*EDINBVRGH* Item no THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
Outcome of the Consultation Process for the Proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School Affecting Clermiston and East Craigs Primary Schools and Craigmount and The Royal High Schools
The City of Edinburgh Council 17 December 2009
I Purpose of report
1.I The purpose of this report is to advise on the outcome of the statutory consultation exercise in respect of the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School and to undertake associated primary and secondary school catchment changes. The report responds to the main issues raised during the consultation and provides recommendations on how to proceed.
2 Summary
2.1 The Council conducted a statutory consultation in autumn 2009 on a proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School. Opposition to the proposed closure was expressed during the consultation process through deputations to Committee, by written representations and verbally at the two public meetings. The issues raised by respondents are addressed in detail in the main report and covered the following areas:
e Concern that the closure of Drumbrae could leave the area short of capacity in the future; e A view that Drumbrae Primary School is considered to be in good condition and that there is no justification for closure; e The school is a well used community facility outside of school hours; e Feelings that pupils at Drumbrae could be disadvantaged by transferring to a school where class sizes will be larger and where pupils may not receive the same level of teaching support; e A concern that Clermiston is too far away and that potential routes are unsafe; e Concern that pupils at the two receiving schools could be disadvantaged by an inflow of pupils from Drumbrae leading to larger rolls; and e Concern about pressure on school facilities in the receiving schools.
1 2.2 After taking account of the representations made and the issues arising, the Director of Children and Families still considers that the case for closure substantially outweighs the objections made. The reasons for reaching such a decision are summarised below.
0 Within the Clermiston/Corstorphine area there are over 440 spare places;
0 The roll at Drumbrae Primary School has dropped to 71 pupils resulting in the lowest school occupancy in the city (22%); In 2008 the school only captured 41 % of its catchment pupil population; Costs per pupil at Drumbrae Primary School are now running at f7,196 per annum compared to the city average of €3,709 (using 2009 figures);
0 There is scope to make alternative community re-provision at Fox Covert Primary School and other local venues.
2.3 Implementation of the proposal would generate f260,OOO of net recurring revenue savings and release a site for redevelopment that is valued at f 927,000 (net of demolition costs).
2.4 In order to implement the proposed closure it is necessary to deliver a new and expanded nursery with improved facilities at Clermiston Primary School; undertake works to return existing nursery spaces at Clermiston to classroom use and install a new pedestrian crossing on Drumbrae drive.
3 Main report
3.1 The consultation process for all the four closure proposals is set out in an accompanying report on this agenda. A summary of the proposal for Drumbrae is set out in Appendix 1. Appendices 2 and 3 provide a record of the two public meetings held for the Drumbrae proposal.
3.2 A total of 272 representations were received with the majority objecting to the proposal. Most responses were made by residents/parents living in the area. This includes objections and supporting petition from the “Save Drumbrae” campaign with 1,616 signatories and 134 standard letters (forming part of the 272 responses received) objecting to the proposals.
3.3 Drumbrae Parent Council raised concerns over the financial implications of the proposals. Clermiston Parent Council and East Craigs Parent Council felt that difficulties would arise from accommodating extra pupils at both receiving schools and that their educational development would be adversely affected by the proposals. Various submissions or joint submissions were made by local MPs and MSP’s opposing the closure.
3.4 A variety of concerns were raised relating to the potential loss of community facilities at Drumbrae Primary School. Community groups and other organisations that made submissions included Drumbrae Community Council, Girlguiding, Clermiston and Drumbrae Children’s Gala, Drumbrae Go-operative Guild and St Andrew’s Clermiston Church of Scotland. 3.5 A number of issues were raised during the consultation process; the remainder of this section sets out the main issues together with the Council response. A 2 summary of each response is presented in Appendix 4 with copies of the full submissions being available in the Elected Members lounge for reference. Appendices 5 and 6 respectively show the proposed primary and secondary school catchment boundaries.
Issues Raised
Demographic Considerations
3.6 Several respondents including the parent councils felt that the closure of Drumbrae could lead to longer term capacity problems due to anticipated demographic changes and housing developments in the area. Respondents made the following particular comments:
The General Register Office for Scotland is predicting that by 20211 the population of Edinburgh could rise by 20-22%; In north-west Edinburgh extra housing is proposed and resultant pupil generation could take local schools over capacity; * It was expressed that changes to the particular demographic profile of the area could potentially make the population increase much larger; e Particular reference was made to the area’s ageing population and that residents may move on and free up family sized housing; Additional capital spend (extensions or new school) could possibly be required within a relatively short period to provide extra capacity; and Does the proposal take account of any increased demand for nursery places.
Council Response - General Register Office for Scotland Projected Growth
3.7 The Consultation Paper referred to the 2006 based General Register Office for Scotland projections which show the number of 5-1 1 years increasing by 5% in the 5 years from 2008 to 2013, and then growing over the next five years by a further 15%.
3.8 Where this growth will materialise and whether it will be sustained as projected in the longer term is difficult to predict with any certainty. The most up to date information at Council level is the 2008 population estimates which show the number of births continuing to increase. The implications of rising birth rates are increasing demand for school places which could peak with an additional 5,000 pupils across the city by 2020. Council Response - School Capacity and Catchment Pupils 3.9 The combined capacity of the closing and receiving schools is currently 1,027 pupils. Revised capacities shown in Table 3.1 below take account of the loss of capacity at Drumbrae (306 places) and proposed works at Clermiston to increase the capacity from 306 to 379. Catchment data is based on 2008 figures but it should be noted school rolls have fallen at the affected schools by 42 pupils based on 2009 start of session rolls. 3 Table 3.1 Capacity in the Proposed Clermiston and East Craigs Catchments
Proposed Clermiston/East Craigs 794" 705 89 790
3.10 In the proposed Clermiston and East Craigs catchment areas 21 % of pupils (169) currently attend other schools outwith the immediate area and an assumption is made that a similar capture rate of 79% would continue if Drumbrae closes. This outflow of pupils is partly compensated by pupils attending from outside the affected catchments (1 I%).
3.1 1 The Cala housing development for 277 units (a mix of houses and flats) is ongoing and at April 2009 it was one third completed, having generated six primary aged pupils so far. A further seventeen pupils are predicted to be generated from the remainder of the development. A further development at Bughtlin Market is expected to generate a further ten pupils. These developments are expected to account for part of the General Register Office for Scotland projected growth at a local level.
3.12 The graph below illustrates the application of precisely the same profile of increase to the local base population as the city wide General Register Office for Scotland forecasts Le. an increase of 21 % by 2021. It is based on the assumption that the trend of capturing 79% of the catchment population continues. The spare capacity between the catchment population and the capacity would be available for non-catchment placing requests into the schools (current non-catchment requests coming into the two schools amount to 84 pupils) and/or an increased catchment capture rate.
Figure 3.1 : Projected Catchment Rolls at East Craigs and Clermiston
Projected Catchment Roll from revised Clermiston and East Craigs Cluster and Available Capacity
825 800 775 7%
Y 725 'Z 700 ' 675 650 625 600 575 550
m Available Capacity for Placing Requests and hither Catchment Growth a Projected Roll fmn Catchment Pupil Population (based on current 79% capture rate)
4 3.13 This shows that based on a 21% growth in the levels of catchment population, on the capture rate used above in all years there is predicted capacity for placing requests, but that this would reduce in the period to 2022.
Council Response - Longer Term Nursery Provision 3.1 4 Nursery provision is delivered by the Council and by partner providers. There are no catchment boundaries and subject to places being available parents are free to seek places of their choosing. Extra nursery provision is being made at Clermiston and additional afternoon provision will be provided at Fox Covert. Should demand for places increase locally then the Council will seek to work with partner providers to deliver more places. Council Response - Aging Population 3.1 5 West Edinburgh may be in a transitional stage, but with the elderly living longer on average, the pace of change in established residential areas tends to be slow. The personalisation of care agenda with more older people receiving care in their homes for longer periods and the increasing numbers of single person households may mitigate against growth in the number of families living in the a rea.
Catchment Issues
3.16 A number of respondents raised a variety of catchment issues particularly over the existing Drumbrae catchment boundary, the use of Clermiston as a receiving school rather than Fox Covert and the decision not to put the full North Bughtlin and Fauldburn area into the East Craigs catchment. Respondents made the following key points:
Would a change in catchment areas not help to solve the issue rather than close Drumbrae Primary School; Why is the capacity at Corstorphine Primary School being increased when Drumbrae could accommodate extra pupils; There is a view that parents make placing requests out from Drumbrae because the school’s current catchment boundaries are not logical; Why not consider including North Bughtlin and Fauldburn area in the East Craigs catchment area as there is already a strong association; Will younger siblings of out of catchment pupils at East Craigs be able to get a place in the school when they need to go;
0 Areas of highest deprivation in Drumbrae catchment are zoned for Clermiston while the more affluent parts are zoned for East Craigs; Parents would prefer to send their children to either East Craigs or Fox Covert in preference to Clermiston because of the distance and the route; Fox Covert should be considered for closure rather than Drumbrae.
5 Council Response - Catchment Issues 3.1 7 Drumbrae is within short walking distances from the entire catchment yet nearly 60% of pupils choose not to attend their catchment school. Redrawing the catchment or extending the boundary to include part of Corstorphine would not address the issue of parental choice favouring other schools or the need to cut overa II ca pa cit y .
3.18 As part of the proposed catchment changes, consideration was given to putting the North Bughtlin and Fauldburn areas from Clermiston to East Craigs as had been previously requested. In looking at pupil movement from Drumbrae, there was also a strong affiliation with East Craigs from the western part of the catchment. The view was then taken that priority should be given to those pupils directly affected by closure and, given the restricted capacity at East Craigs, this prevented making the changes sought for North Bughtlin and Fauldburn.
3.1 9 Council policy states that securing an out of catchment place does not guarantee younger siblings a place at the same school and parents should take this into consideration when making any placing request. Council policy does acknowledge the difficulties that arise arising from splitting siblings between schools and, after prioritising catchment requirements, priority is then given to siblings who already have an older sibling attending the school. However this does not guarantee a place as East Craigs has consistently attracted a large number of out of catchment pupils in previous years.
3.20 In making the proposed catchment realignments to Drumbrae the proposals have been driven by spare capacity, geography, existing pupils flows and where best to make extra classroom and nursery provision.
3.21 Clermiston was selected as a receiving school in preference to Fox Covert as Fox Covert is a smaller school with a capacity of 219 and only 79 spare places based on September 2009 data. Planning permission has been granted for a 295 dwellings at the former Queens Margaret’s College and, depending on the eventual mix of house types, this could generate 50 pupils and take up much of the current spare capacity. In the interim and while there is surplus capacity, parents can continue to make placing requests to Fox Covert if that is their preference.
3.22 In terms of estate management it is desirable to have 14 class, double-stream schools and the proposals move Clermiston towards this position.
3.23 Fox Covert was outwith the parameters for selection for closure as it is currently 64% occupied. It also has a strong record for retaining its catchment population in contrast to Drumbrae. It also occupies a shared campus with Fox Covert RC Primary School which has to be retained -there would be insufficient capacity to accommodate both non-denominational and denominational schools in the Drumbrae building.
School Capacity
3.24 A number of respondents including the Parent Councils sought further clarity on how notional capacity figures are derived for schools as the figures seemed 6 inconsistent. Issues were also raised in respect of small classroom areas at Clermiston. Respondents made the following key points:
The proposal states that there are 8,600 surplus places in the primary school estate potentially reducing to 6,500 in the future but the methodology upon which this figure is calculated is not shown; Ambiguities in relation to notional capacity need to be addressed and are the capacity figures based on 33 pupils per class; and Capacity figures are pointless if classrooms at Clermiston are not physically large enough to accommodate the specified number of pupils.
Council Response - School Capacity
3.25 The figure of 8,600 surplus spaces was calculated by subtracting the number of primary pupils registered in City of Edinburgh Council schools from the combined notional capacities of all the primary schools.
3.26 The Council’s notional capacity methodology takes account of legislation and guidance relating to class size restrictions and making provision for general purpose space. It also takes account of the Council’s practical experience of how many pupils could be accommodated within different sized organisations.
3.27 In assessing capacity of actual classes the Scottish Government has restricted PI-P3 classes to 30 pupils and sought a maximum class size of 18 at PI. Legislation is now proposed to enforce a maximum class size of 25 at PI stage. For P4-P7 the maximum class size is 33 pupils. The Council has sought to follow this legislation/guidance.
3.28 In determining school capacity, it is the Council’s experience that pupils never come in neat groups of 30 or 33 pupils throughout the entire organisation. It is likely that the distribution of pupils will trigger the need for an additional class before the physical capacity is reached. The notional capacity methodology is also related to the Council’s staffing structure and therefore flexibility is required in the methodology to take account for this. This is one of the reasons why school capacity figures for different class organisations do not follow standard intervals.
3.29 A more detailed explanation of the notional capacity methodology was placed on the Council website as part of the additional information made available during the consultation period.
3.30 There is no legislation regarding minimum room areas but in 1975, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland recommended that a space of 1.75 square metres is provided per pupil. Classroom sizes at Clermiston range from 52-64 square metres which are large enough to take a minimum of 30 pupils.
3.31 Additionally, The School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 require educational accommodation in primary schools to be a minimum of 1,056 square metres for a school of 379 pupils (the proposed capacity at Clermiston). The proposed area for Clermiston will be
7 1,417 square metres (excluding the proposed nursery) which is 34% greater than the regulations require.
Educational Benefits
3.32 Respondents, including parent councils, questioned the educational benefits supporting larger schools and instead felt that smaller schools provided more benefits. Respondents made the following key points:
There is a concern that the proposal makes no reference to any potential disbenefits to pupils of moving to larger class sizes/larger schools; Assertions in the consultation paper about the educational benefits of the proposals aren’t backed by evidence; and There are educational benefits for children attending smaller schools as there is increased contact between individual pupils and teachers.
Council Response - Educational Benefits
3.33 Some of Edinburgh’s largest schools have the highest attainment and the Council has successfully merged schools in the past to create larger school organisations. Larger schools can be more flexible in approaches to meeting pupils’ needs. There is no evidence to support the statement that attending a smaller school leads to increased contact between individual pupils and teachers.
3.34 A full building does not mean that attainment will drop. A number of schools in the City with high occupancy levels also have very high attainment levels as shown in Table 3.2 below.
Table 3.2: Attainment Levels in Schools with High Occupancy Rates
James Gillespie’s Sciennes 93% 94% 89% 94%
St Peter’s 96% ~ 99% ~ 96% 97% I I 1 Source: CEC 2008 Data (Percentage of P3, P4, P6 and P7 pupils attaining or exceeding the relevant level for their stage 2003-2008)
3.35 The evidence of the benefits of larger schools is based on experience of those working in this sector and their evaluations.
3.36 In larger schools with pupils from mixed backgrounds there is more pupil diversity and potential for more pupil to pupil interaction and more collaborative working. Larger schools offer increased opportunities to group children in different ways. This can be highly advantageous in facilitating very small 8 groups or 1:l teaching for certain areas of the curriculum. Economies of scale allow for more flexible staffing and there are educational opportunities in terms of wider staff expertise, same stage teacher planning and working cooperatively. Continuing professional development opportunities across the school are increased. Wider opportunities for staff professional development leads to improved teaching quality which research indicates is the key to improving educational attainment.
Class Sizes
3.37 Many respondents felt that the proposed closure of Drumbrae would result in larger classes which would be contrary to government and council policy and which would be detrimental to the education of the affected pupils. Respondents made the following key points:
What is the Council’s position on the maximum class size of 18 for PI to P3 pupils? Will proposals to close schools not just result in increased class sizes; There is a body of opinion that children benefit from being taught in smaller groups, particularly children from more deprived backgrounds. Respondents highlighted the State of Tennessee’s STAR (StudentlTeacher Achievement Ratio) project as showing that small class sizes in the early years led to long term improvements in attainment and that disadvantaged children benefited the most. A London University study was also highlighted as showing a clear association between class size and pupils’ attainment while a 2002 Scottish Council for Research in Education report indicated that smaller classes are generally quieter and more easily managed; and Will the receiving schools be able to adequately implement the Curriculum for Excellence and is there an optimum class size for delivery of the Curriculum of Excellence.
Council Response - Class Sizes
3.38 With regard to the national policy of delivering class sizes of 18, progress towards the reduction of class sizes in the early stages of primary is a priority action for the Children & Families Department and is reflected in the Department’s Service Plan 2008/2011 and in the Edinburgh Partnership Single Outcome Agreement. It is recognised that this will need to be a phased approach and that progress will be dependent on funding being identified to progress the implementation. Service Outcome 1 indicates that this is likely to be achieved through a pupil: teacher ratio approach.
3.39 It is proposed that, for session 2009/10, Edinburgh continues with the approach of enhancing pupi1:teacher ratios across PI-P3, to the extent that fully funded probationers are allocated to Edinburgh. It is proposed that priority is given to positive action schools, taking into account existing enhancements of teaching staff in these schools but allowing these schools to deliver lower pupi1:teacher ratios across PI-P3. This would be followed by lowering ratios to around 2O:l in other schools and gradually moving towards the 18:l ratio, as funding allowed.
9 3.40 The proposed closure of schools is aimed at creating a more efficient school estate so that resources can be targeted more effectively to help deliver smaller class sizes. As above, this may also be sought through teacher pupil ratios.
3.41 It is normal for classes to operate at class size capacity and funding from the Scottish Government is based on pupil numbers and the maximum class sizes. The number of classes in a school is determined by the pupil roll, the distribution of pupils across the primary stages, maximum classroom area (floorspace) and the capacity of a school. Once the number of classes has been agreed the staffing is allocated using formulae that apply across all schools. On this basis resources will be allocated to the receiving schools in a fair and equitable manner consistent with every other school in the city, and as a result the pupils at the receiving schools will not be disadvantaged.
3.42 Based on primary roll projections and the projected staffing levels, the class pupil: teacher ratios across the proposed receiving schools are expected to be 25.2 compared to the current 26.7 at Clermiston; and 25.1 compared to the current 26.5 at East Craigs (based on 2009 start of session rolls).
3.43 Being taught in smaller groups is not dependent on class size. In schools with larger rolls there is more flexibility of staffing to organise pupils in smaller groups or to engage in 1:I tuition.
3.44 Evidence from research on class size and composition is a complex undertaking and there needs to be caution when quoting research but there is evidence to suggest that class sizes of less than 20, in the very early years, have a positive impact on attainment. It should be noted however that class size is comparable with teacher: pupil ratio. Thirty pupils with two teachers can perform as well as a class of 15 pupils with one teacher.
3.45 Recent research on class sizes concluded that there was no evidence in the long-term that reducing class sizes would be sufficient in itself to raise attainment as the quality of teaching is a key element.
3.46 Curriculum for Excellence is focused on building pupils' capacity to become successful learners and fulfil their potential; it is about ensuring that children experience a broad general education consistent with their needs. Curriculum for Excellence can be effectively delivered across all different school organisations and is not dependent on physical space, class or school size. There is no specified optimum class size; it is what and how it is taught, rather than where it is taught. The diversity of environments across different school buildings is recognised and schools are encouraged to be innovative and creative in their use of available space, whether that is in the classroom, in the wider school or the school community. Educational Attainment - Drumbrae Primary School 3.47 Many respondents felt it was unfair to compare Drumbrae with neighbouring schools which did not have the same socio-economic profile and that moving to larger schools will adversely affect the Drumbrae pupils. Respondents raised the following key issues:
10 It is felt by some respondents that schools in poorer areas have lower attainment levels and, set against comparable schools, overall attainment in Drumbrae was considered by the Council to be ‘(good’: and Are the low attainment levels of pupils at Drumbrae due to poor teaching or to the higher rate of pupils with additional support needs.
Council Response - Educational Attainment at Drumbrae
3.48 Drumbrae Primary School’s attainment for 2009 when compared with schools similar free school meal entitlement (FME) is evaluated as “satisfactory”. This is a drop from the previous evaluation of “good” in 2008. The comparable 2009 evaluation for Clermiston is “good” and for East Craigs is it “very good”.
3.49 The fall in the comparative performance at Drumbrae from good to satisfactory is an indicator that the school is not performing as well as others in its comparator group.
Educational Attainment at Affected Schools
3.50 Concerns were raised by parents, Parent Councils and other respondents over the possible adverse impact on the levels of educational attainment at the receiving schools in future years. Respondents raised the following key issues:
More crowded schools could lower attainment levels at the receiving schools and how will levels of educational attainment be maintained at the receiving schools given the wide gap in levels of attainment with Drumbrae; Attainment levels could fall for those pupils that are integrated into larger classes and high achievers could be affected by larger classes; and What is the predicted impact on attainment figures at both schools.
Council Response - Educational Attainment at Affected Schools
3.51 Staffing resources will be allocated to the receiving schools in a manner consistent with every other school in the City, so pupils at the receiving schools should not be disadvantaged by the proposals. The class pupil to teacher ratios at both receiving schools would fall as a result of the proposals should numbers transfer in the way that was predicted in the consultation papers.
3.52 There is no evidence that attainment levels will fall for pupils moving to a larger school. In Edinburgh some very large schools with high occupancy rates also have very good attainment as illustrated in paragraph 3.34 above.
3.53 A number of Drumbrae pupils are very high attaining pupils and will contribute positively to raising attainment in the receiving schools. In previous examples of receiving schools affected by school closures, overall attainment increased or remained the same. Schools set attainment targets based on predictions for individual pupils. Additional Support for Learning
3.54 Particular concerns were raised on the adverse effect the proposals could have on pupils with learning support if there were larger rolls/ larger classrooms. Respondents raised the following key issues:
The impact of Additional Support for Learning (ASL) was not addressed in the consultation paper; It was stated that a number of Drumbrae children need extra help and it would be a big change to move from small classes. There is concern for children who receive no official audited hours of extra support but who are supported in small class sizes; and Staff at Drumbrae have extensive knowledge of the children and their particular needs.
Council Response - Additional Support for Learning 3.55 All primary schools are subject to the Additional Support for Learning Act and all schools have pupils with additional needs. A larger school offers more flexibility of support and this can be more effective than small class sizes. Clermiston and East Craigs Primary Schools have very effective support for learning systems in place.
3.56 Additional support needs are assessed on an individual basis level and the support will follow the pupil to the new school through their integrated audit hours. All staff should have or will develop extensive knowledge of the children they teach and what particular support and individual needs are required.
Drumbrae Primary School
3.57 Parents with pupils at Drumbrae felt that the school had been affected by previous proposals for closure but in terms of school facilities and building condition there was no justification for closure. Respondents raised the following key issues:
Schools in deprived communities are being targeted and pupils have left Drumbrae due to the threat of closure over the past four years; The school has excellent communal facilities, a dedicated IC7 suite as well as spacious playing fields and over €700,000 has been invested in Drumbrae Primary School over the past seven years; The Consultation Paper identifies a need to spend nearly €500,000 on repairs and maintenance but works will be restricted to essential repairs, so the concern is that savings are exaggerated; and Fox Covert has a playgroup rather than a nursery so it would not be a like for like replacement for the loss of Drumbrae Nursery.
Council Response - Drumbrae Primary School 3.58 The identification of schools proposed for closure has been driven by evaluation of schools with low occupancy. There is a tendency for schools in 12 perceived deprived areas to have difficulty retaining their catchments and attracting pupils from outside the catchment. The threat of closure may have influenced the decision of some parents in recent years but records show a declining roll over the last 10 years (the roll was 230 in 1999) which predates any consideration of closure.
3.59 Different school buildings have different strengths. Drumbrae Primary School has two halls and a dedicated dining room but its classrooms are the smallest in the cluster and well below the standard specified in the council’s generic brief.
3.60 With a low occupancy, Drumbrae Primary school has abundant internal space. Support space and facilities have spread over a number of rooms that would otherwise be used as classrooms. Current levels of use are inefficient and uneconomic compared to other schools in the city.
3.61 The condition of the building is not a factor for closure but the other schools in the cluster have all been rated as “B” condition and to varying degrees they have had money spent on repairs or upgrades to keep the buildings in good order.
3.62 The closure of Drumbrae would allow the repairs and maintenance budget to be more effectively concentrated on fewer schools.
3.63 The estimated required expenditure of E482,134 for maintenance works would be avoided by closure however these have not been reflected in the projected cost savings.
Council Response - Fox Covert Early Years Provision
3.64 Fox Covert Nursery is run as a morning only facility by a partner provider on a non profit making basis and the nursery meets the requirements set by the Care Commission. The facility receives funding from the Council on the same basis as other partner providers in the area. Additional afternoon places will be provided at Fox Covert should a decision be taken to close Drumbrae. Options for the form of delivery of this additional provision are currently being scoped.
Community Use of Drumbrae Primary School
3.65 Drumbrae Primary School is well used by the local community and the users would be displaced by closure. Users of the facilities and other respondents felt that the school provided a valuable community resource and that there could be difficulty in finding alternative accommodation. Respondents raised the following key issues:
Drumbrae Primary School is used by the Brownies, Rainbows and Guides and a number of other community groups. The School currently hosts a number of sporting groups including judo and boys’ Sunday Football; and It was suggested that the new Drumbrae library could be located in the school to make use of surplus space and provide savings.
13 Council Response - Community Use of Drumbrae Primary School 3.66 Existing lets have been contacted to discuss their requirements and to identify alternative suitable accommodation if necessary. It is proposed that the Guides, Brownies and Rainbows will move to Fox Covert Primary School and the Women’s Guild will move to Rannoch Community Centre. Edinburgh Supported Learning Group will move to East Craig’s Primary School. A discussion has taken place with the organiser of Edinburgh City Kids Football who is aware that Fox Covert is available on a Sunday and is going to assess the accommodation for suitability.
3.67 The Department’s Community Learning and Development Manager has sent a letter and made a follow up phone call to the Just Judo organiser to advise that Fox Covert Primary School could be an alternative venue for this club’s activities. Council Response - Proposed Drumbrae Library 3.68 By the end of 201 1 it is proposed that a new Drumbrae Library at Rannoch Terrace will provide a community hub with a community meeting room and a cafe. The site has been chosen after consultation with the local community and it offers excellent access to existing shops and community services with good public transport links.
3.69 Locating this facility at Drumbrae Primary School would result in a poorer, less accessible location. It would not address the issue of the low roll at Drumbrae or bring savings to the Children and Families Department budget.
Clermiston Primary School
3.70 The Parent Council and other respondents felt that increasing the school roll and capacity could result in the loss of general purpose rooms and that the existing classrooms were too small to accommodate extra pupils. Building works were also needed at the school. Respondents raised the following key issues:
Felt that team teaching is ill advised and may be undeliverable and that there could be inadequate break out spaces if class numbers increase; If the proposed increase in pupils brings limited additional staffing resources how will this benefit pupils at Clermiston; The school may lose its ICT suite, library or teachers resource room to accommodate extra classrooms; and additionally there would be increased pressure on dining facilities;
0 There is concern that the proposed nursery will have less space than the existing nursery; and The toilets and the roof require upgrading.
Council Response - Clermiston Primary School 3.71 Team teaching is not proposed at Clermiston as only 12 of the 13 classrooms will initially be required for class use. Due to their size, the majority of 14 Clermiston’s classrooms would be unsuitable for team teaching. However, the existing PI classrooms in the nursery wing are considerably larger than classes in the east wing. By moving the nursery into a new dedicated facility two further large classrooms (suitable for team teaching in the future if that became necessary) will become available for school use. Team teaching is most likely at the PI stage, with classes capped at 25 compared to the remainder of the school where maximum class sizes can be 30 and over (subject to classroom area).
3.72 Under the Council’s estate wide space standards Clermiston Primary School has a three class general purpose space entitlement based on the number of teaching classbases in the school. This entitlement ensures there is available space outwith classbases and that specialist activities offered by the school and the delivery of curricular activities is not compromised.
3.73 The music room, ICT suite, library and art room are all included in the assessment and currently occupy four separate spaces. The school recognises that, should the circumstance arise where all classroom space is required, one of these spaces will need to revert back to classroom use.
3.74 The existing nursery has a gross internal area of approximately 195 square metres. The proposed nursery unit will have a gross internal area of 229 square metres and fully meets both the Council generic briefing for a nursery class and the Care Commission standards. The new nursery will offer facilities surpassing those available at the existing nursery such as a parent’s room, staff-base and adults toilets, cloakroom and a covered outdoor area.
3.75 Current projections for the Clermiston Primary roll following the closure of Drumbrae Primary indicate that 12 out of the 13 classes would initially be required. The proposal for Clermiston was modelled on the roll rising from 252 to 340 pupils. To cater for this growth the estimated number of teachers (full time equivalent) would rise from 13.5 to 17.
3.76 Clermiston has the largest hall and the largest dedicated dining space in the Clermiston, East Craigs and Drumbrae cluster and the level of provision compares favourably with other schools across the estate.
3.77 Proposed works to Clermiston Primary School and associated costings are set out in an accompanying report on this agenda. The timing of works would be dependent on the availability of funding.
Routes to Clermiston Primary School from Drumbrae
3.78 A number of respondents felt that the distance from Drumbrae to Clermiston was excessive; the route was unsafe and it would endanger those pupils that would transfer to Clermiston. Respondents raised the following key issues:
Drumbrae Primary School is an easy walking distance for most pupils whereas pupils /nursery children will have a 25 minute walk to reach Clermiston; Parents may not enrol their children in nursery due to the greater distances;
15 There was concern about the route to Clermiston and that prams and buggies would not be able to negotiate Clermiston Park and the next shortest routes involve steep steps at Parkgrove Road; Pupils would cross two busy roads at Drumbrae Drive and Parkgrove Street; and * The proposal will result in more children being dropped off by car and there is already traffic congestion outside Clermiston Primary School.
Council Response - Routes to Clermiston Primary School 3.79 The distance from Drumbrae Primary School to Clermiston Primary School is 0.8 miles. The statutory maximum walking distance, as defined by the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, is two miles for any pupil under the age of eight years and three miles for any other pupil.
3.80 There are no catchment areas for nurseries so parents can enrol their children anywhere in the city where there are places available. Along with increased provision at Clermiston, it is proposed to run afternoon nursery places at Fox Covert.
3.81 The recommended safe route follows Clermiston Drive - it does not recommend crossing Clermiston Park. The consultation also notes that the steps linking Parkgrove Road and Drumbrae Crescent can be avoided by continuing up Clermiston Drive to Parkgrove Road.
3.82 Parkgrove Street follows the eastern boundary of Clermiston Primary School’s grounds and it is unlikely that children travelling from the Drumbrae area would need to cross this road. 3.83 The issue of crossing Drumbrae Drive was highlighted at the outset of the consultation and E70,000is earmarked for the relocation and upgrade of the pedestrian crossing at Drumbrae Drive.
3.84 The Council is committed to reducing the number of school runs made by car and does not encourage the setting down and uplifting of pupils by parents where there are safe and sustainable alternative means of transport. The Council will seek to promote Safer Routes to Schools initiatives in the area and to work with schools, pupils and parents to create School Travel Plans.
East Craigs Primary School 3.85 The Parent Council and other respondents advised that an increased roll would over stretch existing facilities and that, in particular, a dining room is required to address current shortcomings. Respondents raised the following key issues:
East Craigs could attract more pupils than predicted because of parental choice; Team teaching is proposed for East Craigs but there is no evidence that this will be beneficial to children; Why is nothing being spent at East Craigs when there is provision for f0.5 million of works at Clermiston; 16 Concern that the dedicated ICT suite would be required as a classroom; and The school hall doubles as both the dining hall and the gym hall and this restricts ability to provide physical education. Free school meals for PI-P3 will be introduced next year on top of the extra pupils from Drumbrae.
Council Response - East Craigs Primary School
3.86 Under parental choice it is probable that there will be placing requests to East Craigs given its proximity to the Drumbrae catchment but the numbers will be kept within the capacity of the school. The school has previously operated at this capacity.
3.87 The proposed works to Clermiston Primary School are to increase capacity rather than to address the condition or improve communal facilities at the school. In recent years there has been considerable expenditure at East Craigs to remodel the school and increase the size of the classrooms.
3.88 The school does not have a dedicated dining hall but the school was originally designed to provide for a roll of over 400 pupils through dispersed dining in activity space. At present there is no funding available to provide a new dining hall and the school will need to make management arrangements to reflect their circumstances taking into account the proposed extension of free schools meals to PI-P3 as necessary.
3.89 In terms of offering physical education to pupils, provision of other spaces or use of the school playing fields provides other options in addition to the gym hall.
3.90 Under the Council’s estate wide space standards East Craigs Primary School has a four class general purpose (GP) space entitlement. This provides available space outwith classbases for specialist activities and use of these rooms is determined by the school. Where there is spare capacity the school may utilise a further classbase as a GP room, but if the classroom space is required it will need to revert back to classroom use.
3.91 East Craigs currently uses a classroom as an ICT suite. The School Management Team is currently investigating alternative accommodation possibilities to recreate the ICT suite. Curriculum for Excellence requires a more inclusive approach to learning and teaching and encourages the use of ICT as integral to every day classroom experiences. Many schools currently deliver ICT effectively without having an ICT suite while others are auditing the effectiveness of having a dedicated facility.
3.92 In those schools where team teaching has been implemented the feedback has generally been favourable. Classes taught via team teaching should be seen as normal class organisations and they are becoming more common. Team teaching allows for greater flexibility within a class and this reflects the principles of Curriculum for Excellence - it normally results in lower than average pupil to teacher ratios. Schools that have had team teaching arrangements in recent years remain high attaining schools.
17 Secondary School Issues
3.93 To bring the secondary school catchments into alignment with the proposed primary school catchment requires part of Craigmount High School being assigned to the Royal High. A number of responses were received on various issues.
Respondents raised questions that The Royal High is at capacity and will not be able to accommodate pupils generated from the catchment area that would transfer from Craigmount; Pupils would have to cross Queensferry Road to reach The Royal High School; * What guarantees can you make that siblings affected by the proposals will be able to attend the same secondary school; and Why would the Council consider disregarding Scottish Ministers Consent in respect of primary schools but not secondary schools?
Council Response - Secondary School Issues 3.94 The Royal High has a notional capacity of 1,200 pupils and a roll of 1,I 98 as at September 2008. This high roll is partly due to placing requests utilising spare capacity. The number of catchment pupils at the school is 11034 and the proposal (based on 2008 figures) would result in an additional 133 pupils moving to The Royal High catchment. Of this number 97 attend Craigmount, 17 already attend the Royal High and 30 go elsewhere, The school can therefore accommodate the extra catchment pupils as implementation would occur via future SI intakes as opposed to pupils transferring schools.
3.95 The capacity at Craigmount is 1,400 pupils and the high roll of 1,349 is due to placing requests as the number of pupils in the catchment is under 1,I 00 and would fall to below 1,000 if the catchment changes are made. After catchment pupils, siblings are given next priority so siblings should not have difficulty in obtaining places at Craigmount although this cannot be guaranteed.
3-96 The crossing of Queensferry Road to reach The Royal High is a well established route for pupils travelling from Clermiston Primary School’s existing catchment area. The crossing at the junction of Queensferry Road and Clermiston Road is a double crossing and both crossings are light controlled.
3.97 Works to improve this crossing for cyclists are currently out to tender. Works include replacing the existing Pelican crossing with a Toucan crossing (allowing both pedestrians and cyclists to cross); the installation of high visibility pedestrian guardrails and the creation of a cycle way linking Clermiston Drive and Clermiston Road North.
3.98 Obtaining Scottish Ministers Consent is currently a legal requirement where an affected school is over 80% occupied. Should Council approve the closure of Drumbrae, any changes to schools under 80% occupancy can be implemented as set out in the consultation paper. An interim solution prescribing an ‘appropriate school’ for areas which would be without a catchment area would allow the closure of Drumbrae Primary School within the identified timescales. 18 General Financial Issues
3.99 A number of responses were made relating to finance in general and to how the Council is spending its budget. View were expressed that the Council is being driven by short term financial pressures. Respondents raised the following issues:
Why not discontinue the Edinburgh Tram project and use the money for schools instead; The Council are mismanaging City finances and are closing the school for short-term gain but it will ultimately cost the City Council more in the long run; Financial implications of the proposals are not made clear by the report - no explanation of how and by whom the figures were calculated; The average cost per pupil across the three schools represents excellent value for money; and Potential savings come from service cost but there is no breakdown of these costs.
Council Response - Financial Issues
3.100 The majority of funding for the Tram Project was provided by the Scottish Government. If the Tram project had not been approved by the Council, then this money would have been lost to Edinburgh. There was no possibility of the Council retaining this funding for investment in other projects.
3.1 01 Financial pressure is ever present and as part of the efficient management of the school estate the demand for school places has to be regularly evaluated against the supply. Reducing surplus capacity means that savings can be deployed elsewhere or used to offset budget restrictions in education.
3.102 There is both short and long term financial pressure on the Council and reductions in budgets are required to address a funding shortfall. Reducing surplus capacity across the estate now would realise savings of more that €1 million per annum - over five years this would be a saving of more than €5 million.
3.103 Costs per pupil in the proposed closing and receiving schools for 2008-09 are shown in Table 3.4 below. The service costs which include heating, lighting, water costs and small scale maintenance are broadly consistent for each school. While the average cost across the three schools of €3,484 is below the city average of €3,699, the costs at Drumbrae are much higher and stand out as being excessively high compared to the city average and to neighbouring schools. The 2009/10 cost per pupil at Drumbrae Primary School is even higher (€7,196) due to the falling school roll.
19 Table 3.4: Costs per Pupil 2008109
1 Non-SFffing 1 Total I f I I Drumbrae I 431,076 I 146,427 I 577,503 I 5,022 I Clermiston 630,009 150,027 780,036 3,530 East Craigs 913,740 150,368 1,064,108 2,964 Totals 1,974,825 446,822 2,42 1, 647 3,484
Staffing Issues
3.104 A number of responses were made relating to staffing seeking clarification on numbers of teachers and how savings are derived. Respondents raised the following key issues:
e Will any staff be made redundant with the closure of Drumbrae Primary School and will cleaners and janitors be redeployed; e If teaching staff are to be redeployed throughout the city where will the saving be on salaries; e how will the E149,000saved through staffing be achieved and how many teaching posts will be lost in real terms; and e would the closure of Drumbrae allow more money to be invested in staff and /earning resources at Clermiston and East Craigs.
Council Response - Staffing Issues 3.105 The Council will seek to redeploy all staff in the closing schools with permanent contracts to posts in other schools. Staff in closing schools who have temporary contracts will be considered on a case by case basis. The Council will provide a protocol to all staff, setting out the process of managing redeployment and considering temporary staff, following consultation with the trade unions.
3.106 Probationer teachers are appointed on one year contracts by the Council and thereafter they have to apply for full time teaching posts that become available nationally.
3.107 In terms of teacher savings, closure of all four schools would result in anticipated savings equivalent to ten full-time teaching posts, and this includes four Head Teacher posts. This is a modest number given that the Council employs some 1,400 teachers (full time equivalents) in the primary school sector and savings will accrue in forthcoming years.
3.108 In respect of the proposed closure of Drumbrae, the teacher requirements and savings were modelled as shown in Table 3.5 below. This shows a net reduction in teaching staff but an additional 3.9 FTE teachers at Clermiston and an increase of 1.4 FTE teachers at East Craigs. The table does not include teaching assistants or support staff. It should be noted that the position will change based on 2010 rolls and, if implemented, parental choice may affect the numbers attending each school.
20 Table 3.5: Existing and Proposed Teachers
School : Projected Existing Projected Proposed Change Base Roll Teachers Roll Teachers (FTE) (FTE)
Drumbrae 109 7.2 0.0 , (7.2) I I Clermiston 252 13.5 340 17.4 I 3.9 East Craigs 356 18.8 377 20.2 1.4 Totals 71 7 39.5 71 7 37.5 (2.0)
3.109 Staff savings of f 149,000 includes f 103,000 relating to the loss of a Head Teacher and the near equivalent of one full time teaching post. Savings on non teaching staff are estimated at f46,000 including provision for administrative, janitorial and cleaning services.
Project Funding and Costs
3.1 10 Responses were made questioning the savings given the dependence on capital receipts and the need to borrow money to fund works.
The concern is that the Council will have to borrow the money to build a new nursery at Clermiston as no funding is available; Is the predicted delay in selling the Drumbrae site factored against the potential capital receipts; and The Council propose a separate report in December setting out the requirements for improvement works in receiving schools but such costs are not included in the proposal. Council Response - Project Funding and Costs
3.1 11 The Council has adopted a funding strategy for the initial capital works using prudential borrowing which takes cognisance of an assumed two year delay in the realisation of capital receipts. The Council wishes to ensure it does not dispose of sites at the bottom of the property market. 3.1 12 A report relating to the condition of receiving schools is included elsewhere on this agenda. Any improvement works to the receiving schools are not considered essential to allow the closure to proceed and have therefore not been reflected within the proposals.
Proposed SalelDisposal of School and Site
3.1 13 Various responses were made on the valuation of the site, how any receipt should be spent and the proposed after use of the site. Respondents raised the following issues:
The Drumbrae site would seem to be badly undervalued and a lot of school sites remain unsold - how much has the Council made from the sale of schools that have closed; 21 What are the costs for provision of changing facilities and the management of open space that will be retained for sporting activities; Will receipts from the sale of land be invested locally in the school estate; Who is going to pay for the upkeep of the school if it is closed; and What is the situation regarding the proposal to build a care home on the Drumbrae site if the school closes?
Council Response - Proposed Sale/Disposal of School and Site
3.1 14 The Drumbrae Primary School site has been valued by the Council's estates section at El,090,000. The value in the consultation paper, E 948,000, was understated.
3.115 The site valuation is based on the school playing field becoming amenity public open space. It is not envisaged that the school pitch will be re-used as a formal sports pitch with changing facilities but that the land will revert to more informal use and discussions are ongoing with Service for Communities.
3.1 16 It is proposed that funding raised from selling the site would offset capital costs associated with delivering the proposal with the remaining balance being ring- fenced for reinvestment into the Children and Families estate.
3.117 The school buildings or sites from the last set of closures remain unsold although positive discussions are ongoing with Stevenson College over the re- use of Westburn and active discussions are ongoing regarding an alternative use for Bonnington. Two sites from earlier closures (Hunters Tryst and Dumbryden) also remain unsold. While the sites are being marketed, the Council has taken the view that selling in a depressed market may not realise best value and has turned down several unacceptable bids. However, other surplus school sites have been sold with the proceeds making significant improvements to the condition of the school estate.
3.1 18 If Drumbrae closes, the intention is to secure the building then seek an early demolition to avoid ongoing security costs. Alternative uses of the site will be sought and one option being considered is the provision of a new Council care home to rationalise and improve local provision. As part of the 'Live Well in Later Life' Strategy for Older People, an accommodation strategy has been developed which identifies that a new build care home for older people is required in the west of the city. This will be a replacement for two older care homes. A business case for a new 60 bedded care home is currently being finalised. Should the Drumbrae site become available, it would be a strong candidate for the delivery of this care home.
4 Financial Implications
Revenue Implications
4.1 Annual revenue savings regarding the proposals have been predicted as set out below based on assumed pupil flows to receiving schools. The resulting rolls at receiving schools in August 2010 will be staffed on a consistent basis with schools across the estate. Comparison is made with the information set 22 out in the consultation paper issued in August 2009 to show any changes in the i nte rveni ng period.
4.2 Table 4.1 below shows the proposed revenue savings associated with the proposal. The proposal delivers full year gross revenue savings of f0.273m per annum and net savings over the five year period to 2014/15 of El.I 1 m.
Table 4.1: Gross Predicted Full Year Revenue Savings
Revenue Savings Consultation Revised Predicted Paper Savings f f Staff Savings 149,000 149.000 Running Cost Savings 124,000 124,000 Predicted Savings Full Year (I) 273,000 273,000
Table 4.2: Net Projected Revenue savings per Year
(1) part year savings from June 2010 (2) two year funding of capital in advance of receipt (3) additional running costs of new build plus grounds maintenance
Capital Implications
4.3 It is proposed that the Drumbrae Primary School site would be declared surplus and the site marketed at an appropriate time to ensure that the maximum possible capital receipt can be generated from the site.
4.4 The Drumbrae Primary School site has been valued at €1,090,000. This valuation is based on the school playing field becoming amenity public open space. Figures in the original consultation paper were understated. The net estimated value of the site is €927,000 after boarding up costs and demolition of the building. It is proposed the building is demolished in autumn 2010 to minimise security costs.
4.5 Capital costs associated with the proposal include provision of a new and enhanced nursery at Clermiston Primary School and works to return existing nursery spaces to classroom use. A planning application was submitted in advance as approved by the Education, Children and Families Committee in June 2009 to allow completion of the new build in the required timescales should the proposed closure be approved. The cost of the proposed nursery and other capital costs are listed in Table 4.3 below.
23 Table 4.3: Predicted Capital Costs
Potential Receipts Consultation Revised Potential Paper Receipts (E) (f) Sale of Site 948,000 1,090,000
Less: Boarding up and Demolition Costs (1 80,000) (163,000) '
Net Predicted Receipt 768,000 927,000 Consultation Revised Capital Capital Costs Paper costs Provision of New Nursery Class and convert (535,000) (586,500) existing nursery to classrooms (includes fees) Install pedestrian crossing on Drumbrae Drive (70,000) (70,000) Total Costs of Scoped Work (605,000) (656,500)
4.6 A net capital receipt of €270,500 should remain following the full implementation of the proposals. It is proposed that this money is ring fenced for reinvestment into the Children and Families estate. Proposals to use this funding balance in the receiving schools are contained in a report on improvement works elsewhere on this agenda.
5 Environmental Impact
5.1 The proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School should have a beneficial environmental impact in that it would result in one less school building to heat and maintain. There would be a reduction in energy consumption with less carbon emissions assisting the Council to meet its carbon targets. There is the opportunity to re-use and rationalise furniture, materials and equipment across the rest of the school estate assisting with resource use policies. There is spare capacity at Clermiston and East Craigs Primary Schools and the larger school rolls would make more effective use of these school building. There is potential for brownfield re-development on part of the Drumbrae site.
6 Conclusions
6.1 There is current over capacity among the schools in this part of the City. Closure of Drumbrae Primary School would be the most effective way of reducing capacity while causing the least disruption for parents and pupils. In the area, Drumbrae has the lowest roll, the lowest occupancy rate and the greatest outflow of pupils to surrounding schools.
6.2 The proposal to close Drumbrae would see an increased roll at surrounding schools which would see the Drumbrae pupils being accommodated in a more educationally viable environment. It would offer the Drumbrae pupils a greater peer group to interact with, offer them more opportunities for collaborative working, and offer their teachers greater opportunities for professional development.
24 6.3 The proposal also delivers significant revenue savings through reducing the number of primary school establishments in the city. A significant capital receipt would be generated which would be reinvested in delivering a brand new and enhanced nursery facility.
6.4 Since publication of the consultation paper, start of session schools rolls for the 2009-10 school year have become available. Pupil numbers at Drumbrae Primary School have fallen from 119 pupils to 71 pupils. With the school occupancy rate now at 22% the case for closure has become more compelling.
6.5 Concerns were raised by a number of parents and by Parent Councils about the impact of extra numbers at the receiving schools and how this would affect the working of the school and the education of the children. The schools have all been recently re-assessed to confirm their condition, capacity and their ability to take the proposed number of pupils.
6.6 At Clermiston Primary School, bringing the existing nursery spaces back into use as classrooms will provide additional capacity and a new nursery will provide a modern building with better facilities than at present.
6.7 Fox Covert Primary School and other venues can provide alternative community use and funding is committed for a new Drumbrae Library to serve the local community.
7 Recommendations
7.1 It is recommended that:
Drumbrae Primary School and associated nursery class is closed in July 2010; Pupils attending Drumbrae Primary School are offered places at Clermiston Primary School and East Craigs Primary School; Primary school catchment changes are made as proposed and take effect for the 2010-1 1 school year, subject to securing Scottish Minters consent where necessary; Secondary school catchment changes are approved as proposed with Scottish Ministers consent being sought prior to implementation; Approval is given to build a replacement nursery at Clermiston Primary School and to return the existing nursery to classrooms; Authority is granted to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Corporate Services to accept a tender for the new nursery at Clermiston on the basis that the contract sum is within the budget allowance for the project; Additional nursery provision is provided at Fox Covert; Approval is given for the relocation and upgrade of a pedestrian crossing on Drumbrae Drive;
25 i> Drumbrae Primary School is declared surplus from the end of the 2009/10 school session and that the building be demolished as soon as possible following closure with action being taken to dispose of the site at the appropriate time; j) Subject to transfer arrangements being agreed with Services for Communities, that the school playing fields at Drumbrae Primary be used for open space or related purposes; and k) The receipt from the sale of the Drumbrae site is ring-fenced to cover the cost of proposed works to the receiving school with the remaining balance being ring-fenced for reinvestment into the Children and Families estate.
Gillian Tee Director of Children and Families
Appendices 1 : Proposal to Close Drumbrae Primary School - Summary Paper 2: Record of public meeting held at Drumbrae Primary School 3: Record of public meeting held at The Royal High School 4: Proposed closure of Drumbrae Primary School - Summary of consultation responses 5: Map of proposed primary school catchment boundaries 6: Map of proposed secondary school catchment boundaries
Contact/tel/Email David Dunn
Wards affected Ward 1 Almond Ward 3 Drum Brae/ Gyle Ward 6 Corstorphine/ Murrayfield
Single Outcome Supports National Outcome 15 - Our public services are high quality, continually Agreement improving, efficient and responsive to local people's needs. Supports Local Outcome - Our services are continually improving and efficient. The recommendations in the report will help deliver efficiency savings.
26 Background School Estate Review: Consultation on Options for Closure: Education, Children and Papers Families Committee, 16 June 2009 Consultation Paper - Proposal to Close Drumbrae Primary School Further information placed on Council website Assessment of notional and physical capacity of primary schools Re-assessment of estate notional capacities from April 2009 Edinburgh's statement on class sizes of 18 and 25 at Primary 1 Interim school roll figures (September 2009) Curriculum for Excellence and Educational Attainment Information on Fox Covert Primary School Condition report for Drumbrae Primary School Condition report for Clermiston Primary School Condition report for East Craigs Primary School
27 Di RGH TME CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
PROPOSAL TO CLOSE DRUMBRAE PRIMARY SCHOOL Affecting Clermiston and East Craigs Primary Schools and Catchment Changes for Craigmount High School and The Royal High School SUMMARY PAPER
The City of Edinburgh Council is consulting on proposals to close Drumbrae Primary School and associated nursery class.
This paper provides a summary of the proposals for Drumbrae Primary. A more detailed consultation paper is available - please see the contact details at the end of this paper for more information.
Why is the Council considering school closures?
In order to ensure that the Children and Families Department estate provides best value for money, we must ensure that the number of school places is matched as efficiently as possible to school catchment numbers. The growing financial pressures on the Department’s budget at a time of financial constraint with significant cuts expected in public expenditure makes it imperative that maximum value for money is obtained from the school estate and that any over-provision of school places is minimised.
Edinburgh saw a fall of 6,000 pupils between 1997 and 2007: 19% of its primary school roll. As Government funding for schools is linked to the number of pupils, this means there has been a substantial relative fall in the level of central funding for education in Edinburgh. The Council has a duty to make best use of its resources by matching the number of school places to catchment numbers as closely as possible. There are around 8,600 spare places in the primary school estate which need to be addressed to ensure resources are spent where they can be most effective - on learning and teaching. The City’s primary age population is expected to rise in forthcoming years, but this rise will not be uniform across the City. These proposals take account of the projected population increase.
The Council has a duty to ensure resources are targeted in the most efficient and effective way; this is not achieved by running significantly under-occupied schools. The Department has undertaken a review of the school estate to identify where excess school places could be removed and, as a result, is consulting on proposals for the closure of Drumbrae Primary School.
The Council believes it is better to have fewer, better resourced schools than to spread resources more thinly across more buildings. Larger schools have the capacity to deliver:
0 Additional staff. Greater flexibility in the deployment of staff to meet learning needs. 0 Staff with wider expertise offering a range of learning and teaching approaches. 0 Increased and wider opportunities for peer interaction amongst children. 0 Flexibility in grouping children for learning and teaching. More appropriately-focused professional development opportunities for staff. 0 Increased opportunities for sharing effective practice across a greater number of staff. 0 More collaborative planning time for colleagues and other groups of staff. 0 Extended and strengthened Parent Council. 0 Increased options to develop leadership capacity in staff, and 0 More expertise to support and challenge school improvement through larger senior management teams.
The proposal
Drumbrae Primary School and associated nursery class should close in July 2010. Pupils would be offered places at Clermiston or East Craigs based on the new catchment areas, or for pupils living outwith the affected schools catchments they would be offered places at their closest receiving school. 0 It is estimated that the roll at Clermiston would increase by 88 pupils, creating a new roll of 340 pupils in 12 classes. 0 It is estimated that the roll at East Craigs would increase by 21 pupils, creating a new roll of 377 pupils in 14 classes. Works would be undertaken at Clermiston to create a new, larger nursery. 0 Extra afternoon nursery places would be created at Fox Covert Primary School. 0 Catchment changes would apply to the primary schools and Craigmount and The Royal High Schools, described below.
Why Drumbrae?
0 The school has a low roll - 120 pupils at the start of the 2008/09 session. 0 The school has an occupancy rate of 39%, among the lowest in the City, with 186 spare places. 0 The school roll has fallen by 36% over the last 5 years. Only 92 (41%) of the catchment pupils attend their local school. The other 59% choose other schools. 0 The cost per pupil is f 5,022, 36% above the City average. 0 Attainment is better at the proposed receiving schools.
Why Clermiston & East Craigs?
0 Clermiston is located to the north of Drumbrae and has spare places available to accommodate most of the Drumbrae roll. 0 Some of the Drumbrae catchment is very close to East Craigs and there is some capacity at East Craigs to take a larger rolllcatchment. 0 Other neighbouring schools are full (Corstorphine) or are small and spaces are required to accommodate new housing development (Fox Covert).
What catchment changes will there be?
Clermiston and East Craigs catchment areas would be extended to incorporate the existing Drumbrae catchment area. 0 Some of the Craigmount High School catchment area would move into The Royal High school catchment (affecting an area where 133 pupils currently live). This would only affect new pupils starting at the school - pupils already at the high schools would not be expected to move. What road safety measures are needed?
0 A new pedestrian crossing would be installed at Drum Brae Drive and Hoseason Gardens for pupils going to Clermiston Primary School.
When would this happen?
0 It is proposed that Drumbrae Primary School and the associated nursery would close in July 201 0 at the end of the 2009/10 session. 0 The Clermiston catchment change would be implemented for the August 2010 start of session, with the East Craigs and secondary school changes depending on a decision from the Scottish Ministers.
What would happen to the school site?
0 The site of the building would be redeveloped, with the building being demolished in Autumn 201 0. It is proposed, subject to a council decision, that any funding raised from selling the site would be reinvested into upgrading Children and Families buildings. The Council is currently considering building a care home on the site should Drumbrae close. 0 The playing fields would be kept as public open space.
Where can I get more information or comment on the proposals?
A copy of the full consultation paper is available on the Council’s website www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cfproperty review; from the affected schools or on request by telephoning 0131 529 2108. During the consultation process, two public meetings will also be held where you can find out more about the proposals and express your views to representatives of the Council.
Venue Date Time Drumbrae Primary School Tuesday, 8 September 2009 7 pm - 9 pm The Royal High School Thursday, 10 September 2009 7pm-9pm
If you require free childcare or a translator at the public meetings, please telephone 01 31 529 21 08 no later than 1 September 2009.
You can send your comments by email to [email protected] or in writing to Gillian Tee, Director of Children and Families, City of Edinburgh Council, 1/2 Waverley Court, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG. All comments must be received by close of business on Friday 16 October 2009.
When will a decision be taken on whether or proceed with the proposed closure?
Following the statutory consultation period, officers will consider all the points that have been raised in writing or at the public meetings and will make a final recommendation to Councillors. This report will be considered at the Council Meeting on 17 December 2009 when the final decision will be taken. Gillian Tee Director of Children and Families
You can get this document on tape, in Braille, large print and various computer formats if you ask us. Please contact ITS on 0131 242 8181 and quote reference number 09922/1. ITS can also give information on community language translations. You can get more copies of this document by calling 0131 529 2108. Appendix 2
€DIN BVRGH + THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
Committee Minutes
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School Edinburgh, 8 September 2009, in Drumbrae Primary School
Present:- Councillor MacLaren (Convener, Education, Children and Families Committee), Tom Wood (Chair) and approximately 170 members of the public.
In Attendance:- Maureen Brice (Senior Quality Improvement Officer, Children and Families), Anne Crawford (Property Manager, City Development), Lindsay Glasgow (Asset Planning Manager, Children and Families), David Robertson (Resources Manager, Children and Families) and Gillian Tee (Director of Children and Families).
The Education, Children and Families Committee had agreed at its meeting on 16 June 2009 to undertake consultations on proposals to close Burdiehouse, Drumbrae, Fort and Royston Primary Schools.
Introduction
Tom Wood had been asked to serve as the independent chair of the consultation meetings. He welcomed members of the public, officers, MSPs and Councillors to the first of two statutory consultation meetings on the proposed closure of Drumbrae Primary School. He explained his intention to encourage as wide a dialogue as possible, to explore all the relevant issues, and as far as possible to ensure that questions were fully answered by Children and Families officials.
Presentation
Lindsay Glasgow, Children and Families, set the context for the proposed closure of Drumbrae Primary School. There was growing financial pressures on Council budgets with further cuts expected in public expenditure. At present there were 8,600 spare places in the primary estate and resources were not best used by running significantly under-occupied schools. The primary estate review had focused on geographical sectors where schools were under 60% occupied and four primary schools were identified for consultation on proposed closure. 2
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Between 2008 and 201 3 the number of primary age pupils was expected to increase by over 5%. In the next ten years to 2018 an increase of nearly 5,000 pupils (20%) was expected. School rolls were expected to follow this pattern but it would not be consistent across the city.
Focussing specifically on Drumbrae, the school’s roll had fallen by 36% over the last five years to 119 in the 2008/09 session. The occupancy rate was 39% and there was spare capacity of 187 places. Of the 223 pupils who lived within the school’s catchment area, only 92 attended Drumbrae. The cost per pupil for the 2008/09 session was f5,022 which was 36% above the city average.
Accordingly, the Council was proposing to close the school at the end of the 2009/10 session. Pupils from Drumbrae would then attend Clermiston or East Craigs Primary Schools. The Primary School catchments would alter at the same time. Parts of the Craigmount High School Catchment area would realign to the Royal High School and any changes to secondary school catchments would take effect after Scottish Government approval. New nursery accommodation would be provided at Clermiston Primary School and Fox Covert nursery provision would be expanded. The new nursery spaces would be operational from August 201 0.
Details were provided of the consultation process. Two consultation meetings were being held per school. Written comments from pupils, parents, staff, trade unions etc were being encouraged until 16 October 2009. All of these would be considered in the report by the Director of Children and Families to the full Council on 11 December 2009, when a decision on the future of Drumbrae and the other three schools proposed for closure would be made.
Convener’s S ta tern en t
Councillor MacLaren acknowledged the pressures and difficulties the possibility of closure placed on parents/pupils/staff. She stated that this was the beginning of the consultation process and no decision had been taken regarding the future of the schools proposed for closure. She was pleased the parents had attended as a deputation to the meeting of the Education, Children and Families Committee earlier today where members of the Committee had an opportunity to listen to comments from parents.
She explained that funds had to be released to allow reinvestment in education. Due to the financial climate, €14 million of savings were required to be made by the Children and Families Department. Money would be spent on the schools that received pupils from any school which closed. She added that this was the only way that extra funding could be identified to be spent on upgrading schools. She confirmed that the Council was aware that community groups used the facilities at Drumbrae and if the school was to close the Council would examine alternative facilities which could be used for community groups. If it was felt that children would be disadvantaged by the proposed closures then they would not go ahead. She stated that the Council had to take a strategic view and look at the city as a whole. 3
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
QuestionslComments
QI Would the Councillors like to go to Clermiston Primary School, after this meeting, to find out how long it actually takes to travel there?
Q2 There are proposed housing developments in East Craigs and Corstorphine. The last statistics showed that Corstorphine Primary School was full. There are a large number of elderly people in the area and it is likely that families will move into the area in the future. If you demolish Drumbrae Primary School will you have to build a new school in the future to cope with pupil numbers?
Q3 Attainment levels at Drumbrae have dropped. What support has the Children and Families Department given the school? What has the Children and Families Department done to stop the occupancy level dropping?
Answers 1,2 and 3
Lindsay Glasgow explained that the Council had examined catchment areas closely, and had tried to identify which area was closest to East Craigs Primary School. Scottish policy stated that under two miles was an acceptable walking distance to a Primary School and in the new catchment area all walking distances would be under two miles. She stated that while creating the new catchment area the Department had to take account of any new housing developments but that they had tried to align areas with the closest school.
Lindsay Glasgow added that the Department had detailed knowledge of all proposed housing developments. For every four houses they would expect one child of school age and for every one hundred flats they would expect five children. In the past the Council had over-estimated the number of children that a new development would provide and that they felt there was sufficient capacity within East Craigs and Clermiston Primary schools to provide places for future pupil numbers.
Maureen Brice explained that the Children and Families Department continued to fund Drumbrae Primary School as it had done previously. In terms of financial support Drumbrae received more support per pupil than the city average.
Q4 Why would parents send their child to a school which has been threatened with closure for the past four years? The reason that Drumbrae has lower attainment levels is due to the socio-economic background of the area. Pupils would be disadvantaged by attending a school with larger class sizes. Small class sizes enable pupils to have more time with the teacher. It is well know that schools in a poorer area will have lower attainment levels and these proposals mean that children from poorer backgrounds will be disadvantaged. These proposals by the SNP and Liberal Democrat coalition will put pupils at a disadvantage.
Q5 Drumbrae Primary School was performing well compared to other schools with similar socio-economic backgrounds. It is clear that a lot of effort has been 4
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
taken to review the catchment areas. What methods have been used to identify why Drumbrae had a low occupancy rate? How full collectively would schools in the cluster require to be in order to build another school? It appears that there would not be enough capacity to accommodate pupils from new build houses let alone taking into account future birth rates.
Q6 I currently live in a flat which has three children sharing a bedroom. Due to the recession people will require to downsize to flats.
Answers 4,5, and 6
Councillor MacLaren explained that there was no evidence on either side to support whether small schools or larger school were better. She added that in her experience larger schools were better for a child’s education. In a school with pupils of around 350 to 400 there were more opportunities for children in terms of the curriculum and after school activities etc. There were also more opportunities for the head teacher in terms of development of staff. There were a lot of positive aspects in respect of larger schools and children performed well in large schools. When Bonnington Primary School had closed the children who had moved to Trinity Primary School had told their head teacher that it had been the best six months they had had at school.
Councillor MacLaren added that it was a myth that a school which was threatened with closure would lose pupils. Victoria Primary School had been on several lists of schools proposed for closure but it had now been taken off the proposed closure list. The school had a new head teacher and it was performing well. The other three schools which were proposed for closure had not lost pupils and the reason behind declining pupil numbers could be numerous. She then referred to the formula used to calculate expected pupils numbers from new developments. She noted that traditionally the Department had overestimated the number of pupils that new developments would generate rather than underestimate.
Q7 Why is Fox Covert Primary School being mentioned when Drumbrae pupils will not be allocated places there if the school closes? We have been told that the figures are not yet official. Why have the Council officers come to the meeting without preparing the figures?
Answer 7
Lindsay Glasgow explained that the figures in the consultation paper referred to the 2008 session. The figures for 2009 would not have been available until after the formal census which would take place in the week commencing 21 September 2009.
Q8 Drumbrae was a good school with a good record. The Drumbrae area needs a school. 5
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Q9 If there is investment in a school then parents will send their children to that school. Drumbrae Primary School would give surplus capacity in an area that required it.
Q10 The Edinburgh Tram project is costing a lot of money. Why not discontinue the Tram project and use the money for Drumbrae instead?
QII How full collectively do the schools require to be in the cluster? During the reviews what methods have been undertaken to identify why people were not attending Drumbrae?
Answers 8,9, IOand I1
Lindsay Glasgow explained that only 223 pupils live in the Drumbrae catchment area. She added that they had not asked parents specifically why they had chosen not to send their children to Drumbrae. In terms of the capacity of the school in the cluster there was a lot of spare capacity at the moment. East Craigs, Clermiston and Fox Covert Primary Schools all had spare capacity. She expected that there would be sufficient capacity for at least the next seven years. If pupil numbers required the creation of additional places, the Council would not establish a new school as there would be cost implications in terms of employing a senior management team for the school. Instead, they would investigate the possibility of expanding accommodation at Clermiston Primary School.
QI2 Flats are affordable housing and they are affordable for families. Parents have had to choose what is best for their children. People have left Drumbrae as there has been scaremongering regarding the future of the school. Children who live near Drumbrae at the moment will have a 25 minute walk if they are to attend Clermiston Primary School. This will also require them to cross two busy roads. The teaching staff at Drumbrae are excellent and the school provides a high quality education. The teaching staff have been given assurances that they will be redeployed. Last year only 19 probation teachers found permanent posts. What possibilities are there for teachers who have recently qualified?
Answer 12
Gillian Tee explained that she was pleased to hear about the quality of teaching but that this did not surprise her. If the school closures did go ahead there was a commitment to redeploy teachers to other posts. The reason why so few probation teachers were able to obtain permanent posts last year was due to the commitment that had been given to teachers from the schools which had closed last year.
She added that she had examined the school roll over many years and the reduction in pupil numbers was not linked to what had happened recently. Across Edinburgh there were over 8000 spare places and there was 399 spare places in this area. There were more places than there were children and this needed to be addressed. At Drumbrae there were currently 77 pupils on the school roll and 21 of these pupils 6
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009 were in primary seven. In the next school session there would only be 56 pupils depending on the primary one intake.
Q13 At the end of June 2009 there were 21 primary one pupils on the school roll. After the school closure list was announce this reduced to 1I.
Q14 Councillor MacLaren stated earlier that if the proposed school closures would disadvantage children they would not happen. Does this include the children at receiving schools?
Q15 Children are attending primary schools that are outwith their community. The consultation paper had said there wasn’t the capacity at East Craigs to address the issue of Fauldburn and North Bughtlinside. Will this be considered?
Q16 The new developments do not include a lot of affordable houses for families. How will school rolls in the west on Edinburgh ever increase?
Q17 88 Drumbrae pupils will attend Clermiston Primary School. This means that class sizes at Clermiston will increase to between 25 and 30. The Liberal Democrats have said in relation to education and skills that they believe that children should get the very best education and that there should be cuts to class sizes.
Answers 13,14,15,16 and 17
Councillor MacLaren stated that she did not believe that receiving schools would be disadvantaged. There would be an extra class at Clermiston and class sizes would actually be slightly smaller. They would drop from 26 to 25.
Lindsay Glasgow explained that they had tried to realign as much as possible the Fauldburn and North Bughtlinside area to East Craigs. Due to new developments they not been able to align as much as they wanted to.
Q18 Drumbrae Primary School is also used by community groups and we will be fighting to keep the school open. You have stated that teachers will be redeployed but what about the cleaners and janitors? Councillor MacLaren had stated that she was aware that the school was used by community groups. The library would be built but if Drumbrae was to close there would be a period of time where there were no facilities for pensioners and the Guides etc. You have given reassurances that you will support community groups but why did you not send a letter to community groups about the proposed closure?
Q19 I would like the top table to make a visit to Clermiston Primary School and view the tiny corridor which 49 primary 1’s and 2’s are expected to stand in. There were two members of council staff taking photos at the Munro Community Centre. Is it also threatened with closure? 7
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Q20 It has been stated that the school would shut due to financial pressures. In the SNP manifesto it was stated that no school would shut for financial reasons.
Answers 18,19 and 20
Gillian Tee confirmed that the Council was committed to redeploy all members of staff to permanent jobs in other suitable posts. She also explained that they were discussing with community groups the issue of alternative venues. If a community group had not heard from the Council she asked that they approach her at the conclusion of the meeting. She added that the new library at Drumbrae would offer community space.
She explained that she had recently visited Clermiston and had discussions with the head teacher. They were proposing to build a new nursery and this would create additional classroom space. The head teacher was positive that there would be an improvement in facilities.
Q21 I have two brothers and sisters at Drumbrae. What happens if they have to go to different schools?
Q22 A general formula is not good enough when you are discussing closing a school. You should check if the formula actually applies in this area.
Note: At this point in proceedings six Drumbrae pupils sang the school song.
Q23 It has always been proposed that the nursery unit at Clermiston would be demolished. The toilet area smells and is unpleasant. What will happen to the library and the computer suite?
Q24 Drumbrae has produced fantastic results. In the winter it will be dark at 3.30pm and it will not be safe for children to walk home.
Q25 The guides have been using Drumbrae since 1963. This has helped the development of many young women. There are no other facilities available in the area. The library will not be ready in time and Clermiston only lets its facilities on a Monday evening and these have already been taken.
Q26 Drumbrae is a hub in the community. There is nowhere else in the area. The guides had been lucky to obtain the last space at St Andrews Church.
Q27 There are approximately 200 young women in the area who use the guides. If Drumbrae shuts they will have nowhere else to go.
Q28 Are the elected representatives from this area present? Would they like to stand up and tell us how they will vote on the proposed closure of Drumbrae?
Q29 Why is money which could be used for Drumbrae being used to build other facilities? 8
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Answers 21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28and 29
Councillor MacLaren stated that the Council was in a dire financial situation. There would be no money for new toilet facilities at Clermiston unless it could find a way to release funds. There were a lot of unsatisfactory toilets in the school estate. There was not enough money to provide new toilets, repair roofs and repaint classrooms. Instead the Council was facing E40 million of cuts. The only way to identify funding for schools was to rationalise the school estate.
Councillor MacLaren explained that the Council could not legally withdraw from the Tram Project. The money that the Council received for trams would require to be returned to the Scottish Government if the Tram Project was not completed.
Lindsay Glasgow explained that proposals for the new nursery building at Clermiston had been provided to the school. The school had thought that the new nursery would be better placed in an area of the playground that was not well used. The key attraction of the new nursery was that there would be a parent room.
Lindsay Glasgow added that a report which would be submitted to the Council meeting in December would include information on the proposed receiving schools. It would be up to Councillors to agree to provide funding. The condition of the toilets at Clermiston would be included in this report. She added that there would be space for 13 classes at Clermiston and that there would also be general purpose spaces. Originally the school roll at Clermiston had indicated that there would require to be 13 classes but the figures for the school roll at present meant there would only need to be 12 classes. This meant that there would now be an additional classroom.
In response to the question about whether siblings would require to attend different schools, Lindsay Glasgow explained that places at schools were offered by address and if the children lived at the same address they would attend the same school.
David Robertson stated that the Council had investigated safer routes to schools. The Council’s health and safety section had looked at the routes and discussed with the police any potential danger areas.
Q30 Clermiston Primary School has higher attainment levels than Drumbrae. How will Drumbrae pupils moving to a larger school help pupils? This will be a disadvantage to pupils from both schools.
Q31 I moved my child from Corstorphine Primary School to Clermiston as the class sizes were much smaller at Clermiston. There were always waiting lists for extra curricular activities at Corstorphine. How has money been found to pay for extra facilities at Corstorphine? It appears that other schools in the area will not receive any money unless Drumbrae closes. There is also the issue of fire safety. What will happen if the capacity at Clermiston increases?
Q32 Will there be any provision for parents to take their children to their new school without them requiring to change their practices for attending work? 9
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Q33 At the meeting of the Education, Children and Families Committee earlier today Drumbrae was the only school which did not have their local ward members present. Why where the councillors not at this meeting?
Q34 In Councillor MacLaren’s opening remarks she stated that the Council would not shut any schools if it could be proved that children would be disadvantaged. Drumbrae pupils will be going to schools with poorer facilities, which are further away and will have larger class sizes. How can you judge if children will be disadvantaged by these proposals?
Answers 30,31, 32,33 and 34
Gillian Tee confirmed that any support which Drumbrae pupils received would be transferred to their new school. She added that currently at Drumbrae the primary three class had only four pupils. There was a danger that there would require to be a class which covered three age ranges. The Council’s policy was for composite classes which covered only two age ranges.
Q35 The reason why parents have moved their children from Drumbrae was because of the scare tactics which the Council has used.
Answer 35
Gillian Tee confirmed that the school roll at Drumbrae had been reducing each year for the past ten years.
Q36 The intake for primary one pupils this year had been 22 but once the proposed closures were announced this reduced to 11.
Answer 36
Gillian Tee reiterated that the school roll at Drumbrae had been reducing for the past ten years.
Q37 Margaret Smith, MSP, stated that she had already contacted Councillor MacLaren with questions regarding the proposed closure. The issue of class sizes was significant. The capacity at other schools in the area was very high. Corstorphine Primary School has 100% occupancy whilst other schools have 90% occupancy. The implications for receiving schools was also significant.
Q38 The birth rate is on the rise. What will happen if schools are fully occupied?
Q39 East Craigs Primary School has recently had €1 million spent on it. Drumbrae has far superior facilities. It is important to look at how money has been spent.
Q40 Children are grateful to attend Drumbrae. The pupils from Drumbrae will find it difficult to attend other schools. 10
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Q41 Is it true that in Gillian Tee’s former employment she closed schools which now required to be rebuilt?
Q42 Margaret Smith raised a contradiction. The Liberal Democrats and the SNP both want smaller class sizes but currently they are proposing closing schools which could result in an increase to class sizes.
Answer 37,38,39,40,41 and 42
Gillian Tee explained that she had previously been employed in Oxford as the Head of Special Education Needs and that she had no involvement in the decision to close middle schools in that area.
Gillian Tee confirmed that that any pupils who received additional support currently would continue to receive this. She added that the transition for children who had specific support needs would be planned carefully with the children’s parents.
Q43 There appears to be some discrepancies in your statistics. It seems that Clermiston Primary School is already full. What will happen if class sizes increase due to increases in the population?
Answer 43
Gillian Tee explained that the there were 399 spare places in this area. The Council was committed to reducing class sizes, however, it was only possible to do this within available resources.
Q44 It is noticeable that the schools which have been proposed for closure are all situated in vulnerable areas.
Answer 44
Gillian Tee stated that there were currently only 77 pupils attending Drumbrae Primary School and that there were a large number of pupils who would be leaving the school at the end of the 2009/10 session.
Q45 Is money more important or the future of the children in attendance at Drumbrae?
Q46 In your proposals you only state the benefits of larger schools. The benefits of smaller schools are not detailed. There are educational benefits for children attending smaller schools as there is increased contact between individual pupils and teachers. It has been stated that parents have voted with their feet by choosing to send their children to schools other than Drumbrae. Parents have not voted with their feet, they have been faced with a very difficult decision and have had to take the decision to move their children as Drumbrae was threatened with closure. 11
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 8 September 2009
Conclusion
Tom Wood thanked everyone attending for their contributions to a full and open discussion. There would be further opportunity to contribute at the second of the consultation meetings, at the Royal High School on 10 September 2009. *€DINBVRGH+ Appendix 3 THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
Committee Minutes
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School
Edinburgh, IOSeptember 2009, in the Royal High School.
Present:- Councillor MacLaren (Convener, Children and Families Committee) and Tom Wood (Chair) and approximately 150 members of the public.
In Attendance - Gillian Tee (Director, Children and Families Department), Maureen Brice (Quality Standards and Improvement Manager), Anne Crawford (Property Manager, City Development) and David Robertson (Asset Manager, Children and Fa miI ies) .
The Education, Children and Families Committee had agreed at its meeting on 16 June 2009 to undertake consultations on proposals to close Burdiehouse, Drumbrae, Fort and Royston Primary Schools.
Introduction
Tom Wood explained that he had been invited by the Council to chair this public meeting, the second of two public meetings being held as part of the consultation on a proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School. He welcomed members of the public and explained his intention to encourage as wide a dialogue as possible, to explore all the relevant issues, and as far as possible to ensure that questions were fully answered by the Children and Families officers.
Presentation
David Robertson, Children and Families, set the context for the proposal to close the school. There was growing financial pressures on budgets with further cuts expected in public expenditure. Falling rolls as a result of a drop in the birth rate had resulted in some 8,600 spare places in primary schools across the city. A review of the primary schools had been carried out, focussing on geographical areas where schools were less than 60% occupied. Across the city, four primary schools had been identified for possible closure. From 2008 and 2013, the number of primary age pupils was expected to increase by over 5%. In the next ten years to 2018 an increase of nearly 5,000 children (20%) was expected. School rolls were expected to follow this pattern but growth would not be consistent across the city. 2
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
At Drumbrae, the school’s roll had fallen by over a third in the last five years to 119 during the 2008/09 session. The occupancy rate was 39% and there was spare capacity of 187 places. Of the 223 pupils who lived within the school’s catchment area, only 92 attended Drumbrae. The cost per pupil for the 2008/09 session was f5,022 which was 36% above the city average.
The proposal was to close the school at the end of the 2009/10 session and pupils re-allocated to Clermiston or East Craigs Primary Schools from August 2010. The primary school catchments would alter at the same time and parts of the Craigmount High School catchment would realign to the Royal High School. New nursery accommodation would be provided at Clermiston Primary School and the Fox Covert nursery provision would be expanded. The new nursery spaces would be operational from August 201 0.
Details were provided of the consultation process which lasted until 16 October 2009. Written comments from parents, staff, trade unions, etc, were invited and all representations would be considered in the report to be made by the Director to the meeting of the full Council on 17 December 2009, at which a decision would be taken by the Council. The consultation paper attempted to outline the issues involved and to give as much information as possible on the rationale for the proposal.
Convener’s Statement
Councillor MacLaren opened the discussion by explaining that as the Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee she was tasked with the responsibility for ensuring that the city’s schools were performing to the best of their abilities. The Council as a whole currently had a budget deficit and it was undeniable, and in common with the rest of the public sector, that it would be squeezed further in the next year. So far as the Department was concerned, it would have to find something in the order of f14m in savings. The City of Edinburgh was not alone in this exercise and local authorities across the country were going through similar processes, reviewing the resources available and being required to take a strategic view as to how the limited resources were to be distributed. The review had been informed by a number of factors including: occupancy rates and capacity in the schools, attainment levels by pupils, and patterns of parental choice and placing requests. The consultation paper attempted to outline the information available and to show the rationale for the changes being proposed.
One or two points that she wished to make (and in reply to questions raised at the first public meeting held earlier this week) was that the “Curriculum for Excellence” was not predicated on any particular class size -the philosophy behind it was much wider and it allowed for both large and small class sizes, according to the circumstances and the personalised learning needs of pupils. With regard to the new-build housing in Fox Covert Primary School catchment area, the Council would attempt to accommodate Drumbrae pupils at that school if parents wished to send 3
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009 their children to there, as opposed to East Craigs or Clermiston: the Department would take this point into account in reporting to the Council. With regard to financial matters the closure of Drumbrae would result in f260,OOO in annual revenue cost savings, in addition to any sums from capital.
Questions and Discussion
Tom Wood invited the audience to ask questions or to offer comment on the proposals. He suggested that questions be taken in groups of two or three and then answered by the officers or elected members of the Council. In summary, the main points of the questions and answers were as follows:-
QI On the school roll projections, the General Registrar’s Office for Scotland was predicting that, by the year 2021, the city’s population could rise by 20 per cent or even up to 22 per cent. My experience of GRO statistics was that they were pretty reliable - the problem was that 20 per cent was only an average and I would want to know more about how the west of Edinburgh was affected over the various years. In the north-west area, there were reasons to believe that the extra building, and the planning proposals, and the demographics, would make the figures much larger. Also, again on the statistics provided by yourselves, you quoted the average cost for a pupil as f5,000- whereas for East Craigs, Clermiston, Drumbrae area, the figure was €3,494 - a lot less than the city average. I raise these points to make the point that an awful lot can be made out of statistics and numbers?
42 Six years ago the notional capacity for Clermiston was 326; two years ago we realised our capacity was actually not near the level stated by the Council. In August, the Council looked again and reduced the capacity level by 18. With 11 classes, the current notional capacity was 256. My question is - where does the other 73 places come from - is this two new classes, in which case it would be twice 33 which is only 66 - where does the figure of 73 come from? The department have been asked for specific numbers on a year by year basis - what are the numbers against each class? - I want this information to be provided to me by 14th October.
Answers 1 and 2
David Robertson explained that the roll projections given in the presentation this evening represented the very latest information that we have, following the actual PI intakes; the figures you are quoting were of course from the consultation paper which was prepared earlier than that. We used the latest figures, looking at both the physical capacity of the school buildings, and the projections for the organisation of the classes needed across the year groups, once the new term had started in August. Based on a 13-class organisation, the capacity at Clermiston would 4
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009 translate to a notional capacity of 379: based on a 14-class organisation, the capacity would be 415.
Q3 As a parent, I feel we are being bribed - I feel that you want to sell the Drumbrae site and to do this before you will repair Clermiston Primary School.
Q4 How much has the Children and Families Department made from the earlier sales of Hunter’s Tryst, Lismore, and other schools that have been closed? You said you would be able to plough this money back into the system - yet a lot of these school sites still remain unsold.
Answers 3 and 4
David Robertson confirmed that some sites remained unsold -the Council had decided that some cannot be marketed at the present time, with the downturn in the market, and rather that they have to be held meantime. This required the Council to engage in short-term capital borrowing; as you imply, the Council is now having to look at the situation and issues of best value for the taxpayer.
Councillor MacLaren explained that the revenue costs from the closure of a school were realised immediately; the savings from the earlier closures were put into the education service for the city. The capital receipts would come later and, as you say, there has been delay in some of these through the Council’s decision not to release the sites on to the market. Where possible, for example at the Westburn Primary site, the Council has tried to get the best out of buildings by re-using them within the education service. It is the intention to sell off the sites and to re-invest the monies in the education service but at the present time it would not be prudent to sell at the reduced prices.
Q5 If this school is closed who is going to pay for the upkeep for example on security costs - the Lismore building, as I understand it, has had considerable problems with security?
Answer 5
David Robertson explained that there would be security issues -the Lismore building is being retained at the present time and has involved security measures having to be taken. It is a factor, and we have to take it into account, in trying to secure best value for the projects.
Q6 On projections again, in the year 2010 the figures you quoted for capacities in the consultation document were at odds with the presentation this evening - there was some doubt over the figures and the figure you quoted of 41 5 for a notional capacity for East Craigs was in doubt also. At East Craigs we are short of space - why was there no capital available for improvements at East Craigs? 5
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
Q7 I would like the local members for this area - Councillors Aldridge, Dawe and Keir - to state their position in regard to the proposed closure of this school.
Answers 6 and 7
David Robertson stated that regarding the projections, there were differences between the presentation figures this evening and the figures in the consultation document - as indicated earlier, the figures this evening represent our latest projections based on information that has come in since the start of the new term. On the capacity at East Craigs, we are confident that there is sufficient space to cope with any increase in roll. The roll at East Craigs in 1997 had been 41 7 pupils and there had been significant capital expenditure in the school since then. The present day roll was 339 pupils. The building capacity was currently 41 5 so there was enough space to cope with an increase. Again, the figures used this evening represented the latest situation - it had to be noted that up to 30% of a school’s roll could come from placing requests, from out-of-catchment addresses and which can be estimated only until they have been determined by the committee responsible for determination.
Anne Crawford explained that the Council has carried out a condition survey of all the buildings - they all graded as ‘B’ in terms of condition relative to their age. The general position as regards maintenance was that the pressure on the Council’s budget allowed only for “wind and watertight” maintenance and health and safety issues to be addressed.
Q8 Drumbrae Primary was right in the middle of the catchment areas and, for most of the children, was within an easy walking distance. The fabric of the building at Drumbrae was superior to that of East Craigs and Clermiston. Why has the Council not considered building temporary huts at Drumbrae and using that as the hub for the schools, in view of its central and safe position. On the particular matter of travel, if children were moved away from Drumbrae to Clermiston or East Craigs, then parents would undoubtedly take them by car - at Clermiston, I know from personal experience, there is a lot of traffic and congestion. At Drumbrae, people would walk their children to school because it was felt to be closer and a much safer route. Also, with regard to East Craigs, there was a large development proposed by Cala Homes, with several other development sites in the pipeline - the Warriston site, Queen Margaret College, etc., with the potential to increase the roll. Presently, 59 pupils from the Drumbrae area were going to East Craigs but in the future there may well be no room for them without new buildings. Parents chose to send their children to either East Craigs or Fox Covert in preference to Clermiston because of that route needed to get them to Clermiston. 6
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
Answer 8
Councillor MacLaren confirmed that the Council had looked at all the schools in the cluster area. The fact remained that Drumbrae Primary had only 77 pupils at the present time and there was concern that there would be a requirement for a composite class spread over three years -which was not a good idea in educational terms. The roll had been dropping over a number of years to its current level.
Q9 You mentioned earlier the situation at Westburn School and its proposed new link up with Stevenson College, with a view to improving the learning experience. Drumbrae could have the scope to be involved in new initiatives, for example with regard to the expensive new library planned for the area -the school could be a centre of excellence?
Answer 9
David Robertson explained that the Council has considered the travel patterns within the proposals - a proposed new crossing into Drum Brae Drive would be needed; the Council also had powers to implement 20 mph speed limits. Lothian Borders Police had been consulted on the road safety implications of the various proposals and we are happy to share the information report from the police. (He outlined the distances from the farthest points of the catchment areas for to the schools, of which the walking distance from the farthest point of the Drumbrae catchment to Clermiston Primary School was 1.I miles.)
Q10 What is the possibility of transportable units being provided at Drumbrae - the issue of cost had to be considered?
QII The threat of school closures in this area has been hanging over Drumbrae for some time and affected the mood of parents - hence the parents had sent their children to out-of-catchment schools. The school roll was 240 when I first came here and 140 before the Council’s first round of closures and fell further after the second round of consultations. People believed that the Council had made up its mind to close the school.
Q12 Are the figures based on 33 pupils per class? In PI to P3, what are the class sizes? Please note that, when I voted last, the Liberal Democrat Party had made a pledge that class sizes in PI to P3 would be set at “15”. This promise was made to us but how are they going to achieve that?
Answers 10,ll and 12
Councillor MacLaren stated that the policy proposal had emanated from the English system, Nick Clegg having referred to the “15” level. It had not been stated in the Scottish context. In this authority, we are trying to develop an innovative system that 7
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School IOSeptember 2009 was not dependent on class sizes. The Scottish Government had said that authorities had to reduce class sizes to18 but the relevant legislation had not been brought forward. The current legal maximum for class sizes was 33. Our notion on class sizes was that it needed a flexible and creative system, and we were trying to do in Edinburgh under the Curriculum for Excellence.
Gillian Tee confirmed that the legal position was that 33 was the maximum. In Edinburgh we are trying to achieve an upper limit of 25 for education of children in the PI stage. It was a fact that we were facing significant budgetary pressures and keeping open half-empty schools was part of the issue. In terms of the finance available to education, we had been facing cuts of 2 per cent - we were now facing a 5 per cent year-on-year reduction, according to government grant formulas and estimates for next year. At Clermiston and East Craigs it was to be noted that teachers as well as pupils would move and thus it would allow class sizes at each school to be marginally reduced. On an earlier point made about capital receipts, the advice given to the department was not to sell (the school sites) but we had already achieved major savings in revenue which were being put back into the service.
Q13 As a member of the Parent Association at Clermiston, I would like to know what would actually be required in the way of proof to convince elected members that Drumbrae should not be closed? Also, what research had been done in terms of a survey of Drumbrae parents to indicate what their preferences were as regards to choice of school?
Q14 You say that across the city there were 8,600 surplus places at the present time reducing to 6,500 in the future. I think that if you re-calculate the estate capacities it will be somewhat reduced - for instance, parents have been saying for some time that pupils needed “break out spaces” in our schools. Also, what was the Council’s position on the class maximum size of 18 for PI to P3 pupils as indicated by the Scottish Government and, if they hadn’t achieved it, when would they actually expect to achieve this for Edinburgh?
Answers 13 and 14
Councillor MacLaren noted that it had been asked what it would take to change her mind on Drumbrae and stated that it is simply that I would need to be convinced that the proposals were not in the best interests of the education of the children. I am perfectly open about this and would say to you that you have got to convince me that the children would not do well under what is being proposed. On the matter of class sizes i have asked the Cabinet Secretary (at the Scottish Government) to bring forward legislation on the matter. If legislation is not forthcoming then authorities have to accept class sizes of up to 33, whatever they may feel, in those schools where parents were keen to place their children. In disadvantaged areas, it was our policy to try to achieve a ratio of one teacher (or equivalent specialist support) to 18 pupils. 8
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
Gillian Tee explained that overall, the department has got to make the best use of resources to meet the educational needs of children in the city. In the current economic climate this is not best served by a high cost per pupil. On the earlier question about whether the Department had undertaken a survey of pupils preferences, the answer was no, however, we have got to look at the available information as to where parents chose to send their children - Fox Covert was subject to quite a lot of applications and we had to take account of that. Under these proposals the number of children going to East Craigs would be 14 which would bring the roll of East Craigs back up to what it was two years ago.
On the question about class sizes, we are not giving up on the “18” level but it was very much dependent on the level of resources available. These proposals would help towards the target.
Q15 What exactly is needed to make this proposal be over-turned by the Council on 17th December?
Answer 15
Councillor MacLaren explained that they were listening to the concerns raised -that was the purpose of this consultation exercise - but you have to convince me at the same time that any pupil would be educationally disadvantaged by what was proposed.
Q16 Margaret Smith MSP stated that she would like to raise two issues: firstly, on capacity, whether the Council had done a scoping study on the capacity of the remaining schools? It is really necessary to look at the whole of north-west Edinburgh in view of all the potential for development. For example: Corstorphine Primary could be at 100% capacity, Cramond at 100% capacity, East Craigs at 90% and Clermiston at 90% - with resultant displacements on the surrounding schools - if there is to be new housing in Drum Brae, plus the Zoo site, the Queen Margaret College site, and others. Are you clear in your mind that the capacity that would be left in the other schools would be adequate to implement the Curriculum for Excellence? Secondly, on staff ratios, what was the experience from elsewhere in the city from a staffing point of view? I had asked the Cabinet Secretary if the legislation to implement a class size of 18 is going to come forward - but it seems that they are not going to bring this forward in the near future and education authorities will still have to work under a limit of 33. What was the situation regards any care home proposal at Drumbrae? 9
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
Answer 16
Anne Crawford stated that the Council had earlier agreed under its care home policy that two new care homes were needed in the Clermiston area. The idea of putting a care home on the Drumbrae site had been raised only in the context of there being a site available. The idea was at a very early stage and would be entirely dependent on there being a site available.
David Robertson added that on the capacity issue, there would be sufficient spare capacity at the three other schools to accommodate pupils from Drumbrae e.g. 76 spare places at Clermiston; 63 at East Craigs and 72 at Fox Covert. On the more general question about school capacity and proposed new housing developments, the Council would seek developer contributions as part of planning consents if the developments would cause pressure on school accommodation. On the more specific question as to whether we have done a scoping study of housing on the Drumbrae Primary School then the answer was clearly no - to have done so would be clearly pre-empting any decisions by the Council and this consultation process.
Q17 Councillor Aldridge stated that I have been asked earlier in this meeting to state my views on this exercise. I have to say that I have not yet finally decided - it is a very difficult issue for myself and local members and hinges on what is seen to be the best solution in the interests of the education of the children. There are other issues which have been raised and we have got to balance these up also. I have to say I am very concerned about the possibility of a three-year composite class at Drumbrae were rolls to continue to fall. On the one hand, small class sizes were good but they had to be viable in the interests of the educational experience of the child.
Q18 Councillor Dawe explained that like Councillor Aldridge, I also want to weigh up what I am hearing in this consultation exercise. I am conscious that at the present time there are 77 children in the school and 12 in PI. If I felt that any child would be educationally disadvantaged by the proposed move, then it would change my opinion but so far I have not made up my mind and as with colleagues I want to listen and consider the issue carefully.
QIQ Councillor Keir added that he endorsed what had been said by colleagues - none of us have made up our minds as yet on this matter. We are listening through this consultation process and want to have as much information as possible, before this difficult issue can be decided. None of us is in a position right now to make a statement as to how the Council should decide on the matter.
Q20 What considerations are being made for additional specialist teacher support - at Drumbrae a good number of children need a lot of help (and they are getting it at the present time)? It would be a big change for them to move from a class 10
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
of 12 to a class of 25 and I would like to know what learning support assistance would be available were they to have to move?
Answers 17,18,19 and 20
Maureen Brice stated that the department gives assurances that the learning support services required for any child would be provided - the effect would actually be to increase the level of learning support available to the schools. The audit of any needs for any child (what they required in the way of specialist support) would move over with the child to the new school.
Q21 On the drop in the roll of Drumbrae in recent years, I would just like to emphasise the point that this was a direct result of the Council’s lack of funding and support for the school in recent years.
Answer 21
Councillor MacLaren stated that there were a number of other schools - examples in the city where schools were affected by closure proposals - but their rolls had not dropped in the way that Drumbrae’s had declined in recent years. The reasons why parents might chose to send their children to another school were complex, and I cannot agree that this proposal was the cause of the roll dropping.
Q22 I have lived in Drum Brae Drive for 55 years and have an awful lot of sympathy for the parents. I had children at both of these schools and they were well educated. I just wonder whether the officers and members have ever been in Drum Brae Drive at 8.00 am to see the traffic situation - you take your life in your hands trying to cross Drum Brae North during the day. How are the children to get to these other schools? Also, take into account the fact that Drumbrae school is a community school - it supports the community and it keeps it alive -the Guides, the Co-operative Guild, the Brownies, badminton, etc, they all like and make use of the facilities in the school.
Answer 22
Gillian Tee confirmed that the Department has been in touch with some of the community groups and we will assist them to move to new venues. The new library would also have two rooms available for community use. We are very interested in hearing from any others and will assist with new places.
423 Councillor Johnstone stated that from the GRO statistics, it seems there is every possibility that spare capacity in these schools could be over-stated. In my own ward, South Morningside Primary has had to resort to using additional accommodation in church halls, conversion of a janitor’s house, etc, to cope with the demand for places. At the present time it has been left to councils to 11
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
decide how to manage the situation with regard to class sizes. There were a number of real issues here, including traffic and road safety, and I myself am not convinced that it is not being driven by what are essentially short-term budgetary pressures. This is justification for parents to lobby the councillors, MSPs and the parties that were to take the decision on this matter.
Q24 I do not agree with the figures and the projections -these are not always accurate and changes come about rather quickly. I have stayed here 50 years and have seen a lot of change with young people moving in and who will have families. Councillor MacLaren has said to us that “good education and small class sizes do not always go hand in hand” - yet that was what she and all the other parties professed to do in their manifestos. On the claims that there was a f14m hole in the budget, the Councillors had made the choices and they were responsible for the deficit. The Council put f30m into a tram system that everybody now knows is a bottomless pit.
Q25 On additional support for learning, you said that this would be provided on a basis of an audit on pupil needs. As a parent at Drumbrae, I know that only small classes at that school allow this to be done - if it is a large class I find it hard to see how it will work. Also, why don’t you consider combining Fox Covert and Drumbrae on the Drumbrae site, and why are no figures included in this consultation exercise for Fox Covert? If you combine the two schools at Drumbrae, this might allow East Craigs to accommodate any new development on that site and Clermiston would not be over-crowded.
Answers 23,24 and 25
David Robertson noted that at Fox Covert there were two schools - one denomination and one non-denominational. The main point behind the rationale of not involving Fox Covert in the proposals was the significant potential of a redevelopment of the Queen Margaret College site - which could have a major impact on the future roll of Fox Covert.
Q26 I want a further public meeting to discuss these issues, for one thing. Also, I am not sure on the statements made regarding specialist support - I know of one child at Drumbrae who had to go to a special school on account of a lack of money to provide for that child’s needs at Drumbrae.
Answer 26
Maureen Brice explained that the Department would speak to parents individually in regard to children that needed specialist support or specialist needs and assurances would be given that the proper provision would be given, in consultation with the pa rents. 12
Consultation Meeting on Proposals to Close Drumbrae Primary School 10 September 2009
Q27 There was no doubt that children in small classes did better at school (quoting a number of studies) - bigger classes would undoubtedly disadvantage any child.
Q28 The best way to improve children’s education was by allowing them to learn in the way that they wanted to learn - forcing children to move to other schools would not assist in this process.
Conclusion
Tom Wood ended the meeting by thanking the parents and other parties for the questions and contributions, all of which had been recorded and would go forward to the Council meeting in December. The point made by several people this evening about the minutes being publicly available at an earlier stage was noted and would be taken up by the Director and officers of the Council.
The consultation period would end on 16 October 2009 and the Council was encouraging parents and others to send in additional written responses. Appendix 4: Proposed closure of Drumbrae Primary School - Summary of Consultation Responses
This report contains a summary of the comments received on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School. The summary responses are ordered as shown below.
Contents
Response from Parent Council or School Response from Interest Group or Body
Children and Families Department The City of Edinburgh Council December 2009 Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Response from Elected Representative1Political Party Representative
D45 Margaret Smith and MSP (Scottish D46 Liberal What is meant by paragraph 15.1 of the Consultation Paper which states that the Council will match the requirements of the Democrats: legislation, ‘as closely as the current legislation allows.’ Edinburgh What role did the HMlE play in the consultation process? West) What are the current class sizes at Drumbrae compared to the class sizes at other schools and the estimated class sizes and other schools were Drumbrae to close? Why has the school roll dropped in recent years? What ‘other’ schools do children attend residing in the Drumbrae catchment? Please provide more information on how the socio-economic profiles are arrived at and what the different socio-economic weightings given to Drumbrae, Clermiston and East Craigs, as well as Fox Covert are. Please explain why larger classes will be better than smaller classes. If the closures don’t go ahead what level of budgetary cut can be expected for the average primary and secondary school? What is the Council’s experience of team teaching? Have the housing developments on the Cala and former QMC site been accounted for in the Craigmount roll projection/ catchment Would the ‘footprint’ of the school building- and ‘tarmaced’ area be sold for redevelopment? How would the green space be - managed? D Margaret Smith E-mail - 16 October 2009 106 MSP (Scottish and Liberal w Any decisions about the closure of Drumbrae should be taken primarily on educational rather than financial grounds. D Democrats: w We welcome the assurances that the school would not close if this was educationally detrimental to the pupils concerned. 107 Edinburgh We think it is reasonable for the Council to think in terms of significant population growth in the years to come - therefore it West) and John would be financially prudent to keep Drumbrae open. Barrett MP The uncertainty of the school’s future has undoubtedly played a part in the falling school role. (Liberal w The Parent Council have signatures from parents who would re-enrol their children at Drumbrae if its future were Democrats: safeguarded, Edinburgh e In the next 8 years there will be an additional 5,000 pupils- which will go some way to filling the empty spaces mentioned in West) the consultation report. e Research shows that school mergers typically result in larger classes, fewer teachers or both. The school is in good repair and is the best equipped in terms of communal facilities in the local area. e It is a hub for community events and is used by a number of organisations e There would need to be greater additional support for learning in the receiving schools e A school crossins-- quide will have to be retained at Drum Brae Drive. e If the site were to be used for housing this would create more children- putting further pressure on a potentially smaller
-2- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
local primary school estate. We welcome that the school playing field will remain as amenity ground and urge that the field is maintained properly to allow community use. Considering the socio-economic factors faced by Drumbrae its attainment levels are generally good. There are assertions in the Consultation document about the educational benefits of closure which are not backed up by evidence. There is no actual evidence presented against small class sizes. We believe that small class sizes are particularly important in the early years and in areas of social deprivation such as parts of the Drumbrae catchment. We are concerned at the impact a shift from very small class sizes to large sizes will have on pupils from Drumbrae There is evidence to suggest that larger school sizes have increased incidence of aggressive behaviour. Senior EIS officials stressed the importance of reasonable sized classes in relation to the delivery of Curriculum for Excellence. We have reservations relating to using team teaching. What matters to the pupils is the size of the class in which they are placed. We do have some concern that nursery schools don’t have catchment areas so we would query what guarantees Drumbrae parents have that they would get their children into the nursery of their choice. The Parent Council is also concerned that the proposals do not take into account any future demand for nursery places The location of pupils from Drumbrae would take East Craigs to 91 YO and Clermiston to 90% capacity. If population levels were to rise in line with the city projections then having so many schools at or near capacity would represent a real problem in the future. Concerns remain about the crossing of Drum Brae Drive by pupils who would transfer to Clermiston Primary. In reality many children will not be accompanied by a responsible adult and it’s essential that a crossing guide is in place as well as a new crossing. There are concerns that there is insufficient dining room capacity at East Craigs to absorb additional pupils. Higher Achievers in Clermiston may suffer as learning assistants will have to focus on struggling children. Many pupils will opt to send their children to Fox Covert Primary School. Drumbrae is well utilised by community organisations and groups have encountered difficulties finding alternative premises. A number of local residents have raised concerns that combining the school with the proposed new library and social care provision wasn’t properly investigated.
-3- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
~ D Gavin Brown E-mail - 16 October 2009 105 MSP (Scottish Conservative My reasons for opposition to the proposed closures are as follows: and Unionist Primary school numbers are rising. If CEC closes schools at this stage then it would be unable to cope when the population Party: Lothians) increases again. CEC will have to procure land and build new schools to accommodate the increased primary school population over the next ten years. What analysis has been done to assess the cost of doing this? There appear to be short-term savings at the expense of long term enormous costs. Projected staff savings seem inaccurate. There will be costs incurred from heating and maintaining empty buildings. There will be minimal returns on land sales in the current economic climate. The proposed changes would impact on the concordat between local and central government to reduce class sizes. Children in surrounding schools face increased class sizes which would have a negative impact on their education. Support needs may not be adequately met for children in the receiving schools. Many parents are strongly opposed to the proposals.
__ 113 Steven Binney, Letter - 15 October 2009 Association Vice Chairman Drumbrae (Edinburgh 0 The children, parents and the wider community have a strong attachment to Drumbrae Primary School. West 0 Not clear what educational benefits pupils at Drumbrae would gain from being moved to the receiving schools. Conservatives) 0 It is likely, however, that class sizes in the receiving schools will increase as the population increases and this can only be considered a disadvantage. 0 Drumbrae is one of the few schools in the cluster with a designated assembly hall, dining hall and gym hall. Drumbrae is a hub for wider community activity.
East Craigs & Clermiston There are major concerns regarding the ability of East Craigs to absorb an increased school population. 0 There is currently no dining hall at the school and pupils either eat school lunch in the gym hall or at their desks if they have packed lunches. There are major concerns that this proposal will result in increased class sizes, particularly as East Craigs and the roll is likely to increase due to housing developments. 0 Clermiston already has high occupancy and this is projected to increase substantially within the next decade, even without the closure of Drumbrae PS.
Occupancy and the wider area 0 In the near future there will be a need for extra school places in this part of the city and closing Drumbrae PS at this time would result in an overall shortage of available spaces.
Planning Developments & Changing Demography
-4- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
The West Edinburgh Sector will see, and has seen, major planning developments over recent time and this will affect the school roll of the affected schools. The following proposed developments will impact upon the local catchment area(s): o Bughtlin Market o 83 Craigs Road - Calla Homes o Queen Margaret College - Sherwood Terrace o 35 Drumbrae South - Old Petrol Station Increasingly houses formerly occupied by older people are being replaced with young families with primary age children - which will have repercussions on the primary school rolls in the local area. If the site of Drumbrae were to be used for residential development then this would add to the overall population. Health and Safety Children having to cross the busy Drumbrae Drive and Drumbrae South will be put at greater risk of accidents than is currently the case. Due to the extra distances involved there will be an increase in the “school run” which will increase congestion around the schools concerned. Environmental Considerations The planned extensions to the receiving schools will inevitably lead to a loss of green space. There will also be the environmental with the increased school run and increased vehicles converging on schools. Closing Remarks The proposed Drumbrae PS closure is short-term thinking, given that extra school capacity is likely to be needed in the next decade. Closing Drumbrae would have a negative social impact for the area and would be detrimental to the education of the children concerned. What may seem like a short-term saving will potentially be a far greater long-term loss
-5- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Response from Parent Council or School - - Ref Rame ___ IGroup D76 Drumbrae E-mail - 13 October 2009 Parent Council Drumbrae has been prudent with its budget over the last few years, which has not been recognised in the current proposal. The proposal claims to deliver short term cost cutting but it will ultimately cost the Council far more in the long run. East Craigs Primary school does not have a dining or assembly hall appropriate to its school roll/ capacity.
Flaws and omissions in the Consultation paper: e The 8,600 surplus place figure is based on a notional capacity calculation which is widely questioned. e Children and Families have not been running the cluster efficiently as some schools are well over-subscribed while Drumbrat appears to have spare capacity. 0 Why is CEC building new schools when other fit-for-purpose buildings are being closed? 0 The proposed catchment boundaries are wrongly and misleadingly set. 0 The proposal seems to infer that people will not come to live in the Drumbrae area but we believe population turnover will bt greater than elsewhere. 0 The proposals are mere tinkering with catchment areas rather than a full-scale review of the cluster catchments. e The proposal states that keeping the status quo is not an option. The Parent Council would dispute this. 0 There are enormous implications for the secondary school catchments which may be impossible to implement. 0 The Council will have to borrow f500,OOO to build the nursery. e The occupancy rate at Corstorphine is over 100%. The cost of extensions and alterations are omitted from the proposal. 0 Clermiston currently acts as an overflow school for Cramond Primary School. 0 It makes no sense to exclude North Bughtlinside and Fauldburn as part of the East Craigs catchment - this area naturally falls if to the East Craigs area. e Taken as a grouped average, a child educated in the Drumbrae, Clermiston or East Craigs cost less than the city average. e It is only a belief that larger schools benefit children -there is no hard evidence. e The proposed safest route to school is deeply flawed and questionable. 0 Unaccompanied children would be at significant risk when crossing Drumbrae Drive. 0 Parents from Drumbrae may simply not enrol their children in nursery at all. e With demographic change extra school provision will be necessary at Clermiston in the near future e It is proposed that new build at Fox Covert PS might be considered in the future but Drumbrae has capacity to accommodatt such an increase. e To remove nursery education and replace it with playgroup provision at Fox Covert disadvantages the children of Drumbrae. e The proposal takes no account of the increased demand for nursery places as the population rises. 0 The nursery at Drumbrae has a potential capacity of 40 places. 0 Closing Drumbrae Nursery will result in extra expense providing nursery places via private partners. 0 If a new Council care home is built on the Drumbrae site there will be no real capital receipt. ~
-6- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Counter Rationale 0 Low school rolls should not be a rationale for closure as larger schools will obviously have larger rolls, so it is not like for like comparison. 0 The drop in rolls is the result of under-investment and lack of support for the school by the Council. On the day the proposed closure was announced 22 pupils were enrolled to start the new term. Following the announcement 8 of those children were removed to other schools. 0 As elder residents in the area move into care homes their homes will become available for young families Levels of city wide educational attainment data must be disregarded. When compared with similar socio-economic profiles the overall attainment was “good”. Higher school staffing and servicing costs in 2008-2009 need to take account of the additional support which children at Drumbrae receive. This additional support will be lost in larger class sizes. Spare capacity is most definitely questionable if rolls rise as projected.
Counter Statement to the Education Benefits Statement 0 What better way to meet needs than in small classes taught by staff who know the pupils and their families. 0 All staff at Drumbrae have wide expertise gained over many years and offer an extensive range of learning and teaching approaches. 0 Schools with large rolls lack of ‘breakout‘ space required for flexible teaching. All staff in Edinburgh schools have equal access to CPD provision. 0 Sharing effective practice across a greater number of staff already takes place within the Craigmount cluster, Drumbrae has a very strong and active Parent Council. 0 If schools are closed, there will be less opportunity to develop leadership capacity
Disadvantages to our children Stress to children... 0 In having to start at a new school. 0 In greatly increased class sizes. 0 Concern for the children that receive additional support which is not audited. 0 Children from Drumbrae will not be easily accepted by neighbouring children. 0 Knowledge, support and wisdom developed by teachers at Drum brae will be completely lost. 0 All Drumbrae children will have further to travel to school and there are no direct routes. 0 It will also mean children crossing the busy Drumbrae Drive. 0 Toilet facilities at Clermiston are poor. 0 There are insufficient dining and PE facilities at East Craigs PS. 0 Drumbrae PS pupils currently have a dedicated and fully furnished ITC suite. 0 There is no evidence in the proposal of any beneficial effects of team teaching on children. 0 There are implications for continuity in teaching including foreign languages. 0 There will be reduced opportunities for musical tuition currently taught at Drumbrae. 0 €10,000 grant from Awards for All will be lost.
-7- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Parents will have to:
0 Finance new uniforms. 0 Finance lunches for children who currently lunch at home. 0 Finance extra fuel bills transporting their children to school 0 Making alternative arrangements to accompany children to and from school.
Financial Disadvantages to City of Edinburgh Council 0 Cost of extension at Clermiston and inevitably at East Craigs will be financed by borrowing. 0 Council will not save on staffing costs if they are re-deployed. 0 Extending provision of “Playgroup” places at Fox Covert will cost money 0 Maintaining and securing the empty Drumbrae building will cost money 0 Managing the Drumbrae land which is to be retained as an open space will cost money
Disadvantages to our community 0 The school sits at the heart of the Drumbrae Community. The school has been the set for our hugely successful annual Gala, attracting more than 2,000 people. 0 Drumbrae PS is used almost every night of the week and extensively at weekends by community groups. 0 Older people are desperately worried about the future of their Guild. The Girl Guides will have nowhere to meet. 0 The school currently hosts a number of sporting groups. 0 Active Schools provide badminton, basketball, bodyjam, mini kickers and Dance. 0 There would be increased vandalism and anti-social behaviour if the building lay empty.
What makes Drumbrae Primary School so special? 0 There is a “good atmosphere” in the building and amongst the children and staff. 0 The school has two large playgrounds and an extensive playing field 0 There are two memorials within the school grounds. 0 The school can seat all the children, staff and an audience at one time.
Rationale for Retaining Drumbrae Primary School 0 Based on figures provided, closing Drumbrae leaves only 7% spare capacity in the local primary school ‘sector’. 0 There are several housing developments planned within the cluster. 0 GRO projections show that school rolls are likely to increase significantly. 0 Educational attainment is “Good” compared to schools sharing similar socio-economic profiles. Attainment of a considerable number of Drumbrae pupils is well above the city average. 0 Current catchments boundaries are nonsensical and retaining Drumbrae allows these to be redrawn. 0 Catchment review would allow Fauldburn and North Bughtlinside to be incorporated within East Craigs catchment. 0 Drumbrae occupies a large three hectare site.
-8- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 The building survey carried out in 2009 rated the school as having an overall condition 'B'. Average costs per pupil for the three schools detailed within the proposal are less than the City average. 0 Facilities at Drumbrae are excellent and by far the best in the cluster. Nursery provision is already available at Drumbrae 0 Current spare capacity at Drumbrae can accommodate additional pupils resulting from revised catchment changes.
Our Clear Vision Option 1 Drumbrae to remain open, it is allowed to recruit a new Head Teacher immediately and that a catchment review is undertaken. 0 The excellent conference and catering facilities at the school should be used more intensively 0 Increase the scope for the school as a venue for adult education classes. 0 Develop Drumbrae as a community school 0 Re-introduction of the Parent & Toddler Group Develop out of school provision including a breakfast club and an after school club. 0 Seek positive ways to promote the school
Option 2 0 Propose that Drumbrae PS remains open. 0 Propose that other interested parties meet with CEC to seriously consider locating the Drumbrae Library adjacent to or as an integral part of Drumbrae PS.
Option 3 0 Propose that Drumbrae remains open. 0 Propose that both Fox Covert ND School and Drumbrae school be accommodated at Drumbrae. 0 Drumbrae has better facilities than any of the other schools in the cluster. It has room for expansion. 0 Most of the children in the catchment area for Drumbrae who do not attend the school are currently attending Fox Covert. 0 Parents of these children have indicated their intention to bring them back to Drumbrae if it remains open. 0 If the Fox Covert catchment area is realigned to Drumbrae this would negate the need for children to cross busy main roads. 0 If the catchment for Drumbrae was realigned southwards to Carline Terrace this would relieve some of the pressure on Corstorphine Primary School, currently at over 100% capacity. 0 Moving the West Neighbourhood Partnership Team Office to Fox Covert premises would relieve over-crowding issues in Gylemuir. - 057 Drumbrae E-mail - 30 September 2009 Primary School Staff 0 We are deeply offended by the negative comments and perceived lack of understanding about our school in the proposed Consultation Paper and during the public meetings. 0 We contend that our school is central to the community, provides all aspects of a Curriculum for Excellence and has excellent accommodation in a good state of repair.
-9- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School - e The attainment figures do not take account of Free Meal Entitlement and Additional Support Needs circumstances. e There is no mention of Health and Wellbeing achievement; Stage 3 Health Promoting School status; Active Schools provision; After School Club provision; Expressive Arts; Technology and Citizenship e Other schools in the cluster will not be able to support these types of activities as effectively as Drumbrae. Smaller schools have fewer pupils, smaller classes and therefore greater opportunities to take on roles and participate or lead in activities. e Larger schools in this area have poor facilities, less room, shared hall space, fewer after school clubs and less use by the community. We have been granted f 10,000 from “Awards for All” to upgrade the stage. e We are used by cluster schools, outside agencies and groups and Children and schools. e Evidence shows that our vulnerable families without transport will not travel to other areas for nursery, after school clubs and school events and need activities close to their houses. e It was stated by Cllr MacLaren that if it could be proved that any of the children would be disadvantaged then the school would not close. We trust that we have proved that children at Drumbrae would be seriously disadvantaged if the school closed. - 029 Clermiston E-mail 11 September 2009 D79 Parent Council What is the predicted effect of the closure of Drumbrae on Clermiston Primary School’s attainment given the wide gap in levels of attainment between the two schools. 9 What is the predicted educational impact of pupils of integrating into schools where class sizes are much larger? Educationally, if your proposed increase of 88 pupils carries with it only 0.69fte of a classroom assistant, how is this of benefit to our current pupils. e (B) In order that we can properly calculate the predicted pupil/ teacher ratio and hence draw educational conclusions, how much of the 3.90fte is linked to the “larger senior management team.” What protection will there be for Clermiston’s higher achievers, in order that they are not allowed to “coast” for a time? 0 Why are Drumbrae’s attainment levels so low? Is it because teaching there is of a low standard? If Drumbrae’s attainment levels are low due to reasons other than teaching how will you ensure educational disadvantage is not caused to either these children or their new classmates? Parental choice at present at Drumbrae highlights East Craigs and Fox Covert as top options, not Clermiston. e We feel that speaking with teaching staff at our school about the proposals could be most beneficial to both you and us but staff are currently prevented from expressing a view to the Parent Council regarding the proposed closure.
Le-ter - 14 October 2009 Summary The West Edinburgh Sector needs to maintain all its schools. The 5-1 1 year old population is increasing. The increase in the 5-1 1 year old population is likely to be greater in the West Edinburgh Sector due to local demographics and housing developments. Even with Drumbrae remaining open, projections indicate that there will be school occupancy rates in the West Edinburgh Sector incompatible with successful implementation of “Curriculum for Excellence”. e If the proposed closure of Drumbrae were to go ahead, it would harm education. - 10- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
It would result in serious harm to health and wellbeing - particularly among the most vulnerable groups It is uncertain whether the small financial savings estimated in the proposal to close Drumbrae PS would be realised. The proposed closure will cost money in the short-term and may result in increased costs in the longer term. Closure of Drumbrae may mean a new school will be required within ten years at greater expense. There are more cost-effective and socially-just options which should be considered. The proposed closure of Drumbrae is incomprehensible within the current national and local political context.
Context: West Edinburgh Sector School Capacity Even with Drumbrae remaining open, total occupancy rates would be too high to meet the needs of Curriculum for Excellence. Additional school capacity will be required in the near future even if Drumbrae is not closed. If Drumbrae closed projected occupancy rates for the West Edinburgh Sector primary schools would be higher still. On this basis projected occupancy rates would be 201 3 - 93%; 201 8 - 105% and 2021 - 107%. If the Drumbrae school site was developed for residential development this could result in many additional children As the older people move on, new families will move in. There is anecdotal evidence for this happening already.
Context: Educational Aspects Overcrowded schools will be unable to meet the requirements of Curriculum for Excellence including two hours of quality physical education and computer skills development. There are serious methodological problems using educational attainment tables. * When Drumbrae is standardised against other schools of similar socio-economic profiles, its attainment was classed as “good”. HMlE confirmed that they had not inspected Drumbrae within the standard cycle due to the uncertainty surrounding the school’s future. Concern has been expressed about the need for composite classes. The evidence, however, has shown that, “children in composite classes do no better or worse academically than their peers in straight grade class, but that, socially their development is enhanced.” The data suggest that Drumbrae and Clermiston are good primary schools achieving good results. The evidence base for the educational benefits statement is unclear. We have been unable to find literature to support the statements. it is concerning that potential disbenefits were not discussed. Additional staffing would only be a benefit if the staff per pupil ration were to improve. School size is not a factor with regard to staff CPD. There are large numbers of parents involved in the Clermiston and Drumbrae Parent Councils. It is unclear how a larger Council would bring any educational benefit. 0 The ‘Educational Benefits Statement‘ as a whole was full of bland statement with no supporting evidence and on closer inspection it could be construed as an educational disbenefits statement.
Educational Concerns The most important concern about the proposal is that there should be no detriment to the educational fulfilment and potential of any child.
- 11 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 Team teaching would be difficult at Clermiston where the classrooms are too small. 0 The integration process at receiving schools will have an adverse impact on the education of all the children concerned 0 It is not made clear how the attainment levels are projected for existing pupils at Clermiston.
Nursery Provision 0 Distance will have an adverse impact on attendance at pre-school nursery and this will disadvantage those from lower socioeconomic groups the most. 0 The nursery capacity in the West Sector may not be adequate, especially as the population increases.
Additional Learning Needs and Vulnerable Families 0 There is no attempt to measure or state the current level of ‘need’ at Drumbrae with any strategy as to how vulnerable families will be integrated into Clermiston. 0 The current small class sizes at Drumbrae allow teachers to give more individual attention to children with additional support needs.
Additional Concerns Social The proposed closure of Drumbrae would have significant adverse impacts on deprived communities. 0 Drumbrae PS serves many functions within the local community 0 The threat to the provision of Curriculum for Excellence within the West Edinburgh Sector.
Health 0 Stress on staff and families associated with receiving schools. 0 Increased distance would encourage car use. This would reduce physical exercise and increase the risk of road injuries Increased traffic congestion around Clermiston PS would have a negative impact on road safety.
Financial Aspects and Concerns 0 The Council has estimated that closing Drumbrae will save €260,000 per year. This is 55p per person in Edinburgh per year. 0 Apparent assumptions and inconsistencies which could mean that the small savings estimated may not be realised.
Value for Money of Drumbrae Primary School The average cost of running the three schools concerned is 5.5% lower than the city average. 0 The apparently higher costs of running Drumbrae are a function of its lower occupancy. 0 It would be better value for money in the longer term to find an alternative use for the part of the school. The local community have identified several potential alterative uses.
Capital Costs 0 The current economic climate means disposal of the site may be difficult - and waiting to sell it will incur security costs. 0 A Council-run elderly care home on the site would not generate any capital receipts. 0 The proposal to upgrade Clermiston PS could go over-budget. - 12- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 There could be boarding up costs of f50,000 at the Drumbrae PS site. 0 Demolition costs have been estimated at f180,OOO. There will also be additional asbestos removal costs of around f100,OOO. 0 If the site is not sold or becomes a different form of council property (rest home) then the potential capital loss could be f 1,265,000. There is no cost assessment of potential expansion of Fox Covert. 0 The cost of building a new school when there is insufficient capacity in the West Edinburgh Sector would be f5- 10 million.
Annual Costs 0 The proposal estimates that closure of Drumbrae PS would save only f260,OOO a year. We have calculated that the additional costs that would be incurred would reduce this figure to El 56,000 a year
Other Possible Options f3.5M has already been earmarked for a library in the Drumbrae area. Many local residents recognise the potential benefits of locating the library within Drumbrae PS. 0 Accommodating an early year’s initiative in part of the school would effectively reduce the running costs of the school 0 Closing part of Drumbrae PS would reduce its capacity and the running costs. 0 Local people have made many suggestions for uses for the extra capacity within Drumbrae PS e.g. community dentist.
Conclusions 0 Population data shows that Drumbrae PS is needed. Closing Drumbrae will result in increased costs as the population rises and new school facilities have to be provided. Even if the school is maintained, additional capacity may be required in the West Edinburgh Sector within a few years. 0 Local housing developments and demographics, and the requirements of ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ make an even stronger case for keeping Drumbrae PS open. 0 The proposed closure of Drumbrae PS will incur capital costs and we believe the modest estimated annual savings may not be realised. Drumbrae is an area of deprivation and closure would harm an already vulnerable population the most.
East Craigs E-mail - 15 October 2009 Primary School Section 1: Introduction to our submission Parent Overwhelming majority of respondents to our survey oppose the proposed closure of Drumbrae. Council We found much of the data and many of the arguments in the Consultation Paper to be contradictory, incomplete and misleading, and many of the conclusions to be flawed, inconsistent and counter-intuitive.
Section 2: East Craig’s Parents’ Position Proposal would lead to over-crowding at East Craigs Primary School. 0 This would present itself both in individual class sizes and excessive demands on general purpose accommodation We share the position with educationalists that large class sizes are not conducive to effective education. Our children and those Drumbrae pupils who would transfer to East Craigs would be disadvantaged by increased class sizes
- 13 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
The proposals would result in insufficient primary school capacity in the local area. This situation will be further exacerbated by the Scottish Government‘s limiting of PI classes to 25 children. Dining facilities are already under pressure. East Craigs would be unable to cater for all children. The combined occupancy of East Craigs and Clermiston would be 98% - additional capital spend would be required. Proposed catchment areas are counter-intuitive from a geographical perspective. We have serious concerns regarding the impact of the proposals on the delivery of Additional Support for Learning. Current notional capacity calculations lack transparency and credibility.
Section 3: Our Detailed Response to the Consultation Document 0 The toilets at East Craigs are far from “high quality” other than those built as part of the recent extension work 0 We expect the roll of East Craigs to increase beyond the estimates laid out in the proposal. Keeping Drumbrae open has not been considered as an option. Request was made for considering keeping Drumbrae open and using it as a primary school and an alternative location for the public library. 0 We fail to understand why Fox Covert PS has been kept out of scope as a receiving school - East Craigs is under similar pressure from expected housing completions. 0 Consideration should be given for the inclusion of North Bughtlinside and Fauldburn in the East Craigs catchment. 0 The proposed new catchment areas have the potential to disadvantage out-of-catchment families who currently have children at East Craigs. Any revision to catchment areas should regard Drum Brae North I Drum Brae South as a natural division, with East Craigs catchment limited to the area west of this road. 0 We believe that the current Drumbrae catchment area has a significant elderly population and that, over the next 10-15 years, there will be a substantial turnover with an increased number of families moving into the area. 0 Continued threats of closure have undermined the school roll at Drumbrae. It is disingenuous to use the neglect of the upkeep of Drumbrae as an argument in favour of its closure. Across the three schools the average cost per pupil is below the city-wide average. 0 There is no reason to assume that any individual pupil will attain to a higher standard as a result of being forced to move to a new school. The proposal includes building a new nursery block at a gross cost of €535,000 but the need for adequate general purpose space and dining facilities at East Craigs have been overlooked. Question whether assumed pupil generation from residential developments are consistent or reliable. East Craigs would be better described as an ‘overcrowded’ school rather than a ‘larger’ school resulting from the proposals. The idea of additional staffing can be misleading. A more meaningful comparison would be class sizes and pupil: teacher ratio. We do not believe that any of the Parent Councils within the sector are operating ineffectively There is no evidence to either support or refute the statement that, “pupils will benefit from larger and more flexible peer groupings”. 0 There is extensive research that indicates that smaller class sizes are better for educational development of children. We are astonished that there are no references to Additional Support for Learning in the Consultation Paper. The open plan layout of East Craigs does not lend itself to use for evening and weekend lets.
- 14- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
The proposed routes to school would put school children at considerable danger. It would be better to eliminate the danger of crossing main roads through having sensible catchment areas. The drop-off areas at East Craigs are very limited. We are concerned that any “preserved capacity” at East Craigs will be insufficient to meet future demands. Every argument made for excluding Fox Covert from the proposal could equally be made for East Craigs. We believe that East Craigs would be expected to take a higher proportion of Drumbrae pupils We regard it as scandalous that class size guidance can be deliberately circumvented by use of team teaching. We believe that further use of team teaching will be required to cope with increasing school rolls at East Craigs. The open plan layout limits the scope for team teaching. We believe that a new school will be required within a 10-15 year horizon. Hold significant doubts over how notional capacity has been applied to East Craigs. It is disingenuous to represent a playgroup as a like-for-like replacement for nursery provision at Drumbrae. It is unacceptable that there is no financial provision for East Craigs despite it being expected to absorb around half of the displaced children from Drumbrae. It is noted that the approval of Scottish Ministers is required for the proposed changes to catchment areas. We also fail to see why the decision of the Scottish Ministers would potentially be disregarded in relation to primary schools.
D Agreed E-mail - 22 November 2009 273 Response from Chairs Submission of Amendments to the minutes of the public consultation meetings held at Drumbrae Primary School (8 September of 2009) and the Royal High School (IO September 2009) from the “Save Drumbrae Group”: - Summary Drumbrae, Clermiston Drumbrae Primary School Public Consultation Meeting and East Craigs There are 46 questions recorded. Some were just statements made by the audience but at least 27 were not immediately Parent followed with recorded answers. Councils The issue of developments at the Zoo site, and its impact on Corstorphine PS don‘t seem to be recorded at all There is a very brief reference to an ASL comment made by Gillian Tee, but we believe she stated more than is recorded. An observation was made that the proposal document does not give any benefits of smaller schools but this isn’t recorded. 0 Two or three people made reference to published research on the benefits of smaller class sizes - but this is not recorded.
These are some of the questions which were asked and the responses which were given:
* Q4 Figures were quoted from the audience regarding the number of children at each school eligible for free school meals which were stated as an indicator of poorer socio-economic background and that Drumbrae had considerably more that the other two receiving schools. This is not minuted.
- 15- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Q5 should read “Referring to the comments made by Council about poor attainment at Drumbrae Primary School I would like to point out that in the Council Proposal it states that “Drumbrae Primary School’s attainment is “good” compared to other schools with similar socio-economic backgrounds. ( Note this changes in the 2009 Attainment update).
Questions and Responses The Council have clearly invested considerable resource and effort into reviewing the schools estate in 1999, 2004, 2008 and I believe the early eighties. What methods were used to establish why there is low occupancy at Drumbrae Primary and what were the findings?
Ms Glasgow responded to this by explaining her opinion about why parents choose not to send their children to Drumbrae. Ms Glasgow furthered answered that nothing had been done to establish why there is a low occupancy at Drumbrae Primary.
How full collectively do the schools within the cluster need to be before the Council would consider building a new school? Based on the proposal closing Drumbrae Primary School would leave only 7% spare capacity. This is not taking into
account the new houses being built at Fox Covert let alone taking into account in future projected rise in birth rafe. ” asked by Mrs Brenda McMahon
Ms Glasgow advised that the Council would not build new schools but seek to extend existing schools.
Did Councillor MacLaren really mean that the council wouldn’t close the school if the children would be disadvantaged and if so how that judgement would be made? This was never answered. A question was asked Why is a child from the school with medical problems having to go to a special needs school if the school should close.” but has not been recorded.
Royal High School Public Consultation Meeting
There are 28 questions, albeit each Councillor statement is recorded as a question. Of these, at least 9 were not answered. It was undertaken by the panel that all questions would be answered by the end of the consultation period.
Mr Wood was aware that, as the “official East Craigs Parent Council deputation“, and despite introducing ourselves as such, he only gave us one question. Our dissatisfaction with this isn’t recorded. This was especially frustrating because the structure of the meetings was supposed to be for Drumbrae on the 8th and receiving schools on the IOth. During the course of the RHS meeting a member of the audience requested that questions be asked individually so that answers would not be missed but this was not m inu ted .
QI: The question should be amended to “The problem is that 22 per cent may be an average and I would want to know specifically how the West of Edinburgh would be affected over the next few years” In his answer Mr Robertson suggested that GRO statistics could be vary and implied that the number of new children expected in the next IO years could be lower. The questioner pointed out that the GRO estimates were based on a projection and could just be higher.
- 16- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Q2: As part of his answer Mr D Robertson suggested that it would be hard to explain how the notional capacity is calculated (a note on how capacity is derived was subsequently placed on the Council website). In response to Q 11 Mr Robertson stated that the council did not believe that the drop in school roll at Drumbrae was attributable to successive closure threats by the council. In response to Q12 Councillor MacLaren stated that class size calculations were based on 30 for PI and 33 for other primary years.
(223: Cllr Alison Johnstone thought that as the GRO was a professional body we should trust its estimations and if anything that these figures may be understated. In her own ward, South Morningside Primary School spends considerable amounts of money funding temporary hutshnits and renting a nearby Church to accommodate current demand.
Q25: Should include: "Several children at Drumbrae receive additional support outwith audited hours and it is only because of small class sizes and expert teaching at Drumbrae that this works".
- 17 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Response from Interest Group or Body
~ Ref Name Representation /Group 033 Girlguiding Letter - 10 September 2009 Edinburgh 0 Drumbrae is used extensively by many community groups including two Brownie Packs, a Rainbow Unit and a Guide Unit. These Units involve over 100 local girls who may lose the chance to attend Guiding Units. 0 The school IS also used for meetings, concerts, and performances by the wider Guiding District and if the school is closed this marvellous facility will be lost. 0 Alternative meeting places in the area are extremely limited and very few of the other schools welcome community groups 0 In the event that the closure goes ahead, I would ask for your help in trying to ensure access to the other schools for the benefit of our community
~ D Girlguiding E-mail - 16 October 2009 104 - Clermiston District 0 Drumbrae PS is at the heart of a vibrant and busy community of which Guiding is one component. Guide 0 It is a school with excellent facilities. It has a hall, gymnasium, dining room, kitchen and spacious playing fields. Association 0 Few schools have comparable facilities. 0 Staff and parents from play key roles in the organisation of the annual Children’s Gala Day. The repercussions of this school closure will be felt widely in this community 0 We have concerns about proposed alternative venues.
~ D39 Clermiston Letter - 15 September 2009 and Drumbrae 0 Despite years of trying to persuade parents and staff from East Craigs, Clermiston and Fox Covert to help, the event is Children’s organised almost exclusively by staff and parents from Drumbrae. Gala Closure of Drumbrae would seriously threaten the future of the Gala. 0 If the Council closes the school, Drumbrae will lose the heart of its community and the community will lose the biggest event in the area.
~. D51 Drumbrae Letter - 5 October 2009 Co-op Guild 0 We are community minded and support the school in all its ventures 0 We have 42 members and started 47 years ago. 0 This school is our community.
~ D70 Kirk Session Letter - 12 October 2009 of St
Andrew’s Unanimously object to the proposed closure of-~ Drumbrae. - 18 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Church 0 Closure would deprive our community of one of its most valuable assets. The school provides a vital service within the most vulnerable parts of our community. 0 Drumbrae not only provides a safe place for vulnerable children to learn but it is also a community centre for after-school activities. 0 Many of our church members have attended the Drumbrae Co-op Guild since it began and would be lost without the social interaction that it provides.
~ 084 Drumbrae E-mail - 15 October 2009 and Community D Council 0 Believe that the falling roll this is partly due to the proposed closure and parents opting to move their children to another school 108 before Drum brae closes, 0 Believe that the demographic trend over the next few years is upwards and Edinburgh will not have spare capacity to cope with the increase in pupil numbers. 0 From an educational viewpoint these changes will adversely affect the current school pupils. 0 Belief that there are serious risks to pupils having to walk further to other schools. We believe that short term there may be minor gains in savings but capital and recurrent costs will increase significantly.
~ D86 Educational Letter - 15 October 2009 and Institute for D Scotland Using crude attainment figures without factoring in socio-economic factors is unfair and insulting to the schools concerned. 112 (Edinburgh In the judgement of the EIS the learning environment of pupils is enhanced when the pupil-to-teacher ratio is reduced. Local Increased class sizes will only have a negative impact in the learning and teaching of the pupils. Association) 0 The reduction of facilities such as IT labs, libraries, and general purpose rooms is not an improvement in educational facilities for the children in the receiving schools. Edinburgh EIS cannot support the proposals as they would not lead to a better educational provision in the community affected.
- 19- Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Response from Parents/Pupils/Ex pupilslResidents
Ref Representation
~ - D1 Parent - Letter - 30 June 2009 Clermiston Oppose proposal as it will negatively impact on education of child. 0 The previous threat of closure adversely affected enrolment at Drumbrae. A very good school is being undermined once again. 0 Capacity figures pointless if classrooms not physically large enough to accommodate number of pupils. 0 Classrooms at Clermiston are not particularly large. 0 Paired teaching ill advised at Clermiston due to classroom sizes 0 Paired teaching proved to be ineffectual (Star Report - Tennessee). 0 It would not make sense to extend existing footprint of Clermiston for new nursery at expense of play area when Council is already failing to provide minimum 1 hour of physical activity per week.
D2 Parent - Letter - 28 June 2009 Drumbrae Would like to register opposition to proposal. If children have further to travel it will encourage parents to use cars Presently kids can walk without having to cross busy roads.
~ D3 Parent - Letter - 13 July 2009 Drumbrae 0 Child enjoys going to Drumbrae school and is achieving academically beyond expected level. 0 Puts academic achievement down to lower class sizes. Facilities at the school are extensive - including large assembly hall. Why should Drumbrae shut just because the Council are mismanaging city finances. 0 Liberal Democrat website says that “young people should get the very best possible education no matter where they are born” - not if they are born in poorer parts of the city. 0 Liberal Democrat website also says that “all children will benefit from our plans to cut class sizes, set teachers free to spend more time in classrooms and raise standards in every school” - but Council will be adding to class sizes. At present child receives plenty of teacher time.
04 Ex-pupil - Letter - 30 June 2009 Drumbrae 0 Drumbrae is a big part of my life and is a pillar of the community. 0 Teachers are kind and pupils hard working -they don’t deserve closure. 0 Smaller classes are good - teachers have more time to focus on any problems.
- 20 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
D5 Pupil- Letter - 3 July 2009 Drumbrae 0 Worried that the staff will have to find new jobs. 0 1 would have further to walk to school and am frightened to cross the busy main roads.
D6 Pupil- Letter - 25 June 2009 Drumbrae 0 I am very worried about the closure of Drumbrae. 0 Got a good school report because the teachers are very good and helpful.
07 Not stated Letter - 9 July 2009
0 Reasons for closure include insufficient funds - suggest it would be more appropriate to consider the management of school budgets. Schools hit by 1.5% cut in overall budget last year. Drumbrae worked extremely hard to achieve targets set by the Council.
08 I Resident Letter - 17 August 2009
There is a clear requirement for Drumbrae to remain open. Query the surplus capacity at Clermiston. Council should provide the best possible education and not prioritise value for money. 0 Long term viability of education is more important than short-term cost savings. 0 Report is not about investment - it is about cuts. 0 Parental choice is a very relevant consideration in our local area where all surrounding schools are full. 0 It is unethical to use a falling roll as an argument for closure given that the Council is in part, responsible. * Comparing attainment data between schools is not meaningful without first standardising the data. 0 GRO projections are unreliable - what other projections have been used? 0 Private school intakes are falling. More children will be attending primary schools as result 0 Pupil generation from programmed housing developments will take local schools over capacity. 0 Evidence that smaller classes are good for education. Concern that ‘team teaching’ would be undeliverable at Clermiston. 0 Will there be enough capacity to cater for demand for local pre-school nursery places. 0 It is more prudent to hold onto assets during economic downturn in anticipation of market revival. 0 Is it not prudent to consider accommodating the new Drumbrae library within the Drumbrae PS building? 0 There are many important environmental issues arising from the report: 0 There are broader social and economic concerns associated with the proposal.
-21 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
D9 Parent/ Ex- Letter - 23 Julv 2009 pupil: Drumbrae Drumbrae is an excellent school and should not be threatened with closure. Drumbrae performs a vital community role. It hosts a number of sports, youth organisations and adult education courses. 0 Drumbrae is the only school to have a fully functional kitchen and dining hall in the surrounding area. 0 The proposals would result in having to negotiate two dangerous crossings. 0 Around 300 homes are expected to be built on the former Queen Margaret College and there is residential development planned for East Craigs. Concerned that the proposals will jeopardise the policy on maximum class sizes.
D10 Resident E-mail - 27 Julv 2009
0 Questions the land valuation process for the Drumbrae site and the source of the source of the valuation. 0 Concern that disreputable developers will capitalise on the sale of the land to the detriment of the local community.
Dl2 Parent - Letter - 21 Julv 2009 Drumbrae Drumbrae Primary is a valued part of the community. It is being used five days a week by various associations and after school clubs. Drumbrae is the only school in the area with a full working kitchen. At other schools some children have to eat their meals in the gym hall. New homes are being built and future homes planned including 300 homes at the QMC site. If the school closes and the land sold for housing, again, where would the influx of children go? Where do Drumbrae children go if school closes? o Fox Covert is no longer accepting children from Drumbrae. o Two other schools are 20/25 minute walk away with busy roads to negotiate. o There are no crossing helpers which means children would have to be accompanied by an adult. Drumbrae gives children best education possible.
D13, Pupil - Letter - 27 Julv 2009 D11 Drumbrae Frightened that younger sibling will get knocked down as there are too many busy roads to cross. 0 Drumbrae teachers are the best so why should younger sibling not get the chance to go there 0 Brought up to believe that money isn’t everything so why do the Council want to close Drumbrae?
Letter - 12 Aunust 2009
Why can the Council spend so much money on the tram but not on children’s education? D14 Parent - Email - 26 Aunust 2009 East Craigs - 22 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
~ __ Astonished and disappointed that Council wishes to close Drumbrae without considering impact on East Craigs Primary East Craigs nursery has no more room In the mornings there is not enough space for children to sit and change their shoes. Teachers rely heavily on parents help. Difficult for parents to find opportunity to speak with teachers as they are so busy. Very little outdoor play space available. Classroom spaces are tight as tables are in close proximity to one another leaving little space for activities. Will funds for expansion of East Craigs be made available? More and more children are appearing in the area every day. We don’t need more wasted open space when it is important to have schools in the area.
D15 Parent - E-mail - 31 August 2009 East Crai! Strong objection to the proposed secondary school catchment alteration between Craigmount High and the Royal High School. PS 0 Wishes that daughter who attends East Craigs will be able to progress to Craigmount High with her friends. 8 Concerned that daughter will have to cross the busy Queensferry Road and have to travel by bus. 0 Elder sibling already attending Craigmount High.
D16 Parent Letter - August 2009
There is insufficient capacity at Clermiston to absorb the influx of pupils displaced from Drumbrae. Teacher contact and learning support will be stretched to the detriment of our children’s’ learning. The library and learning support faculties were recommended by the HMlE report. The proposed nursery at Clermiston will reduce playground space for the primary school children. There are major traffic implications associated with the proposals. The pupils expected from the programmed Queen Margaret and Craigs Road housing developments will cause overflow problems for Clermiston. Drumbrae is used for after school activities by both children and the local elderly community. These proposals are not in the interests of pupils and should therefore be rejected. The proposed closure is quite clearly a money saving exercise.
D17 Parent - Letter - 27 August 2009 and Clermisto D53 Object to the proposed closure of Drumbrae. 8 This money saving exercise has not taken into account children’s’ education. 8 Smaller class sizes can benefit development of children. 0 Closure of school will have detrimental impact on social cohesion in the local community. 0 My sons attend Clermiston. One has dyspraxia, dysgraphia and associated communication difficulties. Learning support has already been removed so the only help he receives is being in a small class group. An influx of children from Drumbrae will therefore have a detrimental impact on his education.
- 23 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 In the last decade 12 schools have closed but there are still 8,600 spaces. These figures do not take into account children from deprived backgrounds, immigrants who require learning support and children with support needs who all benefit from smaller class sizes. 0 5-1 1 population increase is already happening. 0 The proposed closure two years ago undermined the viability of the school. 0 The projected impact of housing sites has been grossly underestimated. 0 There is insufficient capacity at Clermiston to absorb children from an increased local population. 0 Cramond is now full so this will increase the pressure on Clermiston. 0 it is well documented that smaller classes improve education and indeed this is SNPl Liberal Democrat national policy. 0 All three schools will be affected by larger class sizes 0 Children will be distressed by leaving friends, settling into a new school and the extra travelling across busy main roads. 0 it would be a disgrace if organisations at Drumbrae had to cease permanently. The costs of closing the school exceed the value of the land. Any cost savings attributed to staffing are false because the staff will have to be redeployed. - D18 Parent - E-mail - 30 June 2009 Clermiston 0 Threatening the school with closure is undermining the viability of the school. The notional capacity should be 256 (based on maximum class sizes). 0 Even with the use of the language resource suite (itself a valuable asset) there would be a shortfall of some 35 or 43 places from the declared ‘notional capacity’. 0 Suggests that paired teaching would be ill advised at Clermiston. ___ D19 Parent - E-mail - 4 September 2009 Clermiston 0 Continual threat of closure has undermined the viability of the school! Impact on children’s education has not been considered adequately. 0 There is insufficient capacity at Clermiston to absorb the pupils displaced from Drumbrae. 0 The government has recognised that smaller classes are beneficial to children’s’ educational development. 0 There is insufficient capacity at the Royal High to absorb the increased SI intake. 0 The school is already at 100% occupancy and there are residential developments in the catchment. Secondary school catchment changes will affect the ability of younger siblings to attend the school of their elder siblings. 0 The arguments regarding attainment are questioned. 0 Moving the pupils to another school, into larger classes, is not the solution. 0 The consultation exercise has been presented as a “closure” 0 The valuation of the Drumbrae site seems very low in comparison to the Barnton Hotel site. 0 The library should be combined with the school.
- 24 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
020 Parent - E-mail - 4 September 2009 Clermiston 0 Objects to the proposed closure of Drumbrae. 0 It will be disruptive to children and ultimately impact on their education. 0 Standards are already falling due to budgetary cuts affecting management, teaching and support staff.
Parent - E-mail - 4 September 2009 Clermiston The Council are not taking account of the already high occupancy rates in West Edinburgh. The Council are not taking account the recommended occupancy rate of 75-80% to allow delivery of ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ There is insufficient capacity to absorb the influx of children displaced from the closure of Drumbrae. The development of the Queen Margaret College will make things more crowded. Parents do not accept that “fuller schools equal better education”. The better attainment levels at Clermiston are not a valid argument for sending the Drumbrae children to this school. The socio-economic circumstances of the Drumbrae children require investment and special attention It feels like the decisions have already been made to close the school. The public meetings are a cosmetic exercise. - 022 Parent - E-mail - 7 September 2009 Clermiston 0 Cramond, Davidson’s Mains and Blackhall Primaries are all at or very near capacity. 0 Coupled with a rise in the nursery populations this will put the remaining primary schools under considerable pressure. 0 How are class sizes going to be reduced. 0 How will you be able to deliver Curriculum for Excellence properly if schools are overcrowded?
Parent - E-mail - 7 September 2009 Clermiston If Drumbrae pupils transferred two full PI classes would be created with no chance of reducing the class sizes to 18 and achieving the Curriculum for Excellence. The school would have to lose vital resources such as the library, ICT suite and music room. 0 The toilets are not an acceptable standard. The interior, rendering, and roof all require attention. 0 The road and pavements outside the school would become more hazardous as a result of the proposals.
Parent - E-mail 8 September 2009 Clermiston 0 Concern that education standards will decline as result of the proposals (Le. less teacher contact time per pupil). 0 Possible loss of playground space. 0 Reduction of facilities available. 0 There is higher percentage of children with special or social needs within the Drumbrae area
- 25 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
__ 0 There is also a new housing development within our current catchment area. 0 Will there be more changes in the near future, causing more disruption and further changes to catchment areas?
~ 026 Parent - Letter - 7 September 2009 Clermistor 0 There is insufficient capacity to absorb the influx of children displaced from the closure of Drumbrae 0 The school’s ability to deliver ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ will be compromised by the proposals. 0 Birth rates are increasing and no doubt many more school places will be needed in the near future 0 It seems that our children and therefore our future are the first to suffer.
~ 027 Parent - E-mail - 8 September 2009 Clermistor 0 Displaced children from Drumbrae would have detrimental implications for the education of my daughter who has profound hearing loss and relies on the use of radio aids. 0 Clermiston would not be able to accommodate the extra room required to provide the additional support for my daughter Other deaf pupils at Clermiston will be affected by the proposals. 0 I would like assurances that a room would still be available for my daughter’s extra tuition if Drumbrae were to close.
~ 028 Parent - E-mail - 11 September 2009 School no disclosed At the public meeting it was mentioned that Curriculum for Excellence does not require smaller class sizes. This is at odds with EIS statements. 0 It was reassuring to hear you promise that if education could be harmed by the closure of Drumbrae PS you would not allow it to close. What potential adverse impacts on education were considered when developing the proposal to close Drumbrae PS and what evidence did you find to reassure you? ___ 030 Parent - E-mail - 11 September 2009 school no1 disclosed 0 It was stated that at the Drumbrae consultation meeting that children with additional support needs would be catered for appropriately at their receiving schools. 0 I believe this refers to audited hours only. Many of the children at Drumbrae have complex needs 0 At present the smaller classes and staff with extensive knowledge of these children allow these needs to be met.
~ 031 Parent E-mail - 11 September 2009
How full would the schools within our cluster have to be before the Council would consider building a new school? 0 It is unfair and misleading to compare attainment levels with the whole city. They should be compared with schools with a similar socio-economic profile. __ 0 East Craigs was built in 1978 to accommodate new housing developments. Why after only three years was there a proposal to
- 26 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
close a school in the same cluster (Drumbrae)? Why were the catchment areas not redrawn at this time or in fact during any of the other reviews? The existing catchment boundaries for Drumbrae Primary are nonsensical. __ D35 Parent - E-mail - 14 September 2009 Drumb rae In the event of Drumbrae closing are we guaranteed a place at the school within our new catchment area (East Craigs)? East Craigs have stated that there is insufficient capacity for my son. What happens if the Scottish Ministers don’t consent to the catchment changes for East Craigs?
~ D36 Parent - E-mail - 14 September 2009 School not disclosed It is stated that larger, better resourced schools will improve learning and teaching especially in disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and that Drumbrae children will benefit from larger peer groups. How they will benefit and what research is this based on?
~ D37 Parent - E-mail - 14 September 2009 School not disclosed Proposals to close schools are a direct consequence of the financial incompetence of the Council. Proposals will increase class sizes -this is contrary to national government policy. Occupancy rates of 75-80% are recommended for delivery of ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ - the proposed receiving schools are already at this occupancy level and are expected to rise in a very short time? What do you propose to do in 5 years time when there is no more room at the remaining local schools?
~ D38 Parent - E-mail - 11 September 2009 East Craigs My younger daughter would not be able to attend the same secondary school as her elder sister (Craigmount High School) as a consequence of the proposed catchment boundary changes. If younger daughter cannot attend the same school this would cause considerable disruption and inconvenience. __ D40 Parent E-mail - 16 September 2009 Drumbrae What guarantees can you provide that receiving schools will cater for children with complex needs not meeting the criteria of “au d ited hou rs on Iy” ?
~ 041 Parent E-mail - 16 September 2009 Clermiston Future increase of young families moving to the area will increase demand for primary school spaces. How can the current rotation of the ICT suite, Active Learning and library facilities at Clermiston be continued in the context of the proposed influx of displaced children?
- 27 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
The proposed changes will have a negative impact on education provision by increasing over-crowding 0 What are the financial benefits of closing the school if the teachers have to be re-deployed elsewhere? Closing Drumbrae will have a negative affect on the wider community. - D42 Former Letter - 11 September 2009 Teacher 0 I was recently in the school and felt that it was a very happy and secure environment. 0 The school has strong connections with the local community. 0 Would a change in the catchment area not help to solve the issue in a less drastic fashion? - D47 Parentl E-mail - 17 September 2009 Resident 0 If you close Drumbrae you will need for another primary school in the area within a matter of years. 0 If class sizes are reduced and Drumbrae closes there is no way there would capacity in the remaining schools for the population of the area. - D48 Parent - Letter - 16 September 2009 Clermiston PS 0 The reason the occupancy rate is so low because over the last five years the Council has threatened continuously to close Drumbrae. 0 Under ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ it will not be possible to accommodate break out spaces at Clermiston. 0 It is impractical and dangerous for Drumbrae children to attend Clermiston because of the distances involved and the dangerous roads they would have to cross. 0 The Parkgrove crossing is already dangerous. Closing Drumbrae would deprive the local community of much needed community assets and space. 0 The education provision at Clermiston would diminish as teachers would have to divert their energy to the merger and not teaching. The merger would be distressing and disruptive to pupils affected.
Resident E-mail - 23 September 2009
0 Smaller classes are better for meeting learners’ needs taught by staff who know them and their families. There is a large number of staff at Drumbrae PS each with over 20 years teaching experience. How can a larger school offer anything better? “Extended and strengthened parent Council” - can you tell me what evidence you have found to back up this statement. As a member of the Drumbrae PS and Craigmount HS Parent Councils I have direct experience to refute this assertion. More parents does not mean morel greater parental involvement. ____ D52 Resident E-mail - 24 September 2009
- 28 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 The Star report found in both reading and maths pupils in small classes performed significantly better than pupils in regular classes. * SAGE programme made the same findings and the Rouse report found the same. * The Kspar report states there is a clear case for small class sizes in the first year of school. 0 Kspar report also identified what might be called a disruption effect of changing from one school to another - the effect of this was magnified when the children moved to a bigger class. The EIS supports the policy of smaller class sizes.
D56 Parent E-mail - 29 September 2009
Curriculum for Excellence is based from ages 3 to 18. 0 Fox covert provides a Playgroup, not a nursery. The children from Drumbrae will be down graded from a nursery to a playgroup. 0 Curriculum for Excellence wants to ensure that all young people are effective contributors. How is this possible in a large class? 0 Active learning will almost be impossible to maintain in a large class. 0 Research indicates that there can be rich educational benefits from being educated in composite classes Why was support and investment not put into Drumbrae to revive its school roll.
D58 Parent - E-mail - 29 September 2009 Clermiston PS 0 There is insufficient physical and educational resource capacity to absorb the proposed influx of children from Drumbrae. The sale of the Drumbrae site will eventually result in residential development which will generate further children.
D59 Parent E-mail - 14 September 2009
0 I wish to complain about the consultation process. 0 I have asked numerous questions and have only received a standard letter advising that the questions will be answered in a final report which will be published on the IOth December, almost two months after the deadline for comments/ objections. The minutes of the public meetings will also be published on the IOth of December.
D62 Parent - E-mail - 2 October 2009 Drumbrae PS I have stayed in Drumbrae for 37 years and went to Drumbrae PS. 1 am opposed to the proposed closure as my son attends this school and daughter who would attend the nursery in 2 years. 0 The closure would be devastating for the community. * The closure would cause more anti-social behaviour and vandalism in this area. 0 This community will fight tooth and nail to keep this school open.
D63 Parent - Letter - 1 October 2009 Clermiston PS 0 Concerned that “Curriculum for Excellence” will not be implemented with the proposed increase in class sizes. - 29 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 I would like reassurance that levels of attainment will not drop. 0 I do not see how the style of teaching delivered at Drumbrae can be replicated at Clermiston. 0 I appreciate that money has to be saved but is not appropriate to do so at the cost of children’s’ education.
Parent Letter - 7 October 2009
0 There is insufficient physical and educational capacity to absorb the proposed influx of children to Clermiston. 0 The removal of the additional resource rooms at Clermiston would be impact negatively on the children’s development. 0 There will be insufficient playground space if the proposed extension went ahead. 0 There is major traffic risks associated with the proposals. 0 The programmed residential developments it the local area will put the schools under further pressure. 0 The school is the venue for vital community resources for the old and young. 0 The proposed creation of larger classes contradicts established national policy.
Parent - E-mail - 8 October 2009 Clermiston PS Object to the proposed closure of Drumbrae PS 0 It would have a negative impact on the standard of education provided at Clermiston. 0 We are particularly concerned as our children currently have out-of-catchment places at Clermiston and we are extremely wc that if classes become full they would be forced to find another school.
Resident E-mail - 10 October 2009
As a local resident and a Brownie Pack leader, Drumbrae is at the heart of my local community. I am worried that there is no real alternative local accommodation for these groups. Drumbrae staff play a major role in the Clermiston and Drumbrae Children’s Gala. This has a big impact on fostering a sen: community spirit. Local children should attend their local school. Any move will be disruptive to children and families concerned. There is insufficient physical and educational capacity at the receiving schools There will be impacts on the shared spaces at these school such as dining hall, gym hall; and support space. There is a national policy for smaller class sizes There is an opportunity to convert some of Drumbrae PS into the new library.
Parent I Letter - 8 October 2009 Grandparent Clermiston Object to the proposed closure of Drumbrae. PS Schools in the area will become overcrowded. 0 There will not be enough preschool nursery places for local children. 0 In a few years, there may not be enough places at Clermiston for catchment children
- 30 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 It will be impossible to achieve the Scottish Government target of class size of 18 for PI - P3. Accommodation is already cramped at Clermiston Primary School. The dining room will not be big enough for one sitting. The hall will not be big enough for whole school assemblies. 0 There will be fewer general purpose rooms. 0 It will be harder to implement 'Curriculum for Excellence' 0 Working environments for staff will be more challenging and stressful. 0 There will be less opportunity for preschool nursery to access school facilities and for integration. Infant playground will not be big enough. 0 Integration of two contrasting schools with historic rivalries will be difficult 0 There will be increased risk of accidents. There will be less opportunity for additional support. 0 Larger class sizes will make it harder for staff to identify children who need extra support. Closing a school and decanting the children to create overcrowding in other schools is not thinking of our children. 0 With more children comes more chance of disruption. 0 Adding children to a class that is already over-subscribed will most definitely get in the way of my daughter's/ granddaughters development.
075 Parent Letter - 12 October 2009
0 There is a statistical relationship between the low socio-economic and under-achievement in school. It is a fallacy that the children would do better in a larger school with bigger classes. 0 The proposals will have a negative impact on children currently attending Drumbrae as they will have less individual contact from their teacher. 0 The proposals will result in more traffic congestion and danger to children walking to school. 0 The empty site would become a haven for drug-misuse, burglary and other social problems. __ D77 Parent - E-mail - 13 October 2009 C Ierm iston PS Can you guarantee that: The influx of over 80 pupils and the required alterations will not result in a decline in Clermiston's attainment performance? 0 The alterations will be carried out on time and on budget? 0 The loss of any amenities e.g. IT room, library would not have a negative effect on the school. 0 The situation would not worsen in the school dining area where children regularly have to wait for an available seat. Is it the policy of the current administration to gamble with children's education? ___ 078 Resident E-mail - 14 October 2009
__ 0 There is a strong relationship between Craigmount HS and Drumbrae PS staff that supports continuity- this will be lost of
-31 - z8a
C8a Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
Any capital receipts from the disposal of the site will be minimal due to the currently depressed property market
~ D89 Parent - Letter - 15 October 2009 Clermiston PS Closing Drumbrae will effectively remove the social heartbeat from this community. As a health professional in the area I am more aware than most of the pivotal role that this school and its staff play in the lives of those children who attend it. Potential loss of a nursery would be detrimental to the area. Importance of positive early education provision is well-documented. The Council should be preserving capacity as this will be required in the next 10 years. This is especially true in the West Sector where there will be significant building development, There was an 11% increase in the Lothian birth rate between 2006 and 2008 as opposed to the 3.6% which GRO originally projected. From the calculations presented 55p per person per year would keep Drumbrae open and running. The mistake with this consultation is to present only one option -which is to close the school.
~ D90 Resident Letter - 14 October 2009
The Council should be preserving capacity as this will be required in the next 10 years. The area has a very elderly population (Clermiston 22% > 65) but this is in transition. There may not be enough spaces in the nursery for local children. Using a city average does not give a true reflection of the standard of education that is being provided. Closing the school will harm education, especially for the children who attend Drumbrae, but also for the children at receiving schools: Local health professionals have serious concerns about the proposed closure. Closing Drumbrae will cost a lot of money and even the Council estimates only very small annual savings. In the longer term, there would be greater costs accommodate the increasing 5-1 1 year old population.
~ D91 Parent - Letter - 12 October 2009 Clermiston PS Closing the school will harm education, especially for the children who attend Drumbrae, but also for the children at receiving schools: o Increased distances will affect attendance. o Downgrading from nursery to playgroup will have an adverse impact. o Increased class sizes will have a negative effect for all children Drumbrae children are on average going to experience a 67% increase in class size.
~ D92 Resident Letter - 9 October 2009
There will be insufficient accommodation for Clermiston pupils in the coming years. I would expect many improvements and new buildings at Clermiston PS if the proposal is to proceed - not just a new nursery. - 33 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
D93 Parent - Letter - 13 October 2009 Clermiston PS In a few years it is very likely that there will not be enough pre-school nursery places for local children and that schools will be overcrowded. Clermiston PS, in particular, looks set to have a catchment pool far in excess of the current capacity. Clermiston will have difficulty delivering Curriculum for Excellence as a consequence of the proposals. Important ‘general purpose’ room facilities such as libraries and IT suites will be compromised It would be a travesty for such a strong school as Clermiston to find itself labelled as struggling.
~- 094 Parent - Letter - 13 October 2009 Clermiston PS The dining room at Clermiston is already operating a ‘shift’ system and currently children opt to eat pack lunches outside (in all weathers) rather than have to wait for a seat. The proposal would remove general purpose rooms and I note that the room currently used for our fantastic library will be converted to a classroom. Does this not contravene the HMlE report that requested both?
D95 Resident Letter - 14 October 2009
The projected short term financial gain will be negligible when set against the Council budget deficit. The decision is not being made in the interests of the children of Drumbrae, not the children in the receiving schools, or the people living in any of the areas. It would be better reinvesting the money in what has the potential to be a superb, thriving school and community centre.
D96 Parent - Letter - 12 October 2009 Clermiston PS With all the new housing developments taking place in the Sherwood, and Craigmount areas there will simply not be enough school places. Increased school rolls and increased class sizes will lead to decreased teacher-pupil contact times. If the merger proceeds there will be a sharp increase in the volume of traffic throughout the Clermiston area. All the adjacent residential roads will become even more of fast rat runs.
097 Resident Letter - 12 October 2009
Continuing threats of closure have undermined the viability of Drumbrae PS. There is test drilling being undertaken in the grounds of Clermiston PS - These works have led people to believe that that process is a sham and the decision is a foregone conclusion. Why should the children of West Edinburgh pay the price for poor management of budgets?
- 34 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
__ D98 Parent - Letter - 14 October 2009 Clermiston PS 0 Within two years there will be insufficient capacity in the West sector schools (Corstorphine and Cramond are already full, East Craigs and Clermiston will both be over 85% full, and there are numerous developments in progress). My son has AD(H)D and dyspraxia - for which he receives additional support at Clermiston. The proposals will put support resources under pressure due to increased school and class sizes 0 There is insufficient capacity in terms of assembly hall and dining space to absorb the proposed influx of children
~ D Resident E-mail - 15 October 2009 I00 0 It is apparent that many Drumbrae parents have no desire to send their children to Clermiston. Current choice appears to be East Craigs first and Fox Covert second. It is therefore suggested that Fox Covert is designated as the “official” option. 0 This has the advantage of continuing the established links between Drumbrael Fox Covert and Craigmount High. 0 There is capacity at Fox Covert.
D Resident E-Mail - 16 October 2009 102 The following proposed developments will impact upon the local catchment area(s): o Bughtlin Market, Cala Homes, Queen Margaret College and Old Petrol Station -Drumbrae South. Increasingly houses formerly occupied by older people are being replaced with young families with primary age children. If the site of Drumbrae were to be used for residential development then this would clearly add to the overall population. Outside school hours Drumbrae is a valuable community space, widely used as a base for several organisations. The positive links between education and community would be damaged. There has been less investment in Drumbrae than Clermiston over the past 7 years. The proposed route from the Drumbrae area to Clermiston PS is dangerous. Forcing primary school pupils to cross busy roads is at odds with the aims of the Safer Routes to School.
D Parent - Letter - 16 October 2009 103 Clermiston PS The school provides a very important community space. 0 Closure of the school would remove extra-curricular options from children The school could be used more extensively for adult learning and other activities. ___ D Resident Letter - 12 October 2009 109 0 There is insufficient physical, educational and dining capacity to adequately absorb the proposed pupils at Clermiston. 0 Traffic surrounding the school is already dangerous The proposals will put learning support resources under pressure due to increased school and class sizes
- 35 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
D Former Letter 14 October 2009 110 Pupil- Drumbral I object to the proposed closure of Drumbrae Primary School on the basis that “Africa’s Memorial Garden” would have to be remove PS - much to the disappointment and sadness of many former Drumbrae pupils.
D Resident Letter - 10 October 2009 111 I have been a Guider with the Brownie Unit that has meet in Drumbrae School for almost 20 years. 0 I would be very disappointed along with many other Guiders if the school was to close. 0 The school has been used extensively by many community groups including two Brownie Packs, a Rainbow Unit and Guide Unit 0 These Units involve over 100 local girls. 0 Since the threat of closure our numbers have decreased dramatically which is frustrating as it has taken a lot of hard worl dedication and commitment to build these units up over the years. 0 The school is also used for meetings, concerts and performances by the wider Guiding District. We consider ourselves lucky with the janitorial cover at Drumbrae. 0 Alternative meeting places in the area are extremely limited as few other schools welcome community groups. Drumbrae PS is the ‘heart of the community’ and has been for a number of years.
D Parents - Letter - 16 October 2009 114 Drumbral We are writing to advise you that we took the decision to remove our children from Drumbrae Primary School solely because of th closure threat that has been hanging over the school over the past two years
Signed by 9 parents
Letter - 3 September 2009
0 I feel the Council are taking a short term view and need to consider the increase in numbers of children when the agein population leave the area. This will increase the number of children in the catchment area and a new school will need to be built.
Letter - 5 September 2009 116 Clermistc PS 0 The government is recommending smaller class sizes, with a view to better education, yet the consultation paper counts the clas sizes as 30 and 33, the opposite of government recommendations, ;tResident Letter - 5 September 2009 Potential issues from the closure: 0 Impact on communities in Drumbrae, Clermiston, East Craigs, Royal High and Craigmount.
- 36 - Appendix 4: Summary of consultation responses on the proposal to close Drumbrae Primary School
0 Children within one family potentially having to attend two different High Schools. 0 Children spending 7 years building friendships to then attend the same High School as their sibling and leave peers/friends behind. 0 Royal High School is already overcrowded with future residential developments planned or underway. 0 Increasing population numbers, which would eventually necessitate a new school. ___ D Resident Letter - 6 September 2009 118 The proposed closure of Drumbrae offers a short term solution and is short-sighted. 0 The government has projected an increase in the number of children over the next 5 years and this should be taken into account 0 Added to this are the planned/ ongoing housing developments which will increase the number of catchment children. - D Resident E-mail - 26 August 2009 119 I helped to vote in the liberal Democrat MP for this area on the strength of reducing class sizes. 0 How will the Scottish Parliament deliver on that promise when East Craig’s will have to cope with new children from the Cala development, the old East Craig’s Somefield site, Rainbow/ BP site and then absorb children from the closure of Drumbrae. - D Parents1 Standard Letter - 15 October 2009 - 134 submissions 120- Residents 254 I am opposed to the closure of Drumbrae Primary School. 0 This school has been a valued part of this community for over 50 years. 0 The school is presently used five days a week for after school activities and various associations like the Woman’s Guild. 0 If the school were to close these associations would have to move elsewhere, possibly not to suitable locations. 0 It would also mean that after-school activities may not longer exist for the children I am also worried that if the school were to close the level of vandalism would increase 0 This is currently a good community to live in and the closure of the school would destroy it. - D Parents/ Petition - 1,616 signatories 255 Residents Petition to save Drumbrae Primary School from closure The City of Edinburgh Council has listed Drumbrae Primary School as one of four Primary Schools in the city that they propose to close in order to save money. We believe this would hinder the delivery of first class education to the children of our area, be detrimental to community of Clermiston and Drumbrae, and cause distress and harm particularly to family life. We the undersigned, protest strongly against this proposal. We urge City of Edinburgh Council to stop the unnecessary programme of school closures immediately.
- 37 -