Consultation over ASN school relocation

A consultation has began proposing to relocate a Motherwell school for pupils with additional support needs.

North Lanarkshire Council announced the plans to move Clydeview School taking over the existing Daisy Park Centre and become part of a shared headship arrangement with Firpark School.

Parents are invited to take part in the consultation which ends on Wednesday, March 31.

There will be an online public consultation meeting held on Tuesday, March 9, at 7pm, with more details available on the council website.

The NLC consultation report states: “The service has had some high-quality external evaluations of schools through the national inspection programme overseen by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HMIE) in the past year.

“A number of schools fell below satisfactory ratings including Clydeview.

“These establishments are all smaller, more isolated establishments with significant challenges in relation to buildings and staffing resources.

“There have been a number of reports written by HMIE and the Care Inspectorate in recent years relating to Clydeview School, which provides for children with complex needs in the south area of North Lanarkshire

Council.

“In recent times, there has been pressure on staffing and resources.

“It has proven difficult to recruit and retain staff and there remain issues relating to a number of aspects of continuous improvement.

“It is therefore proposed that Clydeview be moved to the Cathedral Campus.

“This will strengthen leadership, provide greater depth and breadth of staffing and improve the offering to primary-aged children with MLD and complex needs within the locality.”

In September, a review into the provision of education services for young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) in North Lanarkshire was published.

This will involve a 12-point action plan to improve ASN delivery in North Lanarkshire.

The plan was agreed by councillors at a meeting of the Education and Families Committee.

At that time, the committee’s convener, Councillor Frank McNally, said: “This comprehensive review has outlined the steps required to transform the delivery of ASN education across our area.

“I welcome the work undertaken and am pleased that members of the committee have unanimously agreed to implement all 12 recommendations.”

There are currently 8,000 young people in the area registered with additional support needs.

Most of these young people are educated within mainstream schools, however over 1,000 pupils attend one of the council’s 13 ASN schools.

Councillor Bob Burrows, convener of the ASN Working Group, added: “We are determined to ensure that our young people are fully supported by our highly-skilled and inspirational staff and the report is crucial in outlining how we will achieve