Kilchrenan Primary School closure decision: letter to Argyll and Bute Council
Letter from Learning Directorate, to Argyll and Bute Council, with decision to close Kilchrenan Primary School.
To: Wendy Brownlie, Head of Education, Argyll and Bute Council
From: Orlando Heijmer-Mason, Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
15 October 2024
Dear Wendy Brownlie
Schools (consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: Kilchrenan Primary School
I refer to your email of 22 August 2024 notifying Scottish Ministers of Argyll and Bute Council’s decision of 22 August 2024 to implement the proposal to close Kilchrenan Primary School. 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 2010 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 2010 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 22 August 2024 and expired on 11 September 2024. No representations were received.
Having reviewed the documents provided by Argyll and Bute Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that Argyll and Bute Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.
Argyll and Bute Council may now implement its decision to close Kilchrenan Primary School in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper. As noted in Education Scotland’s report on the proposal, Argyll and Bute Council should continue to work with the local community, including children and young people, to consider any future use for the school building.
Yours sincerely,
Orlando Heijmer-Mason
Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
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