Report by Director, Education

Link to Midlothian Council's Website.

A report was presented to a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday 26 February 2004 concerning the Council's development of its nursery and primary school accommodation. This report stated that, following local government reorganisation in 1996, Midlothian Council inherited an education estate in need of improvement and renovation. From the beginning, the Council has strived, within its capital funding, to bring modest improvements to its school estate. This has taken the form of replacing temporary accommodation and the building of nursery and special needs classrooms. The Council has recently completed one new primary school, St Andrew's in Gorebridge.

Whilst this strategy has improved our schools, the growing maintenance backlog is not being addressed. Nor is our goal of providing schools with a quality learning environment that our pupils and staff deserve being met. Our community facilities, whilst continuing to deliver a service to their local areas, do not meet the expectations necessary to attract more adults and young people into lifelong learning.

The success of the Dalkeith Schools Community Campus Public Private Partnership (PPP) has focused our strategy on improving the whole of our education estate and bringing it up to the standard that has been specified for the new campus schools. To bring equality to the Council's schools, much will need to be done to achieve the high standards that have been set for the campus.

Unlike many other Scottish Councils, Midlothian is expected to see a substantial rise in population of around 12% over the next few years. This will bring new housing developments into the area and the Council is working with the housing developers to take forward a strategy for developer contributions to provide new schools and extend others.

Currently there exists the opportunity to secure long-term revenue support from the Scottish Executive for a second PPP project. This will enable the Council to commence implementation of the improvement strategy for the whole school estate earlier, than would otherwise be possible by using traditional funding.

Following the award of feasibility funding from the Scottish Executive in 2001, Midlothian Council commissioned a strategic review of its school estate. The aim of the study was to establish a long-term strategy for the provision and management of school accommodation, to ensure a systematic and co-ordinated approach to asset management, improve local decision making, prioritise investment and co-ordinate standards applied to the existing school estate and for schools to be provided through developer contributions.

Using the above funding the Council has carried out a rigorous review of its school accommodation, which highlights that the majority of the school estate is functionally and economically obsolete and so significant improvement to the school estate is a pre-requisite to supporting the delivery of education, now and in the future.

The analysis identified that over 65% of the Council's school estate pre-dates the 1970s and that over 25% of the school estate was built prior to 1950. Combined with poor quality buildings, built in the 1970s and 1980s, a maintenance timebomb has been inherited that has started to impact on the delivery of education and, in the absence of significant well planned investment, will be a drain on scarce resources. In essence a large number of Midlothian schools are no longer fit for purpose and are expensive to run.

A Schools Property Strategy has been developed in order to guide the scope of the work required to improve the school estate. This strategy aims to move the estate towards a two stream model of primary schools, with integrated nursery and community accommodation, in order to improve the space utilisation and achieve more efficient, modern primary school provision. The secondary school sector will be based on the current complement of 6 secondary schools, two of which have already been replaced via the Dalkeith Schools Community Campus PPP. It is proposed that a further 3 will be refurbished and remodelled and one rebuilt. This current paper refers only to aspects of primary, nursery and community provision.

In the above report, Section 9 contains a series of recommendations which are indicated below:

1. that Stobhill Primary School be replaced by a new building procured under a Public Private Partnership;
2. that Gorebridge Primary School be replaced by a new building procured under a Public Private Partnership;
3. that Borthwick Primary School be closed with pupils relocated to Stobhill Primary School for August 2004;
4. that Temple Primary School be closed with pupils relocated to Stobhill Primary School for August 2004;
5. that Woodburn Primary School be refurbished using Capital funds;
6. that Thornybank Nursery School be relocated to a refurbished Woodburn Primary School;
7. that Bryans and Langlaw Primary Schools be merged and located in a new building procured under Public Private Partnership;
8. that Bonnyrigg Primary School be refurbished using Capital funds;
9. that Cockpen Nursery School be relocated to a refurbished Bonnyrigg Primary School;
10. that Loanhead Primary School be replaced by a new building procured under a Public Private Partnership on a shared campus with St Margaret's Primary School;
11. that St Margaret's Primary School be replaced by a new building on a shared campus with Loanhead Primary School procured under a Public Private Partnership;
12. that Eastfield and Ladywood Primary Schools be merged and replaced by a new building, procured under a Public Private Partnership;
13. that Strathesk Nursery School be relocated to the merged Eastfield/ Ladywood Primary School;
14. that Cuiken Primary School be refurbished using Capital funding;
15. that Cuikenburn Nursery School be relocated to a refurbished Cuiken Primary School.
16. that Howgate Primary School be closed with pupils being relocated to Cuiken Primary School for August 2004;
17. that Pathhead Primary School be replaced by a new building procured through a Public Private Partnership;
18. that Cranston Primary School be closed and pupils relocated to Pathhead Primary School for August 2004;
19. that Cousland Primary School be closed and pupils relocated to Woodburn Primary School for August 2004 and then included in the new catchment area for a Primary School scheduled to be built at the Dalkeith Schools Community Campus;
20. that in respect to (i) to (xix) above that consultation is put in place in accordance with appropriate statutory legislation.

At its meeting on 26 February 2004 the Cabinet agreed in respect to the recommendations contained in the report that consultation should be put in place in accordance with appropriate statutory legislation.

Section 6 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1981 amended the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 by addition sections 22A and 22D. Regulations were issued following the above amendment (1981 No 1558 The Education (Publication and Consultation etc) (Scotland) Regulations 1981).

In terms of the above the Council must consult on any closure or change of catchment area programme and have regard to any representations made. With regard to those schools which are over 80% full (or over five miles from the nearest school), closure or change of catchment area requires the consent of Scottish Ministers. For Roman Catholic schools reference to the Archdiocese is required.

Consultation may be in writing and/or by public meeting. Normally both processes are used. The minimum period for consultation is 28 days.

The Education Division sent an explanatory leaflet to the parents of every pupil outlining the proposals contained within the report. In addition a letter was later sent to parents of pupils. Information was also given to parents of pupils not yet enrolled at schools but who might attend the relevant schools within the next two years. An information note was sent to the Archdiocese in relation to Roman Catholic schools and appropriate adverts were placed in the local press.

A series of 5 public meetings were held across Midlothian at which officials of the Education Division outlined the proposals and an opportunity was afforded to interested parties to make presentations and/or raise issues or seek answers to questions. A minute of each of these 5 meetings is attached to this report as Appendix 1.

Additionally, Elected Members, Church Representatives on the Cabinet and Officers attended a number of School Board and other related meetings.

Interested parties were asked to write or email the Director, Education with their views on the proposals. A total number of 467 written representations and 360 reply cards were received in accordance with the above Regulations. These can be accessed on the attached CD. Amongst points made were:

• " A belief that rural schools provide a small, intimate learning environment, where pupils feel secure and have high attainment, and where parents can easily be involved in school life.
• " A belief that rural schools provide an important focus in communities and serve to attract new people, especially young families, to these communities.
• " A belief that the rural school facilities, buildings and playgrounds, though they obviously vary from school to school, are nowhere so lacking that they merit as radical a solution as closure.
• " Concern about the Strategic Asset Management Report contained some inaccuracies in respect of these facilities, buildings and playgrounds.
• " Concern about whether there will be any real saving in cost if the proposals are implemented, and about whether the PPP will deliver satisfactorily and on time.
• " Concern over the proposals to move many pupils twice and concern about the suitability of whatever temporary accommodation will be provided.
• " Concern about practical matters such as transport and the suitability of interim arrangements if, for example, a building site is to be close to the school.
• " Concern about the length of the consultation period.
• " Concern about the quality of nursery education, if nurseries are not to have their own Head Teachers.
• " Doubts about how well the proposals reflect the Scottish Executive's policy on rural Scotland.*
• " Doubts about the capacity factors used by the Council (i.e. measures of how full a school is).
• " A wish to see evidence that larger schools provide better education.
• " Preferences for which schools should be merged or otherwise, and for the locations of new buildings.

* This point was made forcefully but not by very many correspondents.

Whilst the minutes of the 5 public meetings in Appendix 1 and correspondence accessed on the attached CD rom give a great deal of detail with regard to public opinion, it can be broadly summarised as falling into two categories. Firstly, with regard to the 5 rural schools considered for closure it should be noted that there was strenuous opposition to the proposals. Secondly, for those existing schools being directly replaced by a new building, or being refurbished, there was broad support for the proposals. With regard to the proposed closure of 4 nursery schools, it was noted that parents were happy with the existing level of provision and quality and were concerned that in any proposals this quality of nursery provision should not in any way be diluted. With regard to the proposed mergers of Ladywood and Eastfield Primary Schools and that of Bryans and Langlaw Primary Schools, it was noted that Bryans and Langlaw parents had some reservations to the merger particularly in relation to the siting of the new school. The School Board at Eastfield indicated that they wished to remain in their existing building. Finally, with regard to the proposals at Loanhead and St Margaret's Primary Schools, that these be replaced with a new building procured under a Public Private Partnership on a shared campus, there were concerns regarding the size of the site. Additionally the Roman Catholic Archdiocese has indicated that their preferred option would be a separate replacement school for St Margaret's.

During the consultation, further options emerged. If Midlothian Council were to choose these options, a further statutory consultation would be required.

The first option involves Cousland Primary School. It has been suggested that the catchment area of Cousland Primary School be combined with the new school at Pathhead, incorporating both Cranston and Pathhead Primary Schools. This would be as an alternative to combining with a school in Dalkeith. In terms of distance, Cousland is not much further from Pathhead than Dalkeith. In terms of communal links, there are existing ties between Cousland and the Tynewater community.

The second option involves Borthwick and Temple Primary Schools. North Middleton is the largest rural settlement in the area, with 10 children from the village attending Borthwick Primary School. An alternative proposal would involve constructing a new school at North Middleton and closing both Borthwick and Temple Primary Schools. This option would not address the points made about Temple village, but would maintain a "rural" school within the A7 Corridor.

A third option offers the possibility of alternative sites being considered for Bryans/Langlaw, Eastfield/Ladywood and Loanhead/St Margaret's replacement schools.

A fourth option considers relocating pupils from Howgate Primary School to Cornbank St James Primary School.

The original report of 26 February 2004 contained a small number of inaccuracies with regard to school accommodation. It should, therefore, be noted that Cousland Primary School has had a window and door renewal programme carried out with replacement double glazed units installed.

The playground surface which was a serious health and safety risk was re-skimmed with a bitmac top. This is a medium term solution until funding can be made available for a complete reconstruction.

The 14 schools in the PPP2 project have, as of today, an outstanding maintenance bill of £2, 513,217, a 5 year projected cost of £3,668,606 and a 10 year projected cost of £5,061,595. The costs are shown in the table below with a detailed breakdown attached as Appendix 2.

It should be noted that these repair costs are for fabric improvements. Any educational changes, such as the provision of library, ICT or expressive art facilities are not costed.

Since the February report a further series of property condition surveys have been commissioned and these are included in the CD.

The educational effectiveness of small schools depends on a number of factors, including:

• The quality and resilience of the teaching staff
• The spread of curriculum expertise amongst staff
• Access to curriculum enrichment
• The level of community and parental support
• Size of classes and number of pupils at respective ages in composite classes
• The quality of the teaching and learning environment

Currently rural schools in Midlothian provide a good quality of educational experience. This is due to the high quality of work by all staff and the school's partnership with parents and the wider community.

The teaching quality throughout a small school is dependent far more on individual abilities than in a larger school. Additionally, one teacher leaving a school can have a significant effect on the quality of education and the development of the school's curriculum. Evidence suggests that small schools are more susceptible to falling standards than their larger neighbours. Evidence presented to the Welsh Assembly indicates that it is "the standard of teaching, rather than the size of the school, which determines educational effectiveness. The size of the school can play a significant contributing part in delineating what is possible within the confines of the school. The crucial issue in small schools is that classes must also be small. This is necessary in view of the fact that small schools are often based around classes which include more than one year group."

It is clear that one of the key areas which affects pupils' potential achievement is teaching standards. However, there are a number of issues which, irrespective of teaching quality, can have an effect on the ability of a small school to ensure that individual pupils receive access to the full range of the 5-14 curriculum. These issues include:

• Demands on Headteachers and staff of small schools to appropriately plan for the full curriculum, eg the development of policy guidelines etc. There are also significant pressures on staff to plan for progression and continuity in composite classes.
• In a small school one or more teachers may have responsibility for the development of all of the Scottish Executive's National Priorities and for each of the 5-14 curriculum areas. This places an increased load on the Headteacher in addition to their teaching remit.
• It is difficult in this situation to effectively and rigorously monitor and evaluate the quality of the curriculum and the standard of learning and teaching throughout the school.
• A small school is currently being asked to plan and co-ordinate for the full range of the 5-14 curriculum and to monitor and evaluate the work of the school in the same way as their larger neighbour but without the appropriate staffing resource.

South of the Border, Ofsted has noted that small primary schools tend to be popular with parents because "they have a positive ethos with a family atmosphere, close links between the staff and parents, an important place in the local community and good standards of behaviour." However, "some respondents to the Welsh Local Government Association survey (28 September 2001) indicated that, whilst schools are a key factor in maintaining community life, they must not be protected at any cost. For instance, small schools should not be maintained unless a reasonable level of curriculum entitlement can be guaranteed to ensure quality teaching and learning environments." Evidence to the Welsh Local Government Association indicated that "school facilities are an important resource which should be used to the benefit of the whole community." However, evidence to support the view that schools in small and/or rural communities are widely used by the local community is sketchy. Rogers Williams of Ceredigion County Council quotes that little evidence can be found in areas to support this assertion - in fact community use of school facilities is very low. The report continues "planning the provision of school based facilities should not be hidebound by historic practice - rather it should address the requirements of those communities today. Facilities should be provided where the need is greatest; provision should not be built around existing facilities where those facilities are unsuitable."

It is clear that small schools often lack facilities, for example the availability of dining areas, school hall, sports facilities or ICT facilities. In addition many small schools lack a school office, a Headteacher's office, staff room facilities etc. The lack of facilities, aligned with small pupil numbers, make it difficult to provide adequate opportunities for youngsters to play in sports teams or to join musical groups with their peers.

The cost of providing education in small schools is significantly greater than that in a larger establishment. The 1990 Audit Commission report suggested that the cost per pupil in small schools is, on average, 34% greater than for children attending other schools. Information on the cost per pupil in Midlothian schools, using the Scottish Executive's latest figures, is contained in Appendix 3.

In its report on 26 February 2004 the Council accepted the premise that, where appropriate, it should provide 2 stream primary schools of approximately 14 classes for 7 primary stages, with nursery provision, integration of pupils with additional support needs and community use facilities.

The provision of 2 stream primary schools will allow the Education Division to maximise the social, curricular and management benefits associated with schools, each with approximately 14 classes. The Education Division believes that the following are some of the benefits of larger schools:

Social:

• Pupils have the opportunity to interact with a larger peer group.
• The integration of pupils with additional support needs is easier to manage in a larger school as there is a wider range of resources, facilities and staff expertise/skills.
• Smoother nursery/primary transition.
• Greater opportunities for team games, sports and enterprise activities.
• The ability to play in the playground with pupils of the same age.
• In secondary transition it is anticipated that pupils will make a smoother transition from larger primary into secondary schools than from rural schools with a small pupil population.

Curricular:

• The opportunity to work in larger groups and classes to provide a greater level of challenge for all pupils.
• Greater opportunities exist for a wider range of ability groups, mixed ability groups, social groupings, problem solving groupings and discussion groups.
• There will be a wider range of staff expertise with a larger staff group which will provide pupils with a better range of learning experiences.
• There will be a wider range of curricular opportunities in a larger school.
• Classes become more effective learning units having a wider range of pupils views, experiences and opportunities for interaction.
• Larger schools can provide specialist facilities, for example technology room, ICT suite, libraries, learning centres, gymnastic facilities, music rooms, etc.
• Larger schools have designated areas for dining, leisure and recreation linked to community learning and development.

Management:

• The Authority's expectation of Headteachers has risen resulting in an increased workload. The proposed two stream primary schools will have management teams comprising a Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and one or more Principal Teachers. This will enable them to deal appropriately with:
• Planning for improvement
• HMIE inspection and self-evaluation
• School development planning
• Standards and Quality reporting
• Ethos building and social inclusion
• Inclusion of pupils with additional support needs
• Working in partnership with parents and carers
• Working with other services and agencies
• Managing staff
• Continuing staff development
• managing the changes to the teachers' working day
• Appropriately deploying and managing school support staff, visiting specialists and external agencies, etc
• Using a wide range of people, skills, experience and expertise
• Giving opportunities for teamwork and delegation

Headteachers in larger schools generally have a greater level of management experience prior to taking up post. There is a higher number of applications made for Headteacher posts in larger schools.

Attached as Appendix 4 to this report is a draft accommodation schedule for a two stream nursery and primary school. It includes extended nursery provision, learning bases, tutorial space, activity hall, expressive arts studio, dining area, learning centre, etc.

Much discussion took place during the consultation period regarding the levels of attainment at smaller rural schools.

It was claimed by supporters of small/rural schools that high levels of attainment were achieved in these schools. Information was produced by Midlothian Council's Education Division to show 5-14 level D attainment for a single year. Clearly, as with all statistics, data can be used to put forward a number of different arguments.

The table below shows the percentage of pupils achieving the expected 5-14 levels in reading, writing and mathematics for the five rural schools and also for comparator schools with similar free meal entitlements (fme). These comparator schools are Cornbank St James, Glencorse, Hopefield, Lasswade and Mauricewood Primary Schools. Additionally, average information is given for Midlothian as a whole and Scotland.

The consultation period has proved to be extremely useful in offering up a number of options in relation to the recommendations set out in Section 9 of the original report. Each of the original recommendations is dealt with below along with options now being considered in light of the consultation.

Each of the proposed schools will be built with the necessary number of classrooms to meet the needs of the existing community. Developer contributions will be sought to fund any necessary future expansion of buildings. Some of the options indicated below may require a second period of consultation.

A prudent assessment has been made of the likely financial impact of the range of options contained in this report.

In terms of the land value impacts (acquisitions and sales) the net additional cost falling on the Capital Plan is £3.8 million.

In revenue terms, the funding gap increases by around £260,000 p.a. which would require to be found from savings elsewhere in the Education budget or, alternatively, could be eliminated by making a further up front payment to the PPP provider of £2.6 million.

In total, therefore, an additional £6.4 million would require to be met from capital receipts in the Capital Plan.

Should it be possible to relocate Loanhead/St Margaret's on a site in Council ownership other than Loanhead PS then this additional cost of £6.4m would reduce by the value realised from the sale of the Loanhead PS site.

The Cabinet is invited to consider the report and the options contained therein.

DONALD S MACKAY
Director, Education

14 MAY 2004

Contact Person: Donald MacKay Tel: 0131 271 3718
Background Papers: DSM/lb