Children and Families Property Review

Primary School Estate Review

Decision on school closures at Council Meeting on 20 November

At the Council meeting on 20 November the following decisions were taken:

Bonnington Primary School will close at Christmas with pupils transferring to Leith Primary School in January 2009
Lismore Primary School will close at Christmas with pupils transferring to Brunstane Primary School in January 2009
Westburn Primary School will close in July 2009 with pupils transferring to Canal View, Murrayburn and Sighthill Primary Schools for the start of the new school term in August 2009

Background

School Estate Review/Investment in Schools
The Cross Party Forum
Report and recommendations

School Estate Review/Investment in Schools

The Council has a duty to continually review its buildings' estate and make sure it has the right number of school places in the right locations of the City. As the population across the City naturally changes and shifts location over the years, the Council needs to review the number of places available for each local area. To ensure that the Council can continue to invest in school buildings, it must make sure that its estate operates as efficiently as possible.

Overall, the City has experienced a 19% fall in its primary pupils numbers over the last decade, and there are now 9,500 spare places in the primary school estate. The Government's grant for education is linked to the number of pupils in schools, and accordingly the City's share of national funding has fallen in real terms. A supporting paper 'Investing in Schools' provides more detailed information on the investment in schools in Edinburgh and more detailed information on school capacities and school roll predictions.

The Cross Party Forum

Forum members comprised representatives from each political party and parental, teaching and religious representatives. The Forum has been meeting since the start of 2008.

The Forum has agreed a set of broad criteria to be used in the evaluation of the school estate. The criteria fall under three main headings: educational outcomes, parental choice, and value for money. It was also agreed that use of the criteria would be a guide and that the Forum would take account of a fourth criterion comprising wider qualitative information when detailed proposals are being discussed.

The primary school estate was assessed against these criteria and the Forum subsequently considered detailed information for selected schools. Following this detailed assessment the Forum then recommended to the Council's Education Committee that it consider options for the closure of three schools - Bonnington, Lismore and Westburn Primary Schools.

Council approval was given on the 18th June to undertake a public consultation process on these proposals in Autumn 2008. To view the report go to Council Papers Online and use the Committee Search button, entering the date and title of the meeting (18th June 2008, the Education, Children and Families Committee).

Reports

Following the consultations, a report went to the Council Meeting on 20 November recommending the closure of Bonnington, Lismore and Westburn Primary Schools.

The reports follow a decrease in the primary sector which has dropped by 6,000 pupils in the last ten years. There are currently 9,500 spare primary school places in Edinburgh. The situation is compounded by the fact that the spare capacity is concentrated in specific areas of the city. Central government funding is linked to pupil numbers which means a reduced sum to be shared by schools across the city.

These documents can also be found via Council Papers Online. Use the Committee Search button and enter the date and title of the meeting (20th November 2008, City of Edinburgh Council).

Recommendations

It was recommended that pupils from Lismore Primary transfer to Brunstane Primary and pupils from Bonnington Primary transfer to Leith Primary for the start of the new term in January 2009. The other recommendation were that Westburn Primary School closes at the end of the school year in June 2009 with pupils transferring to either Murrayburn, Sighthill or Canal View Primary Schools, based on where they live in the current school catchment area.

Reasons for recommending closure of Bonnington Primary school

The school roll has now fallen from 79 pupils in 2007 to 33 this term
There are 1000 spare places in the Leith area
A low percentage of the catchment attend Bonnington Primary
All pupils going to Leith will provide an opportunity for all the P7 pupils to remain together
The catchment proposals put forward will reflect current patterns of parental choice
Nursery provision for the current pupils will be made locally

Reasons for recommending closure of Lismore Primary school

The school roll has now fallen from 85 pupils in 2007 to 41 this term
There are insufficient pupils in the catchment area to make the school viable
HMIe have expressed concerns about educational provision and we need to address this
Educational attainment is higher at Brunstane Primary School
There is a safe route to Brunstane Primary for Lismore pupils
This option means the secondary school area will remain unchanged, with pupils going to Portobello High School

Reasons for recommending closure of Westburn Primary school

There are not enough primary aged pupils in the Wester Hailes cluster to justify four primary schools
There are currently 1500 school places in the Wester Hailes area and only 700 pupils
Westburn Primary has the lowest roll in the cluster (135 pupils)
Only 36% of pupils in the catchment area attend Westburn
There are proposed improvements to the condition of two of the receiving schools – Sighthill and Murrayburn.

Contacts

Name: Children and Families

Address: Waverley Court, Level 1/2, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BG

Tel: 0131 469 3312