265 North Lanarkshire Council Report To: The Education Committee Subject: Review of non-denominational Primary - Secondary transition arrangements in Cumbernauld From: Director of Education Date: December 1999 Refi MWJP Summary This report gives details of the current non-denominational primary to secondary arrangements in Cumbemauld and highlights the proposed amendments to these arrangements resulting from the review of primary education in the area. In addition, the report suggests that an open enrolment policy should be examined as a possible arrangement for future primary to secondary transition. Recommendations It is recommended that: The education committee agrees to adopt the following proposals : that the MelroseLanglands amalgamated Primary School be associated with Greenfaulds High School that Abronhill Primary School and Whitelees Primary School be associated with Abronhill High School that Cumbernauld Primary School be associated with Cumbemauld High School for the immediate future and after relocation that all other primary to secondary transition arrangements remain unaltered this report be issued as a consultative document and made available to all interested parties all interested parties, including the relevant school boards, be asked to make written representation on the proposal to the Director of Education, Municipal Buildings, Kildonan Street, Coatbridge, no later than 21 January 2000 266 4 the Director of Education prepare a report on the consultative process for consideration at a future meeting of the Education Committee Members wishing further information regarding the attached report should contact: Michael O’Neill, Director of Education on 01236 - 812336 Mudo Maciver. Head of Service on 0 1236 - 8 12269 267 THIS IS A CONSULTATIVE DOCUMENT NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REVIEW OF NON-DENOMINATIONAL PRIMARY - SECONDARY TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS IN CUMBERNAULD REPORT BY DIRECTOR This document has been issued by the Education Committee of North Lanarkshire Council for consultation in terms of the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc) (Scotland) Regulations 1981. 268 North Lanarkshire Council Department of Education Review of non-denominational Primary - Secondary transition arrangements in Cumbernauld Report bv the Director of Education 1 Background 1.1 At its meeting in September 1998, the education committee considered the current provision of primary schools in the authority and agreed that priority should be given to a review of schools in Cumbernauld. 1.2 In broad terms, the committee approved for Cumbernauld the development of new provision north of the A80 and the possible consolidation of existing primary schools in the town. 1.3 This report deals with the implications of the proposed changes to the primary provision in Cumbernauld for future primary to secondary transition arrangements. It recommends appropriate changes. 2 The review of non-denominational primary school provision in Cumbernauld 2.1 Prior to the review, there were thirteen non-denominational primary schools in the Cumbernauld area. Each primary school was associated with a secondary school as shown below. Primary School Location Associated Secondary School Abronhill Abronhill Abronhill High - Glenhead II 11 II 11 Whitelees J Cumbemauld Cumbernauld Village Cumbernauld High II Kildrum ’ Kildnun Ravenswood Seafar Greenfaulds High / Cumbernauld High Carbrain Carbrain Cumbernauld High ~ Langlands Carbrain 11 Melrose Greenfaulds Greenfaulds High Baird Memorial Condorrat It Condonat Condorrat II Westfield Westfield 11 Eastfield Balloch 11 The location of these schools is shown in appendices 1 and 2. 269 2.2 As a result of the review, the authority agreed the following changes for future non-denominational primary school provision in Cumbernauld : (a) Glenhead Primary School to close and its catchment area sub-divided amongst Abronhill Primary Schoo1,Whitelees Primary SchooI and Cumbemauld Primary School. (b) Langlands Primary School and Melrose Primary School to amalgamate in the Melrose Primary School building. Craigmarloch, an area to the north of the A80, which is currently zoned to Langlands Primary School, should be re-zoned to Cumbernauld Primary School and Eastfield Primary School. (c) The catchment area of Cumbernauld Primary School to be extended to include all areas north of the A80 and east of the Craighalbert Roundabout. Cumbernauld Primary School should be relocated in a new school building to be built in the Carrickstone area of Cumbernauld, north of the A80. (d) The catchment area of Eastfield Primary School to be extended to include Croy Village and that part of Craigmarloch west of the Craighalbert Roundabout. (e) The catchment area of Carbrain Primary School to be reduced by re- zoning Carrickstone, an area to the north of the A80, to Cumbemauld Primary School. (f) All other primary schools to remain unaffected, although the non- denominational provision in the Condorrat area will be reviewed when the impact of the new school can be analysed. 3 Secondary Schools in Cumbernauld 3.1 There are three secondary schools in Cumbemauld. These are listed below and shown in appendix 2 Secondary School Location Abronhill High School Abronhill Cumbernauld High School KildrUm Greenfaulds High School Greenfaulds 270 4 Projected secondary school rolls based on current primary to secondary arrangements 4.1 Abronhill High School. The current and projected roll, including placing requests and new housing, is as follows:- Year 1999/2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Roll 59 1 595 562 567 534 4.2 Cumbernauld High School. The current and projected roll, including placing requests and new housing, is as follows:- Roll 86 1 957 992 987 916 4.3 Greenfaulds High School. The current and projected roll, including placing requests and new housing, is as follows:- Year 1999/2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Roll 899 997 1082 1133 1166 5 Future primary to secondary transfer arrangements 5.1 The existing primary and secondary school associations in Cumbernauld require to be reviewed for 3 main reasons:- (1) the reduction in the number of primary schools may have differential implications for the intakes to the 3 secondary schools. (2) the revised primary school catchment areas may suggest changes to the existing associations to minimise travelling distances. (3) The knock-on implications for those pupils most affected by school closure must be given carehl consideration. 5.2 Paragraph 5.3 in the report makes specific proposals for new primary-secondary school associations. However, it is important to note that consideration was also given to open enrolment as an alternative primary-secondary transfer arrangement for Curnbernauld. Under this model, parents would have an open choice for transfer to any secondary school in the town with entitlement to free transfer where the shortest available walking route is over 2 miles: This arrangement 27 1 would have reflected the existing tendancy for parents to opt for a secondary school other than that designated for their area. At the same time, arguments against open enrolment were identified. Firstly, it was considered that new primary-secondary associations should be given an opportunity to prove themselves. Secondly, it was considered that open enrolment should be postponed until smooth curricular progression from the primary stage to any secondary school can be assured. This will require the full implementation of the 5-14 curriculum in the secondary sector and the further development of transitional planning. 5.3 The proposals for future associations 5.3.1 For the immediate future, conventional primary-secondary school associations is the preferred transfer model because the planning of curriculum and pastoral links on a small cluster basis will be easier. 5.3.2 The new associations recommended for Cumbemauld and the argument for each are as follows:- At present, Melrose Primary School is associated with Greenfaulds High School and Langlands Primary School is associated with Cumbemauld High School. It is proposed that the amalgamated primary school should be associated with Greenfaulds High School. This arrangement is logical since both Greenfaulds High School and Melrose Primary School are located in the Greenfaulds area. Abronhill Primary School and Whitelees Primary School should continue to be associated with Abronhill High School since all of these schools are located in the Abronhill area. The proposed catchment area for the new non-denominational primary school includes Cumbernauld Village, parts of Craigmarloch, Carrickstone, Westerwood, Dullatur and Castlecary. At present, the great majority of the current roll of Cumbernauld Primary School is made up of children who live in these areas. Therefore, Cumbernauld Primary School should continue to be associated with Cumbemauld High School, both now and after relocation in a new school building in Carrickstone, north of the Eastfield Road. For all other non-denominational primary schools in Cumbemauld, existing primary to secondary transition arrangements should be retained. 27 2 5.3.3 These proposals are summarised in the following table. Primary School Associated Secondary School Abronhill Abronhill High The location of these schools and their associated secondary schools are shown in appendix 2. 5.3.4 It is also proposed to keep these arrangements and the principle of open enrolment under continuous review. 5.4 Implications 5.4.1 Roll projections. Based on these proposals, the roll projections for the three secondary schools, including