Milton of Balgonie Primary School closure: letter to Fife Council
Letter from Learning Directorate, to Fife Council, with decisions to close Milton of Balgonie Primary School.
To: Donald Macleod, Director of Education, Fife Council
From: Orlando Heijmer-Mason, Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
29 July 2024
Dear Donald Macleod
Schools (consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: Milton of Balgonie Primary School
I refer to your email of 17 June 2024 notifying Scottish Ministers of Fife Council’s decision of 13 June 2024 to implement the proposal to close Milton of Balgonie 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 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 13 June 2024 and expired on 3 July 2024. No representations were received.
Having reviewed the documents provided by Fife Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that Fife Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.
Fife Council may now implement its decision to close Milton of Balgonie Primary School in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper. As noted in Education Scotland’s report on the proposal, Fife Council should continue to work with affected parents to reduce the likelihood of siblings attending different schools.
Yours sincerely,
Orlando Heijmer-Mason
Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback