Educational Services A PROPOSAL DOCUMENT Proposed Maybole Community Campus which involves the Proposed closure and amalgamation of Cairn Primary School and Gardenrose Primary School and associated Early Years provision and the proposed relocation of St Cuthbert’s Primary School The following schools are affected by this proposal document; Carrick Academy, Kirkoswald Road, Maybole KA19 8BP Cairn Primary, Kirkland Street, Maybole KA19 7HD Gardenrose Primary, Gardenrose Path, Maybole KA19 8BH St Cuthbert’s Primary, Kirkland Street, Maybole KA19 7HD February 2018 This document has been issued by South Ayrshire Council’s Leadership Panel for consultation under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 1.0 Purpose of the Paper 1.1 This proposal paper is being published in accordance with the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. Following approval of this paper by South Ayrshire Council’s Leadership Panel on 13th February 2018, the Council is seeking views from interested individuals and parties on the school proposals which are explained in this document. 2.0 The Proposal The proposals are: 2.1 to discontinue education provision at Cairn Primary and Early Years Centre with effect from the end of June 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter. 2.2 to discontinue education provision at Gardenrose Primary and Early Years Centre with effect from the end of June 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter. 2.3 that the children attending these establishments transfer to a new non- denominational primary school which will be part of a proposed new community campus, with effect from August 2021, or as soon after that as possible. The new campus will be sited within the grounds of Carrick Academy. 2.4 that the delineated area of the proposed new non-denominational school will be created from the start of the new academic session in August 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter, from the amalgamation of the delineated areas of Cairn Primary and Gardenrose Primary. 2.5 to relocate the education provision at St Cuthbert’s Primary, to the new community campus with effect from August 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter. 3.0 Background 3.1 The Scottish Government and South Ayrshire Council are fully committed to improving the school estate. Significant improvements have already been made in South Ayrshire since the publication of the Scottish Governments vision document “Building Better Schools” in 2009 with 11 new schools being built, 9 schools being modernised and 4 schools extended. 3.2 In 2009 the Council published the outcome of its Fundamental Review of the School Estate – Planning for Improvement. This set out the Council’s strategy for modernising its school estate and included a proposal to review the school estate in Maybole. During 2011/12 a number of stakeholder meetings were held with parents, children and the wider community of Maybole to explore the potential for modernising Maybole’s school estate. The outcome of the engagement indicated that there was a willingness to consider a different configuration of the education provision in the town and in particular the development of a shared campus. The quality of learning and teaching is considered to be good in Maybole however, the quality of the school estate is not. Although some improvements have been made to the schools over the years they require significant investment to bring them up to standard fit for the modern day curriculum. In 2 | P a g e addition to this all of the schools are significantly under-occupied with an average usage of 51%. 3.3 A study of the Carrick Academy site was undertaken in 2017 in preparation for a bid to the Scottish Governments Schools for the Future Programme. The outcome of the study demonstrated that the Carrick Academy site could accommodate a new community campus with enhanced sport and leisure facilities including 2 full size all weather pitches. This would include the demolition of the existing Carrick Academy buildings which would be replaced with a new community campus. A copy of the study can be viewed on the Council’s website at www.south- ayrshire.gov.uk/schools/future-needs. 4.0 Education in South Ayrshire Council 4.1 Education provision within South Ayrshire is currently delivered through 8 secondary schools, 41 primary schools, 2 special schools and integrated specialist provision at a number of schools for children and young people with additional support needs. Early Years provision is delivered through 35 early years centres and a number of partnership centres. 4.2 South Ayrshire Council’s vision document ‘Securing the Future for South Ayrshire’ confirms the commitment of the Council to provide a positive learning environment that motivates children and young people. Improving the school estate is central to this commitment. The quality of learning and teaching in South Ayrshire is very good and has been highlighted in many school inspections carried out by Education Scotland. In its Assurance and Improvement Plan for 2013-16, Audit Scotland commented that “The Education service performs well and displays a high level of engagement with national initiatives. Almost all primary school children are attaining expected levels and young people at S4, S5 and S6 perform strongly in SQA examinations”. 4.3 Since the publication of the first School Estate Management Plan (SEMP) in 2003 the Council has brought about significant improvements to the school estate. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools at Belmont Academy, Prestwick Academy, Alloway Primary, Barassie Primary, Monkton Primary and the new Annexe at Kyle Academy raised the standard of the school estate providing new opportunities to enhance the educational experiences of our children and young people. The community facilities have been improved with the provision of Lifelong Learning rooms and state of the art sports facilities, including all-weather pitches at Ayr Academy, Belmont Academy, Marr College and Prestwick Academy. In addition to the successful PPP projects, the Council has built new schools at Ayr Academy, Dailly Primary, Colmonell Primary, Kirkmichael Primary, Marr College and Tarbolton Community Campus. The Council has also completely modernised Barrhill Primary, Braehead Primary, Dalmilling Primary, Forehill Primary, Kincaidston Primary, Kingcase Primary, Muirhead Primary, Maidens Primary and Symington Primary. Annbank Primary, Heathfield Primary and Troon Primary have also been extended to provide new PE/dining facilities. This strategic approach to investment in the school estate is continuing with new schools for Invergarven School and Queen Margaret Academy. In 3 | P a g e addition, plans are also progressing to modernise Ballantrae Primary, Barr Primary and St John’s Primary. 5.0 Details of Existing Provision 5.1 Provision at Cairn Primary 5.1.1 Cairn Primary is a single stream school with Early Years provision. The school has capacity for 217 children and at the September 2017 census there were 117 children attending the school indicating that the school is operating at 54% capacity. Approximately 37% of the school population is made up of placing requests and demographics are shown in the following table. The Early Learning centre has provision for 30/30 children and currently has 45 children attending. Zoned but not Number of attending the Cairn Primary Pupils School Not SAC 5 Alloway 1 Cairn 86 Coylton 2 Crosshill 1 Dailly 1 1 Dalmilling 1 Doonfoot 1 Gardenrose 19 31 Kirkmichael 1 Maidens 2 1 Minishant 5 Total 117 43 5.1.2 Cairn Primary was built in 1899. The main school building is a single storey traditional sandstone building. The school dining hall is a standalone wooden building that was erected in 1974 and now needs to be replaced. The main school building was extended in 2001 to provide new toilets for the children. The location of the school and its catchment area are shown in Appendix 1. The site is at the junction of two roads and parking is limited. At peak times the area around the school is extremely congested. 5.1.3 The school building is presently rated B for suitability meaning that it is performing well with minor problems. The school has a poor entrance/reception area and the dining hall is in a separate building. Parking is limited and parts of the playground are on a slope. The internal layout of the school is inflexible with most activities having to happen within the individual classrooms. Early Years provision is insufficient and the building limits the scope to expand the provision. 5.1.4 The condition of the school building is presently rated C which means that it is poor and has major defects. Although the Council has continued to maintain 4 | P a g e the building, significant investment is still required to replace the heating system, the roof of the main building and the dining hall. The fabric of the school needs further attention and the school is occasionally subject to vandalism. 5.1.5 It is anticipated that the base line school roll will remain relatively stable. If proposed new housing materialises then the roll is likely to increase to above 200 children. Details of the projected roll are shown in Appendix 2. 5.1.6 There is no community use of the current school building. 5.2 Gardenrose Primary 5.2.1 Gardenrose Primary is a 2 stream school with Early Years provision. The school has capacity for 316 children and at the September 2017 census there were 179 children attending the school indicating that the school is operating at 56.7% capacity. Approximately 19.3% of the school population is made up of placing requests and the demographics are shown in the following table. The Early Years Centre has provision for 40/40 children and currently has 59 children attending.