Latest news with #Schools(Consultation)(Scotland)Act2010
The Herald Scotland
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Parents condemn vote to mothball 150 year-old school
This led the Scottish Borders Council to approve a recommendation to mothball, or temporarily close it, at Thursday's full council meeting. The mothballing will begin in August 2025. Councils are required to review every mothballing decision at least once per year. Evidence for the recommendation was presented by the council's solicitor, who explained that the council is not obligated to carry out a full statutory consultation on mothballing and that the council has some "flexibility" on the issue. Mothballing is covered under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. Although the guidance only requires a full statutory consultation if a council is attempting to close a school permanently, the Scottish Government has recently reiterated to other councils that engagement with parents is necessary before any mothballing decision is made. According to the official guidance, if that engagement results in the majority of affected families opposing the mothballing recommendation, then the council should begin the process for consulting on permanent closure "as soon as possible." Previous reporting from The Herald has shown that Scottish Borders Council has so far failed to provide evidence that it carried out consultations with affected parents ahead of the mothballing vote. Council papers included evidence that the low roll, along with the fact that the only additional placement request comes from outside the school catchment area, meant that children would not receive a full educational experience at Fountainhall and would be better served at a neighbouring school. The school's stated capacity is 50 pupils. During the half-hour discussion, many councillors expressed regret over the situation. SNP councillor Fay Sinclair said that mothballing a village school is an "emotive subject" that can impact even families without children directly connected to the school, but the situation required a hard decision. "I couldn't in good conscience vote to keep a school open for one pupil." Conservative council leader Euan Jardine said that his experience at a small rural school encouraged him to support the difficult decision to mothball Fountainhall. "I went to a small rural school from Primary One to Three. But from Primary Four, I moved to a different school, and I learned how to play football and different social things I had never experienced in my life before." He also questioned how a setting with only one pupil might negatively impact the career development opportunities for staff at the school. Prior to the vote, Scottish Liberal Democrat members issued a statement to The Herald questioning the process which led to the mothballing recommendation and calling for a review. Councillor Euan Robson said: 'Liberal Democrat members of Scottish Borders Council will be posing questions as a result of the Officers' report on the proposed mothballing of Fountainhall Primary School. "We want to know whether the consultation procedure about mothballing was fair and reasonable and complied with government guidance. "We shall ask for a review. "We also need to know just how many placement requests were made to the school and how many potential nursery children might have enrolled. There are conflicting suggestions in this regard that should be resolved." "We will be scrutinising the savings that are estimated to occur. Savings can only be achieved by a reduction in the Council's teaching establishment. Loss of teachers is regrettable but the Council's establishment will still seemingly be above the minimum level set by the Scottish Government. "The wider point about savings is that without staff reductions, there are little or no revenue savings to be achieved in closing or mothballing small rural schools, and staff reductions do nothing for pupil teacher ratios and children's education.' There was no significant opposition to the recommendation during the meeting on Thursday. Read more Independent councillor James Anderson called the situation an "unfortunate" reflection of the suggestion that the Borders has become "more of a retirement village." He called on council officers to make sure that next year's enrollment figures are not "misrepresented, considering they may reflect a loss of confidence rather than genuine lack of demand." The decision has been met with frustration by local parents, who argued that the council did not provide affected families with fair notice of the decision. They also argued that, according to Scottish Government and council policies, there was enough parent opposition to the mothballing recommendation that the council should instead have opted for the more rigorous process of opening a statutory consultation on permanently closing the school. Councillors were greeted on Thursday morning with a letter from an affected parent asking for a delay in the mothballing decision and a fuller consideration of the implications of mothballing. Many parents have raised concerns that the mothballing process is used as a way to keep enrollments and interest in rural schools to a minimum and make it easier to justify permanent closure eventually. Fountainhall Primary School will be mothballed beginning in August 2025, a decision which councillors called regrettable, while parents have questioned the process which led to the decision. (Image: ) Scottish Borders Council has mothballed 13 schools and early learning centres (ELC) since 2015. One of those has reopened and five are now permanently closed. According to Scottish Government guidance, councils are required to undertake a full statutory consultation before permanently closing a school. Guidance also states that mothballing "should not be a way of denying parents access to the statutory consultation process required" by law. In a press release following the decision, a group of parent campaigners said the decision has left the community "reeling." Fountainhall parent Laurie Cameron-Back said that she chose to live in Fountainhall in part because of the school at its heart. "Being able to walk our child to school was always our dream. I'm concerned that losing the school may make it harder for young families to stay, settle, and feel part of something. "It's more than just a building; it's part of the village's identity.' Thursday's decision to mothball Fountainhall also follows a period of controversy for the council over the attempted mothballing and later restructuring of several rural nurseries. Michael Napier, whose child has been attending Fountainhall Primary School, said that parents no longer have faith in the process and that the council needs to "try harder" to engage. "We suggest SBC revises the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 set out by the Scottish Parliament. SBC's end-of-year report card for 2025 would read 'Does not pay attention, does not listen, does not follow instructions'." Scottish Borders Council has been asked to respond to parent concerns.
The Herald Scotland
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
What is ‘mothballing' and what rights do parents have?
Recent controversies across multiple local authorities have raised questions about how councils are allowed to 'mothball' schools and nurseries and what rights parents have to be involved in the decision. Although the Scottish Government provides guidance on the process, local authorities have taken very different approaches in recent years. So, what is mothballing, and what rules govern it? Mothballing is a term for the temporary closure of a school, stage of education, or nursery class. Guidance explains that it is only to be used when a local authority believes permanent closure is the only other option. Mothballed schools must be reviewed every year and either have their mothballed status renewed or be reopened. If the local authority decides neither of these options is suitable, then it must begin the formal process of permanently closing the school, which includes a statutory consultation with the community. Historically, it is rare for a school to reopen once it has been mothballed. Particularly in rural communities where the school or nursery in question is the only educational option, temporary closure can dissuade new families from moving to the area and eventually lead to a more long-term decline in demand for the service and overall population. This has led many parents and education campaigners to refer to the mothballing process as 'closure by stealth.' Although mothballing a setting does not require councils to conduct an official statutory consultation as defined by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, statutory guidance for the Act explicitly states that it should not 'be a way of denying parents access to the statutory consultation process.' In recent years, however, councils have used a number of strategies to attempt to close schools and nurseries and have not always engaged with the community ahead of the decision. This has highlighted potential loopholes or points of confusion in the legislation, to the point that First Minister John Swinney recently promised the government was 'reviewing' its mothballing policy in order to better protect rural schools and nurseries. How is mothballing described in the guidance? Statutory guidance defines mothballing as a temporary closure which is 'only appropriate in very restricted circumstances.' These circumstances are exclusively related to enrolment: 'A school can be mothballed where the school roll has fallen to zero and continues to be zero. It may also be appropriate where the roll or potential roll is very low and the authority considers the only other option to be closure.' The guidance places emphasis on the term 'may.' It goes on to state that, if there are children in the catchment area of the school in question then any mothballing decision should be made 'in consultation' with the parents involved. This means that, although the council does not have to follow the official requirements for a statutory consultation laid out in the 2010 Act, they must carry out some for of engagement with the community 'as early as possible, in order to ensure that families can understand the options open to them.' According to the guidance, this step is important because councils need to be able to gauge whether affected families are for or against mothballing the school, nursery or stage of education. If a majority of parents oppose mothballing, then the council should begin the process of opening a statutory consultation on permanent closure. 'Mothballing should not be a way of denying parents access to the statutory consultation process required under the 2010 Act,' the guidance explains, and the statutory consultation process contains safeguards and includes a review of the decision by Scottish Ministers. Where does the confusion come in? Word choice is not consistent in the statutory guidance on mothballing. In the first mention of 'a school', the guidance specifies that it is also referring to 'a stage of education or a nursery class.' This parenthetical is not repeated every time 'a school' is referenced, however. Section 65 of the guidance explains when mothballing is justifiable: when school roll falls to zero or where the roll has fallen so low that the council believes closure to be the only other option. The section does not repeat the clarification that it is also referring to a stage of education or a nursery class. This may be what has led some councils to suggest that the full guidance does not apply to nursery classes. When asked about a recent decision to mothball four nurseries–a decision made by officers with no input from the communities–an Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson told The Herald: 'The statutory guidance under the 2010 Act provides no specific guidance on circumstances where mothballing a 'stage of education' or 'nursery class' might be appropriate.' However, statutory definitions state that the "schools" referred to in the guidance include nurseries under local authority management. The Scottish Government has repeatedly weighed in on the question, telling The Herald that 'mothballing should only take place where the nursery roll falls to zero or is very low, and that decisions should be taken in consultation with the parents involved.' Is anything being done to address the confusion? During a recent session of First Minister's Questions, John Swinney was asked about an ongoing process in the Scottish Borders, which began when a council committee passed a motion to being the process of mothballing five nurseries. The council has since voted to undo the initial decision and is now carrying out a separate consultation on alternative strategies. In response, Mr Swinney said that the government was already working to address the issue. 'We are reviewing guidance on mothballing to provide greater clarity on whether it is an appropriate action to take. 'This will ensure local decisions are based on effective engagement with communities and better reflect the needs of rural families.'
