Plans to mothball North East nurseries should be subject to full public consultation, MSPs heard today.
In April, Aberdeenshire Council announced the closure of four Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings at Glass near Huntly, Crossroads near Crathes, Ballogie near Aboyne, and Sandhaven near Fraserburgh.
Children will be placed at their second or third choice nursery in August.
Aberdeenshire Council guidance states the decision to mothball a school is made by the education and children’s services director when the roll has fallen very low.
And the Scottish Government is reviewing national guidance on mothballing, which a Minister said would give councils “flexibility” around their school estate.
At Holyrood, Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett said parents had complained about “poor communication” from council officers.
First Minister John Swinney had previously agreed with Mr Burnett that any mothballing should be consulted on first, but updated guidance on this is yet to be published by the Scottish Government.
Scottish Conservative Mr Burnett asked the SNP children’s minister whether the Scottish Government would intervene if national guidance has not been followed.
He said:
“No consultation has taken place with any of the communities affected, and parents are experiencing poor communication with council officers.
“We also received the impact assessment — on which the decision for one of the nursery closures was approved — on April 30, over a month after they announced the closures on March 28.
“So can the minister outline what action the Scottish Government will take to ensure that national mothballing guidance is followed, and what can parents do, when councils are not following their own processes?”
Natalie Don-Innes responded:
“We are reviewing the guidance to provide greater clarity on whether it is an appropriate action to take.
“I find what Mr. Burnett brings to me very concerning, and we do expect local authorities to consult with parents, carers and families to ensure that they are meeting local needs in relation to childcare…
“Understanding, of course, that there has to be some level of flexibility for local authorities in relation to managing their estate, prompted by, for example, changes to demographics.”
Rules were set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 to make it harder to close rural schools.
But Aberdeenshire education director Laurence Findlay told Times Education Supplement the law needed to be “refreshed and modernised”.
