Plans to close two Scottish primary schools for good have been refused consent after a report found Falkirk Council missed a vital step in the process.
In June the education executive agreed to the closure of Limerigg Primary and Bothkennar Primary, which had both been mothballed for two years due to small numbers of pupils attending.
Members of the executive agreed that closing the schools and moving pupils to bigger primaries nearby would give the children a better educational experience.
However, Scottish Ministers have the power to “call in” decisions it is unhappy with and in July they asked the independent members of the School Closure Review Panel to look again at the decision.
After considering the evidence, this week, the panel gave its decision.
The Chair of the Panel, Beverley Atkinson, stated that: “Following a thorough review of the information contained in all of the documents received from Scottish Ministers, together with additional documentation provided by Falkirk Council in response to the requests made by the School Closure Review Panel, the Panel has concluded that Falkirk Council has not fulfilled its obligations under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.”
Key to the Ministers’ intervention, is the fact that Limerigg and Bothkennar are considered to be rural schools – and that means careful consideration must be given to “any reasonable alternatives to the closures”.
The panel backed up the Ministers’ view that the council had missed this vital first stage in the consultation process.
After corresponding with Falkirk Council to understand how they had come to make their decision, the panel were not impressed with the explanation.
The Council told the investigation that alternatives was considered via a “Strategic Property Review”.
However, the panel found “no reference in the proposal paper or in the consultation report to the Strategic Property Review”.
The panel’s report added: “Information provided by the Council in response to questions from the Scottish Ministers appeared contradictory.”
The panel found that Falkirk Council had not looked at alternatives, such as: using the schools as a ‘community hub’ where it accommodates and supports provision of a range of community services.
According to the guidance, councils are also expected to look at options such as giving a community time to instigate a project aimed at, for example, increasing local development or employment opportunities in the community, which in turn may increase the viability of the school.
The council was also told it had not explored the possibility that a new housing development proposed for Limerigg might help to boost pupil numbers – instead it simply said that any new pupils could be accommodated in Slamannan Primary.
A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “Both schools have been mothballed for more than two years and the small number of pupils who have previously attended these schools, have successfully integrated into alternative locations.
“We’ll have a look at the report and consider what steps can be taken next.”
Bothkennar was originally mothballed as just four pupils were attending, with pupils moving to Beancross Primary.
Limerigg was mothballed as the roll fell to just five pupils, with pupils moving to Slamannan Primary.
