TALKS ON SCHOOL BUILDINGS SHAKE-UP
Consultations will start next month
Balhousie Primary School Consultation on a massive schools shake-up programme is to get under way within days of the new term starting next month, the PA can reveal.
Perth and Kinross Council is reviewing its school buildings as part of the education transformation programme across the district.
It follows the announcement of the review by the lifelong learning committee last year.
That led to parents expressing concern that their child’s school could be closed, but PKC has underlined this is just one option, with expansion and other revisions to ensure their future suitability also on the table. PKC is to review schools in groups, with the first tranche of 10 primary schools to start hearing soon of the options for them.
In the first round for review are Abernyte, Balhousie, Blairingone, Braco, Forteviot, Greenloaning,
Logiealmond, Methven NorthMuirtonandStNinian’s primaries.ThePAunderstands that the outcome of their reviews could start being implemented in the next two years.
Detailed option appraisals for each of these schools will be developed and are expected to be reported to councillors by December 2017.
The PA can reveal that drop-in and more formal sessions on the school review arrangements are to be held, starting with St Ninian’s Episcopal Primary School, on Wednesday, August 30. A drop-in session is being held at the school from 3-7pm that day.
Parents of pupils at Balhousie Primary are invited to hear of the options on Thursday, September 7, also between 3-7pm. North Muirton primary’s event is on the following day (September 8) and is part of the Fun Filled Friday gathering, from 4-7pm.
Braco Primary School, which is currently accepting pupils re-zoned from the mothballed Greenloaning primary, will have its drop-in event at Braco Village Hall from 3-8pm on Thursday, September 12.
PKC is spending £145m on schools over the coming years, including with significant spends on the new Bertha Park secondary and updating other high schools.
Last year Councillor Bob Band, convener of the lifelong learning committee of the time, said:“There are significant challenges for managing the school estate over the coming years. These include changing demographics including population growth and movement, house building in certain locations, ongoing deterioration in building infrastructure, pressure on planned maintenance budgets and increasing revenue costs.
“The school building is such an important part a child’s learning and it is our responsibility to ensure that this environment is the best it can possibly be to support their development. This review will allow us to do that; and ensure that we are putting our resources into the right place and that we are adequately planning for the future.”
A council spokeperson told the PA this week:“Perth and Kinross Council’s transformation programme includes a project to support the delivery of better outcomes for all our young people through more effective use and management of the council’s school estate.
“Options appraisals are presently being carried out on the schools which form part of the first phase. As part of the options appraisal, informal drop-in sessions will take place. These sessions are being planned in discussion with parent councils and community councils where possible.
“At the sessions, members of the community will be invited to give feedback on the options being considered and propose other options that the council may not have considered.
“Feedback gathered from these sessions will be considered by the council and taken into account when determining next steps.”
In Spring 2016 council officers updated councillors on the condition and suitability of a variety of its properties, not just schools. It revealed that schools such as Aberuthven, Forteviot, Greenloaning, Kinross, Methven, North Muirton, Pitlochry High, Ruthvenfield primary and Tulloch primary saw their building suitability slip from Category B satisfactory - to C - poor. Replacement programmes are well under way for Kinross and Tulloch primaries.