane Academy.

2.29 As a first step in considering the options, community engagement has been carried out with six informal community drop-in sessions taking place. The informal community drop-in sessions were an opportunity to gather the views of the wider community on the options for each school and to understand the impact each of the options may have on the community.

2.30 The wider community were also encouraged to suggest options that the Council may not have considered. Online questionnaires were also available for the wider community to provide feedback.

Page 176 of 194 2.31 The informal community drop-in sessions were attended by 413 people and 205 online questionnaires were completed.

2.32 A feedback session was also held with S5/S6 pupils who attend Breadalbane Academy from the Pitlochry area.

2.33 The detailed feedback has been shared through the Council’s website and the key themes that emerged from all of the feedback options were as follows:

• Parents of past and present pupils are satisfied with the education at Pitlochry High School; • The school, and wider, community are of the view that the school needs investment and that this would be positive for the pupils and community; • There was a suggestion that there should be a new building which includes community/leisure facilties; • There is no support for closure of the secondary school and closure would have a detrimental impact on the town and the community; • There is no support for pupils moving to Breadalbane Academy in S4; • There is a perception amongst some people that moving S4 to Breadalbane Academy will result in the eventual closure of Pitlochry High School; • People think that more pupils will stay on in 5th and 6th year if they remain at Pitlochry High School; and • The bus journey has a negative impact on S5/S6 pupils.

2.34 There was strong support from the community to include S5 and S6 pupils at Pitlochry High School (option 2). There was a view that this will benefit the pupils who currently have to travel to and integrate at Breadalbane Academy at a critical point in their education.

2.35 As the options which relate to S4, S5 and S6 (options 2 and 4), known as the senior phase, affect Breadalbane Academy as well as Pitlochry High School, it is proposed that these be developed further as part of a wider review of the delivery of senior phase education across Highland Perthshire. The wider review will be carried out having regard to the principle that neither school will experience any educational detriment. It will consider factors such as enhanced transition, virtual and digital learning, working with other partners and building stronger relationships between both schools.

2.36 It is proposed that any potential catchment review for Pitlochry High School (option 3) should not take place, if at all, until the outcome of this wider review of senior phase education is known. This is because the potential impact of any catchment review cannot be considered without first knowing the outcome of the wider review.

2.37 Models for senior phase education (S4, S5 and S6) in Highland Perthshire will be developed for consideration and it is proposed that staff, pupils and parents will be fully engaged in this process. It is anticipated that the outcome of this process will be reported to this Committee on 4 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Page 177 of 194 2.38 The aim of the wider review will be to develop a model of senior phase education for S4, S5 and S6 which will deliver educational benefits for all pupils across Highland Perthshire and possibly the wider community in working with other partners. Therefore the option to close Pitlochry High School should be removed from the options appraisal. There is a presumption against closure of rural schools, and as a potential alternative has been identified, it would not be appropriate to continue to consider closure of Pitlochry High School.

Ruthvenfield Primary School

2.39 The school was included in the School Estate Transformation Programme due to the condition rating of the school. The overall condition of the building is rated “C” (Poor – showing major defects and/or not operating adequately). The overall suitability of the building is rated “B” (Satisfactory – Performing well but with minor problems).

2.40 At Census 2015 the school roll was 61 with an occupancy level of 67%. The school roll at Census 2018 was 58 which is an occupancy level of 64%.

2.41 A high level feasibility study has been undertaken on the school which has informed options for improving the suitability and condition of the school building at Ruthvenfield. Detailed analysis of the feasibility is now required.

2.42 Detailed analysis of house building in the Ruthvenfield Primary School catchment area and surrounding areas, which includes the strategic sites at Almond Valley and Perth West, also has to be considered in relation to future plans for the school.

2.43 The outcome of the detailed analysis of the feasibility study in parallel with further analysis of house building will be reported to this committee on 4 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

3. CONCLUSION

This provides an update in relation to all schools within Phase 2 of the School Estate Transformation Programme.

3.1 It is recommended that the Committee:

Cleish Primary School

(i) Notes the current status of the Cleish Primary School options appraisal; (ii) Instructs the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to submit the findings of the detailed feasibility study to Lifelong Learning Committee on 22 May 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Grandtully Primary School

(iii) Approves that education provision continues at Grandtully Primary School;

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Logierait Primary School

(iv) Notes the proposal to review provision for the ELC community group associated with Logierait Primary School as part of the options appraisal for Logierait Primary School; (v) Instructs the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to submit the completed options appraisal to Lifelong Learning Committee on 4 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter;

Pitlochry High School

(vi) Notes that the condition of the building at Pitlochry High School has now been graded as condition ‘B’ due to works that have been carried out recently; (vii) Notes the proposal to review the delivery of senior phase education for S4, S5 and S6 across Highland Perthshire as part of the options appraisal; (viii) Approves that the closure option for Pitlochry High School is removed from the options appraisal; and (ix) Instructs the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to report to Lifelong Learning Committee on 4 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter on proposals for the delivery of senior phase education in Highland Perthshire.

Ruthvenfield Primary School

(x) Notes the current status of the Ruthvenfield Primary School options appraisal; (xi) Instructs the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to submit the findings of the detailed feasibility study to Lifelong Learning Committee on 4 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Author(s) Name Designation Contact Details Carol Taylor Service Manager [email protected] (Resource Management) 01738 475000

Approved Name Designation Date Sheena Devlin Executive Director 14/03/19 (Education and Children’s Services)

Page 179 of 194 ANNEX

1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION

1. Strategic Implications

Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement

1.1 The proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities:

(i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations.

This report relates to all of these objectives.

Corporate Plan

This report relates to all of these Objectives.

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1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Policy Framework in respect of the following key policy area:

• Maximising Resources

2. Resource Implications

Financial

2.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report other than those reported within the body of the main report.

Workforce

2.2 As a result of this report there will be workforce/resource implications for the School Estate Transformation Project Team.

3. Assessments

Equality Impact Assessment

3.1.1 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome and has been assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals.

3.2.1 However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. This is because these matters relate to the School Estate Strategy which is being considered under the Act as part of The

Sustainability

3.3 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. In terms of the Climate Change Act, the Council has a general duty to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and the community, environmental and economic impacts of its actions. The information contained within this report has been considered under the Act. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report.

Page 181 of 194 Legal and Governance

3.4 The Head of Legal and Governance Services has been consulted in the preparation of this report.

Risk

3.5 A risk log is being maintained for the School Estate Transformation Programme.

4. Consultation

Internal

4.1 The Head of Legal and Governance Services, Head of Property Services, Head of Corporate Asset Management and Head of Finance have been consulted in the preparation of this report.

External

4.2 This report details the consultation which has been carried out to date in regards to the development of this report.

5. Communication

5.1 A communication plan has been prepared which will support effective communication and engagement with stakeholders, and to promote the anticipated efficiencies and benefits of this Transformation Project as well as the links to the wider Transformation Programme. A range of methods will be used to consult with internal and external stakeholders as identified in the draft communication plan, such as meetings, briefings, community consultation and focus groups.

2. BACKGROUND PAPERS

No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to any material extent in preparing the above report.

3. APPENDICES

Appendix A – Grandtully Primary School

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APPENDIX A

Grandtully Primary School

1 Current Position

The school roll at Grandtully Primary School has increased since Census 2015. The roll is currently 281 pupils with an occupancy level of 65%.

11 pupils that attend the school live within the Grandtully Primary School catchment area. 17 pupils live out with the catchment area.

15 pupils that live in the Grandtully Primary School catchment area attend Breadalbane Academy (Primary).

2 Pupil Numbers

The methodology used for pupil projections allows Education and Children’s Services to project a detailed year by year analysis for each school catchment. The methodology applied for projecting future P1 intakes uses aggregated General Practitioner (GP) registration data. This anonymised data, sourced from the NHS, reflects children registered with a GP within specific school catchment areas based on address.

P1 pupils included within the data received from the NHS do not always decide to attend their catchment school. This is primarily because parents make placing requests to other schools or elect to send their child to a denominational school. As a result of these movements the P1 data is adjusted taking into consideration the movement of pupils in previous years. The adjusted data is the primary source of information for forward planning.

The projected school rolls also reflect house building, through referring to the Housing Land Audit (HLA)2.

It should be noted that due to the fluid nature of pupil movements within the estate, for a number of different reasons, predicting future years’ school rolls will not be exact. It is however accurate enough to provide valuable information on forward planning for the school estate.

3 Historic/Current School Roll

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Pupils in School 14 11 11 17 27 28 Maximum Pupils 43 43 43 43 43 43 Occupancy 33% 26% 26% 40% 63% 65% Table 1

1 As at 14 March 2019 2 The HLA is produced by Planning on an annual basis and details potential house build out rates across Perth and Kinross.

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4 Projected Future School Roll

2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Pupils in School* 28 28 26 21 Maximum Pupils 43 43 43 43 Occupancy 65% 65% 60% 49% Table 2

*Approximately 1 additional primary pupil per year over the next 7 years may attend the school due to housebuilding.

Table 2 details the projected future school roll based on the methodology explained in section 2 of this Appendix.

In addition, at the time of the informal community drop-in session the Parent Council provided figures on what they expected the future school roll would be.

These figures include placing requests who may wish to attend the school in future years. These figures have not been included in table 2. This is because there is no certainty whether these children will attend the school or whether the placing requests would be granted if received.

The future school roll projected by the Parent Council is as follows;

2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Pupils in School 28 32 31 26 Maximum Pupils 43 43 43 43 Occupancy 65% 74% 72% 60% Table 3

5 Catchment Pupils/Placing Requests

Historically there has been a significant number of pupils living in the Grandtully Primary School catchment area who do not attend their catchment school. The majority of these pupils attend Breadalbane Academy (Primary).

In recent years there has been a number of pupils attending Grandtully Primary School on placing requests. The majority of these pupils live in the Breadalbane Academy (Primary) catchment area.

The following table details historic placing requests in/out of Grandtully Primary School;

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Placing 1 4 2 8 4 5 Requests In Placing 4 5 2 7 2 6 Requests Out Table 4

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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL

Lifelong Learning Committee

27 March 2019

Reserved Places in Schools 2019/2020 and Maximising Capacities Update

Report by Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (Report No. 19/95)

PURPOSE OF REPORT This report proposes the number of reserved places for session 2019/2020, within primary and secondary schools, in accordance with Section 28A of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended. This allows places to be protected for local children to attend their catchment school. This report also informs Committee where primary class capacities have been maximised during school session 2018/2019.

1. BACKGROUND/MAIN ISSUES

1.1 Reserved places refer to the number of places which, in the opinion of the Education Authority, are reasonably required to accommodate pupils likely to become resident within the catchment area of a school during the period of considering placing requests and during that school year.

1.2 This allows the Education Authority to calculate and retain a certain number of places for children from families likely to move into the catchment area of schools which have classes with a limited number of spaces in some or all stages. The legislation allows the Education Authority to refuse some or all placing requests made for a particular school on the grounds that children from within the catchment area may become resident during the year.

Places are reserved to try to accommodate these children, where possible, in their catchment school, allowing the Education Authority to take positive steps to protect places in schools for catchment pupils.

1.3 The strategy for the implementation of reserved places within Perth and Kinross Council was approved by Committee in March 1997 for session 1997/98 (Report No 97/145 refers). Further annual reports have been approved for each subsequent session.

1.4 The criteria used for the number of reserved places within schools for the current session is now:

a) Schools which have classes with a limited number of spaces at specific stages; b) Historical or anticipated patterns of migration, information about known movements of families into (or out of) an area and any current residential development in the area; and c) The possible pattern of movement indicated by the current session’s trends and roll projections for 2019/2020.

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The scheme needs to be justifiable and operated fairly, particularly as parents can appeal to the relevant Education Appeal Committee and thereafter to the Sheriff Court.

2. OPERATION OF CRITERIA 2019/2020

2.1 The operation of the criteria for session 2018/2019, to date, has ensured that only 3 primary pupils have moved into an area and have been unable to attend their catchment primary school as their first choice of school. In respect of secondary schools, no secondary school pupil has moved into an area and has been unable to be granted a place in their catchment secondary school.

2.2 The application of reserved places is most commonly utilised during the process for managing the new P1 and S1 intakes each year where parents may choose to have their child attend a school other than their catchment school. For session 2018/2019, 260 placing requests were made for P1 places in primary schools and 197 of these requests were granted. Nine of the refusals related to children who live outwith Perth and Kinross. This represents a positive outcome for 76% of P1 parents who made a placing request for their child to attend the primary school of their choice.

In respect of S1 places, 128 placing requests were submitted and 97 of these requests were granted. Twenty eight of the refusals related to children who live outwith Perth and Kinross. This represents a positive outcome for 76% of parents who made a placing request for their child to attend the secondary school of their choice.

2.3 The historical pattern of migration continues to be monitored to ensure as accurate information as possible when considering the use of reserved places.

2.4 For session 2019/2020 there are some fluctuations in the reserved places from the previous school session. There are a number of schools whose reserved places have been altered in light of experience in administering placements throughout session 2018/2019. In addition, where additional building work has been undertaken, this can lead to the reduction in the requirement for reserved places. Reserved places may be increased where residential build has taken place or is planned within school catchment areas. Reserved places have also been altered where school rolls have increased or decreased.

2.5 The total number of reserved places proposed for 2019/2020 has been increased to reflect the factors outlined in 2.4. Reserved places fluctuate on an annual basis and the total number of reserved places each year has varied between 92 and 703 since their introduction in 1997.

3. PROPOSALS

3.1 It is proposed that the reserved places required for session 2019/2020 are accepted as outlined in Appendix 1. The Executive Director (Education and

Page 186 of 194 Children’s Services) will publish the Reserved Places in Schools 2019/2020 and implement this in full for session 2019/2020.

3.2 In order to provide accurate and clear information, Education and Children’s Services publishes the reserved places required on Perth and Kinross Council’s website. The published information shows the reserved places at each individual stage for each school. This format allows parents/carers to clearly understand how many reserved places are being held at each/any stage in the school each session.

4. MAXIMISING CAPACITIES

4.1 On 16 May 2018, the Lifelong Learning Committee approved the report Maximising Primary School Capacities (Report No 18/158 refers). This report gave approval for the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to apply the Scottish Government space capacity metric of 1.7m2 per pupil for primary schools, if required, to accommodate children living in the catchment area. This provides an additional mechanism to manage the accommodation available in primary schools where there are challenges in accommodating catchment pupils. It also ensures that teaching staffing budgets are not exceeded while providing pupils with the best opportunity to attend their catchment school.

4.2 This report also agreed that the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) would provide Committee with an annual update on the use of this variation within primary schools.

4.3 During session 2018/2019, the capacity of primary school classrooms was temporarily maximised at the following primary schools to allow catchment pupils to be admitted:

• Community School of Auchterarder (Primary) • Kinnoull Primary School • RDM Primary School • St Dominic’s RC Primary School • Viewlands Primary School

4.4 At the point of this Committee it is too early to report whether it will be necessary to apply the space capacity metric of 1.7m2 to any classes for session 2019/2020. The allocation of places for the new school session will be concluded by 30 April 2019 in line with the statutory timescales and will be reported to Lifelong Learning Committee as part of the next annual Reserved Places in School report.

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 The reserved places procedure allows children moving into a catchment area of a school a greater likelihood of attending that school. Reliable historical and anticipated patterns have been established as accurate information is collected.

Page 187 of 194 The annual revision of the reserved places procedure ensures that Education and Children’s Services stringently manage pupil intakes for each school ensuring, where possible, that local children can attend their catchment school.

5.2 It is recommended that the Committee:

(i) Approves the number of reserved places, within schools which have classes with a limited number of spaces at specific stages, for session 2019/2020 as shown in Appendix 1; (ii) Instructs the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to revise these numbers each year to reflect historical or anticipated patterns of migration, information about known movements of families into (or out of) an area, and any current residential development; (iii) Delegates responsibility to the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to keep under review the reserved places for all schools in light of any building work in schools and in light of residential development; and (iv) Notes the primary schools where class capacities have been maximised during session 2018/2019.

Author(s) Name Designation Contact Details Karen Robertson Service Manager Tel: 01738 475000 (Business Services) [email protected]

Approved Name Designation Date Sheena Devlin Executive Director 14/03/19 (Education and Children’s Services)

Page 188 of 194 ANNEX

1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION

Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial No Workforce No Asset Management (land, property, IST) No Assessments Equality Impact Assessment No Strategic Environmental Assessment No Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) No Legal and Governance Yes Risk No Consultation Internal Yes External No Communication Communications Plan Yes

1. Strategic Implications

Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement

1.1 This section should set out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities:

This report relates to Objective No (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens.

Corporate Plan

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This report relates to Objective No (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens.

1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Policy Framework in respect of the following key policy area:

• Change and Improvement

2. Resource Implications

Financial

2.1 N/A

Workforce

2.2 N/A

Asset Management (land, property, IT)

2.3 N/A

3. Assessments

Equality Impact Assessment

The reserved places procedure presented in this report was considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome:

Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA

Strategic Environmental Assessment

3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals.

However, no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and is therefore exempt.

Sustainability

3.3 N/A

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Legal and Governance

3.4 The Head of Legal and Governance has been consulted in relation to the reserved places scheme. The scheme complies with the legal framework in relation to reserved places set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended.

Risk

3.5 N/A

4. Consultation

Internal

4.1 Headteachers have been consulted in the preparation of the report.

External

4.2 N/A

5. Communication

5.1 The Reserved Places for 2019/2020 will be published on the Council website to ensure parents and schools are able to easily access the information. This report also forms part of the appeal information provided to parents where a placing request has been unsuccessful.

2. BACKGROUND PAPERS

3. APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Reserved Places 2019/2020

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Page 192 of 194 APPENDIX 1 8

Reserved Reserved Places Places Required Primary Schools 2018/2019 2019/2020 Reserved Places Breakdown 2019/2020 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P1/2 P2/3 P3/4 P4/5 P5/6 P6/7 P1 - P3 P4 - P6 P4 - P7 P2 - P4 P1 - P4 P5 - P7 P3 - P5 Abernethy Primary School 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 Alyth Primary School 4 0 Arngask Primary School 6 3 1 1 1 Auchtergaven Primary School 10 14 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Balbeggie Primary School 0 4 2 1 1 Balhousie Primary School 6 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 Blackford Primary School 6 0 Braco Primary School 0 6 2 2 2 Breadalbane Primary School 14 8 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 Burrelton Primary School 2 0 Cleish Primary School 6 6 2 2 2 Community School of Auchterarder 28 28 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Comrie Primary School 2 0 Coupar Angus Primary School 0 1 1 Craigie Primary School 10 20 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 Crieff Primary School 14 16 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 Dunbarney Primary School 14 14 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Dunning Primary School 10 5 1 1 1 1 1 Errol Primary School 4 8 2 2 2 2 Forgandenny Primary School 6 6 2 2 2 Fossoway Primary School 10 8 2 2 2 2 Goodlyburn Primary School 12 14 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Grandtully Primary School 0 2 2 Inchture Primary School 8 10 2 2 2 2 2 Inchview Primary School 14 28 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Invergowrie Primary School 6 16 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 Kenmore Primary School 2 0 Kinnoull Primary School 12 14 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Kinross Primary School 22 36 6 4 4 4 6 6 6 Kirkmichael Primary School 2 3 1 1 1 Letham Primary School 10 2 2 Longforgan Primary School 6 6 2 2 2 Luncarty Primary School 0 8 2 2 2 2 Madderty Primary School 5 6 2 2 2 Methven Primary School 6 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 Milnathort Primary School 14 14 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Moncreiffe Primary School 2 4 2 2 Murthly Primary School 2 1 1 Muthill Primary School 6 6 2 2 2 Newhill Primary School 6 6 4 2 North Muirton Primary School 8 21 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Oakbank Primary School 20 28 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Our Lady's RC Primary School 11 12 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 Pitcairn Primary School 2 10 2 2 2 2 2 Pitlochry Primary School 8 4 2 2 Portmoak Primary School 10 10 2 2 2 2 2 Rattray Primary School 4 4 2 2 Robert Douglas Memorial School 28 28 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Ruthvenfield Primary School 4 9 3 3 3 Stanley Primary School 8 8 2 2 2 2 St John's Academy (Primary) 14 14 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 St Madoes Primary School 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 St Stephen's RC Primary School 1 0 Tulloch Primary School 22 28 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Page 193 of 194 APPENDIX 1 Viewlands Primary School 18 24 4 2 2 4 4 4 4 Total 469 571

Total Reserved Reserved Places Places Required Secondary Schools 2018/2019 2019/2020 Reserved Places Breakdown 2019/2020 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 Bertha Park High School N/A 20 10 10 Blairgowrie High School 4 0 Breadalbane Academy 8 8 4 4 Community School of Auchterarder 8 8 4 4 Crieff High School 4 0 Kinross High School 20 31 15 10 3 3 Perth Academy 8 12 4 4 4 Perth Grammar School 10 12 4 4 4 Perth High School 8 8 4 4 St John's RC Academy (Secondary) 4 0 Total 74 99

Primary School 469 571 Secondary School 74 99 Total 543 670

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