School Consultations

Thursday, August 25 2005

The Council has authorised plans to undertake statutory consultations on the provision of 4 new schools in Caddonfoot, Earlston, Peebles. Consultations will also explore the future of Channelkirk Primary School and for new high schools on new sites in Earlston and Eyemouth.

Further Consultations Launched

On Tuesday 6th September, SBC's Education Executive agreed to launch three further consultations

To explore the future of Channelkirk Primary School
To provide a new high school on a new sites at Earlston as part of the 3HS project
To provide a new high school on a new site at Eyemouth as part of the 3HS project

The Director of Education & Lifelong Learning announced that proposals to consult on the development of four replacement primary schools as part of the £20m '4PS project' were today (Tuesday 23 August 2005) approved by Scottish Borders Council's Executive.

The schools are Caddonfoot, Lauder, Halyrude and Kingsland (which are both in Peebles).

This is an open and inclusive consultation process and it is hoped that everyone who has a stake in these communities will participate. All the views expressed will be carefully considered before any decision is made - so it is really important that people make time to contribute.

What is a statutory consultation?

A statutory consultation is a formal legal process designed to give parents the opportunity to influence Council decisions on the future of their school. It is governed by the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc) (Scotland) Regulations (issued in 1981 with later amendments) which set out the rules and timetable for all statutory consultations.

Further information on the rules and new guidelines issued to local authorities in 2004 is available from the Scottish Executive website: www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk
In short the rules say that:

The minimum length for a statutory consultation is 28 days.
We must consult with the parent of every child who is at the school, or who might be expected to attend the school in the next two years. We will also advertise details of the consultation so that any other parent, who may be considering sending their child to one of the school, will also have a chance to participate in the process.
The School Board must also be consulted and for Halyrude which is a Roman Catholic School, we will also be seeking the views of the Catholic Church.
We are going beyond our statutory obligations and would also like to hear the views of staff, members of the community and community bodies on the proposals.
We are also putting in place arrangements to consult with pupils.
Any letters, emails, submissions etc received during the consultation period will be copied and made available to Members to consider before they make their decision.
All the submissions will also be summarised and the summary will be included as an appendix to the Director's post-consultation report to the Council - this report will be included on the Council web site for everyone to read.

Who makes the decisions?

The decisions are taken by Councillors after considering all the issues:

For Caddonfoot and Lauder this will be discussed at the Education Executive on 1st November
For Halyrude and Kingsland this will be discussed at the Council meeting on 10th November

Like all Council meetings, members of the public will be welcome to attend and observe the debate.
The Council decision will then be subject to the consent of Scottish Ministers to ensure that the statutory consultation process met the regulations and that the Council gave proper consideration to all the issues involved. Consent is required when a school's occupancy is above 80% - all these schools have occupancy levels above 100%.

Caddonfoot key dates and proposals for consultation

Lauder key dates and proposals for consultation

Halyrude and Kingsland key dates and proposals for consultation

Reference: News-7112, Contact the Author