At its meeting last night (Thursday 9 May), the Council agreed to carry out an informal consultation on the secondary school transfer arrangements for the children that attend Craighead Primary School in Milton of Campsie and Lennoxtown Primary School.
Joint Council Leader Andrew Polson explained, “In the current arrangements these two schools are in the catchment area for St Ninian’s High School in Kirkintilloch and are also zoned to Kilsyth Academy and parents can choose either school – an arrangement that has been in place since 1997.
“There has been a significant increase in recent years in the numbers of pupils transferring to St Ninian’s, and these will soon not be able to be accommodated given current roll projections, so it is only right that we start the consultation process to seek the views of these school communities.”
In order to make any changes to the catchment area of a school, the Council would need to carry out a statutory consultation as detailed in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. The guidance accompanying the Act advises that an informal consultation can also be carried out.
Joint Council Leader Vaughan Moody clarified, “An informal consultation does not remove the need for a formal process but it can be really helpful in gathering views and informing the formal consultation should the Council agree to proceed with that.
“Our plan is to carry out the informal consultation with the parents and children of both primary schools, and also to engage with the Catholic Church and with the Parent Councils of the secondary schools in Kirkintilloch and Lenzie. Officers will then bring a report back to the Council to consider and agree the next steps.”
Council Officers have also had initial discussions with Education colleagues in North Lanarkshire, and following the decision to proceed with an informal consultation, engagement with North Lanarkshire Council will continue to understand the impact of any catchment area changes in Milton of Campsie and Lennoxtown on Kilsyth Academy.
A further report will be considered by the Council on conclusion of the informal consultation.
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