ANDREW DENHOLM, Education Correspondent

CLOSURE-threatened rural schools are to receive greater protection under new guidelines which will call on councils to demonstrate the educational benefits of shutting them.

The Herald understands new Scotland-wide guidance, which will also apply to urban schools, will call on local authorities to demonstrate why shutting a school and moving its pupils to a neighbouring one would improve their education.

Existing Scottish Executive guidance to councils says they must ensure a "full and open" consultation where parental and community views are sought before any decision is made.

However, many local campaigners felt their views were not being listened to and a number of senior Labour figures, as well as the SNP and the Conservative party, have urged the executive to toughen its stance.

Under the proposals, currently being drawn up by the executive and local authority representatives, information such as class sizes, resources, facilities and the number of teaching and non-teaching staff will be used as indicators of whether a school should shut.

It is also likely the guidance will ask officials considering closure to look at a school's importance to its community. They could also have to demonstrate where any money saved will be reinvested.

Since 2003, nearly 60 primaries in Scotland have either shut or been threatened with closure, including schools in Midlothian, the Borders, Fife, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray. Currently some 30 schools are still unsure of their future.

Following a number of controversial closure plans, most recently when Moray Council decided to shut 21 schools, Peter Peacock, the education minister, became concerned about the quality of some consultations offered by councils.

"I must . . . signal my concern at some of the consultations which have been conducted in recent months, in a way that has seemed to raise unnecessary alarm in local communities," he said.

"I also believe the quality of some consultations could improve. I am considering what I can do further to address this and to ensure councils improve in this very important area.

"I am very clear about the need to take steps now to bring the practices of all councils up to the standards of the best in relation to consultation and the information they make available to parents."

The new guidance on consultations is expected to be released over the next few weeks following consultation with Cosla, the umbrella organisation for local authorities, which will jointly sign up to the plans.

Last night, Sandy Longmuir, a spokesman for the Rural Schools Network, welcomed the change of direction but said even more needed to be done to protect schools.

In particular, the network wants to see a more robust appeals mechanism to allow campaigners to refer decisions to Scottish ministers in all cases.

Under current provision, ministers only review individual decisions when the school is at least 80% full or the alternative primary school is more than five miles away or, in the case of secondaries, 10 miles away.

The importance of rural schools was recently underlined in a report by the charity Children in Scotland, which found that many had expanded their roles by providing additional services such as nurseries, baby clinics and creches. Pupils from rural schools also achieve better exam results than their city counterparts.