New plan for school
Nursery to be considered
A new nursery is to be set up in a previously-under threat school, should a council blueprint be approved.
Elected members will be asked to approve the creation of a local authority nursery at St Ninian’s Episcopal Primary School at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s lifelong learning committee on Wednesday.
This comes as the school community vigorously fought against proposals which could have potentially seen the city centre school closed down owing to what the council called an unsustainable school roll.
The local authority say that they have decided the addition of a nondenominational nursery to be the best option moving forward, as it will help to maintain pupil numbers at the Dunkeld Road school.
Should the move be approved, the school will be actively involved in the design work for the new nursery.
Meanwhile, committee members will discuss a recommendation which, if approved, will see the currently mothballed Forteviot Primary School permanently closed.
Forteviot Primary School was mothballed in October 2016 after the pupil roll fell to an unsustainable level, with the small number of pupils remaining being moved to the nearby Forgandenny Primary School.
The proposals to be discussed at the meeting will look to begin a statutory consultation to begin the process of closing the school. Last Councillor Caroline Shiers
year’s public consultation concluded: “... it is not anticipated that Forteviot Primary School will have a sustainable roll in the next four years and also that pupils have settled well in Forgandenny Primary School.”
Speaking ahead of next week’s meeting, Councillor Caroline Shiers, convener of lifelong learning at the council, said: “The school estate is a valuable asset to the communities of Perth and Kinross and there is significant investment planned for the school
estate in the coming years.
“However, there are also many challenges requiring to be addressed including the need to spend wisely, securing best value for money.
“The decisions being made by the committee will allow us to progress to statutory consultation, where it is considered to be the best option, during which parents, pupils, staff and communities will have the opportunity to engage further in the process.
“This is by no means the end of the process.”