Cameron House Nursery School closure: letter to City of Edinburgh Council
Letter from Learning Directorate, to City of Edinburgh Council, with decisions to close Cameron House Nursery.
To: Amanda Hatton, Director of Education and Children's Services, City of Edinburgh Council
From: Orlando Heijmer-Mason, Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
1 July 2024
Dear Amanda Hatton
Schools (consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: Cameron House Nursery
I refer to your email of 10 May 2024 notifying Scottish Ministers of City of Edinburgh Council’s decision of 9 May 2024 to implement the proposal to close Cameron House Nursery. Ministers have considered this proposal in line with the requirements set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”).
Under section 17 of the 2010 Act, Ministers may only issue a call-in notice if it appears to them that the education authority may have failed:
(a) in a significant regard to comply with the requirements imposed on it by (or under) the Act so far as they are relevant in relation to the closure proposal, or
(b) to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision to implement the proposal.
Section 15(2) of the 2010 Act requires an education authority to provide a copy of the proposal paper and the consultation report prepared under the Act to Ministers when notifying them of a closure proposal.
Section 15(4) of the 2010 Act requires Ministers to take into account any relevant representations made to them by any person during the three-week period from the date that a closure decision is made. In relation to this closure proposal, the three week period began on 9 May 2024 and expired on 29 May 2024. No representations were received.
Having reviewed the documents provided by City of Edinburgh Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that City of Edinburgh Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.
City of Edinburgh Council may now implement its decision to close Cameron House Nursery in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper. As noted in Education Scotland’s report on the proposal, City of Edinburgh Council should ensure that proposal papers issued under section 4 of the 2010 Act fully outline the educational benefits of the proposal. City of Edinburgh Council should also continue to engage with the community to discuss future options for the use of the building.
Yours sincerely,
Orlando Heijmer-Mason
Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
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