Parents reacted with fury when told of Midlothian Council's prescribed format for consultation meetings in its drive to
axe five rural schools. The Council's radical and controversial proposals to close the schools have attracted criticism for
the seeming haste and lack of time for consultation. In the latest development, School Boards have been advised of the need
to prepare 10 minute presentations for next week's public meetings.
Martin Walker, representing the Cranston Primary parents action group says:
'It's a sham. This is intimidation, not consultation. We all have concerns and thought we'd have every opportunity to voice
them at these meetings. Instead, the council seems to be turning the tables. It seems that the meetings are not about the
councillors justifying their flawed proposals, but about us having to justify our school's survival. For Cranston, not only
is there only one public meeting which is supposed to cover 4 other schools as well in an hour and a half, but this means that
there will be limited time for us to ask the questions we felt rightly should be answered. It seems more like a trial to me'
The proposals to rush through the closures have attracted considerable opposition, with the various action groups involved
attracting widespread support from parents, the local communities and politicians.
Karen Beggs, a Cranston parent says:
'10 minutes to save a school? This just shows that the Council is only prepared to pay lip service to the consultation that
is required in these situations. The 28 days they've allowed us is too short for anyone to assess the plans properly, and while
they will say that they have given us the minimum time laid down in the regulations, I don't think the council is acting in the
spirit of the Government's policy of putting the child at the centre, and the school at the heart of the community'
The Cranston Parents Action Group Against Closure (CPAG) was formed to counter the proposals put forward by Midlothian Council
to close Cranston Primary School in June, move pupils to temporary accommodation at the already overcrowded site occupied by
Pathhead Primary School in August, and to accommodate pupils from both schools within a two stream structure at a new PPP-funded
site at some time in the future.
Note to editors:
Further information, including a list of contacts, is available on the Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group website, www mrsag.org.uk
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