Agenda item

Consider Joint Report by Service Director, Young People, Engagement & Inclusion and Service Director, Assets & Infrastructure.  (Copy to attached.)

6.1  With reference to paragraph 5 of the Executive Committee Minute of 7 November 2017, there had been circulated copies of a joint report by the Service Director, Young People, Engagement & Inclusion and Service Director, Assets & Infrastructure, providing an update on progress with improving the condition and suitability of many schools and sought approval of a process and actions to deliver a Learning Estate Strategic Plan.  The report provided details of the progress which had been made in recent years, improving the condition and suitability of many schools.  Despite huge improvements in the physical fabric of many buildings, it was recognised that much more had to be done and work was progressing to ensure future investment in the School Estate was planned, managed and delivered in line with empirical data and an overall strategy for the Learning Estate.  This report also highlighted the many challenges facing the Learning Estate in the Scottish Borders and sought approval of a  process and actions to deliver a Learning Estate Strategic Plan which was fit for purpose, responsive to changing population patterns, sustainable in the longer term, and accessible to all.  The strategy would provide learning environments to deliver 21^st century education as part of a wider place making agenda.  To deliver this vision, meet the principles of Scotland’s Learning Estate Strategy and to address the three key national education and skills priorities namely Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) a number of policies and methodologies would also require to be updated. 

6.2  The Learning Estate was a significant and valuable resource for the communities of the Scottish Borders.  The ongoing revenue costs for the Learning Estate and the capital costs of providing a Learning Estate fit for the future were significant.  It was therefore vital, in light of these material costs, that the Learning Estate was managed and planned in an efficient, effective and strategic manner and that all priorities met the wider strategic objectives of the Council and the needs of communities.  Scottish Borders Council had high aspirations for the Learning Estate, reflecting the value that was placed on learning, supported by a vision for well designed, maintained and managed buildings to facilitate learning for the whole community and the future strategy would inform prioritisation of investment while seeking to adhere to the principles of community place making.  In order to drive innovation and creativity in how investment was used to best effect, it was necessary to engage with communities and partners to identify how, together, the changing demands and community needs were met.  The report also made recommendations regarding future workstreams and policies that would be required to deliver the Learning Estate Strategic Plan.  The outcome of this work would be brought forward for further approval at appropriate junctures and, once approved, those policies and workstreams would be incorporated into the Learning Estate Strategic Plan. 

6.3  Members welcomed the comprehensive nature of the report and noted the 10 guiding principles produced by the Scottish Government for Scotland’s Learning Estate Strategy.  Members requested details of the 16 schools which currently had less than 50 pupils and Mrs Munro undertook to provide this information to Members after the meeting.  She explained that the figure of 50 had been in the Small Schools Policy as it was the number when a school would go from 3 classes down to 2.  She assured Members that this was not the only factor and that it was necessary to look at future roll projections to see if it was an ongoing trend.  The educational benefits for the pupils were always the primary driver along with delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence, so it was not about savings or convenience.  Councillor C. Hamilton gave assurances to communities that there was currently no dialogue on specific schools and that equity of education provision across the Borders was paramount.

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)   to progress the Learning Estate Strategic Plan using a wider place planning approach;

(b)   to the development of a Policy on Small Schools which determined triggers and process to place schools under review;

(c)   that core facts assessments of schools were reviewed on a staggered basis, with 20% of assessments being carried out each year; 

(d)   that the School Roll Projection Policy and methodology was reviewed and amended; and

(e)   that methodologies for determining capacities of schools be reviewed and adjusted.