Future of The City of Perth Early Childhood Centre
Perth and Kinross Council · 29 January 2025
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 29 January 2025 and its agenda
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Perth and Kinross Council Learning and Families Committee 29 January 2025 Future of The City of Perth Early Childhood Centre Report by Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (Report No. 25/18) 1. Purpose 1.1 To gain approval to initiate a formal statutory consultation process to form the basis of moving towards formal closure of the original site of City of Perth Early Childhood Centre (CoPECC). 2. Recommendation 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • Considers the current Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) context and provision available to families within the North Perth ELC Community; • Reviews the information contained in the report, and within the Options Appraisal (Appendix 1), as to the reasons behind the seeking of approval for consultation to formally close the original site of CoPECC; • Agrees to the preferred option within the Options Appraisal to initiate the statutory consultation process to form the basis of moving towards formal closure of CoPECC and the continuation, on a permanent basis, of the service currently being provided within Goodlyburn Primary School; and • Requests the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning brings back a future report to this Committee to decide upon the future of CoPECC once the statutory consultation has been completed. 3. Structure of Report 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Proposals • Appendices 4. Background 4.1 The original standalone CoPECC in the ELC community of North Perth at McCallum Court was opened in 2002. It was registered with the Care Inspectorate to provide care to a maximum of 100 children, aged between two years old and those not yet attending primary school.
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As well as ELC, the service provided family support and learning opportunities and was included within Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) planning for delivering the 1140 hours expansion of ELC to all eligible children. It became one of five Early Childhood Centres in Perth and Kinross offering year-round flexible childcare options to families. 4.2 The building was affected by floods in 2002 and 2010 for which insurance claims were made. In August 2020, due to extensive rainfall during thunderstorms, many areas across Perth and Kinross, including Perth city, were flooded, damaging over 225 buildings. CoPECC was one of these buildings and the centre was closed to families as a result and another insurance claim was made. Due to the extent of the flood damage to the building, the centre was temporarily decanted to the Perth Grammar School Community Wing where families were able to continue to access their children’s ELC places. 4.3 The site of the original CoPECC at McCallum Court flooded severely several times at substantial cost to insurers and PKC. Following the last flood in August 2020, the site was subsequently deemed as uninsurable, and as such, PKC is not able to develop this site with any permanent structure. In October 2021, due to significant vandalism at the building, it was agreed that the building would be demolished. 4.4 By April 2022, an interim arrangement was made by combining the current nursery at Goodlyburn Primary School with CoPECC to become Goodlyburn and CoPECC which is located within Goodlyburn Primary School and managed by the Centre Leader. This service continues to deliver ELC to 74 children at any one time, including two year olds, providing continuity of service for families in the community of North Perth and enabling all eligible children to access high quality ELC. 4.5 From the flooding in August 2020, all eligible children in the ELC Community of North Perth have been able to access their full 1140 hour ELC entitlement. Since the expansion took place in 2020, within North Perth, two further PKC Early Childhood Centres, five PKC nursery settings, four funded provider nursery settings and five childminders within the community have been established. 4.6 The CoPECC merger with Goodlyburn Primary School nursery has also supported the delivery of continued high-quality ELC provision within the North Perth community. In February 2024, the setting underwent inspection by the Care Inspectorate and achieved gradings of ‘Very Good’ under the Quality Indicators 1.1, 1.3, 3.1 and 4.3, and a ‘Good’ grading under Quality Indicator 2.2. The full Care Inspectorate inspection report for the Goodlyburn and City of Perth Early Childhood Centre is available on their website. 4.7 CoPECC is successfully delivering ELC from its current site at Goodlyburn Primary School, and all families residing in the North Perth ELC Community can access their funded ELC place within the current capacity. 4.8 An Options Appraisal (Appendix 1) has determined that a standalone centre on the previous site at McCallum Court is no longer required.
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5. Proposal 5.1 It is proposed to initiate the necessary statutory consultation process to formalise the continuation of ELC delivery at the Goodlyburn Primary School location and close the CoPECC site at McCallum Court. 5.1.1 The continuation of the service within Goodlyburn Primary School and other ELC settings in the North Perth ELC Community provide all families access to funded ELC places and associated support and services. 5.2 The Corporate Asset Management Framework (Report No. 24/18 refers) sets out the Council’s approach to asset management and investment, and introduced the concept of the Asset Challenge as a key element of its methodology. This requires any decision on the use, maintenance and investment in any asset to be evidence based and in alignment with the Council’s corporate priorities and service delivery requirements, while recognising community need, climate change considerations and the overarching question of affordability. 5.3 Councils, as Education Authorities, have a statutory duty in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make adequate and efficient provision of school education across their entire area for the current school population and future patterns of demand. Councils also have a statutory responsibility in terms of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 to achieve best value. 5.4 It is important, in light of the significant investment and cost associated with the school estate, that it is managed in an efficient and effective manner, and that the priorities which are addressed meet the wider strategic objectives of the Council and the needs of our communities. 5.5 The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 compels local authorities to apply robust consultation procedures to all proposals for school closures (including nurseries). PKC is committed to providing stakeholders with reassurance that the consultation and decision-making process and procedures are fairly, fully and rigorously carried out. 5.6 It is proposed that a statutory consultation exercise takes place on a proposal to close the original site of CoPECC by May 2025, with agreement to formalise permanent delivery of the ELC from the site at Goodlyburn Primary School from January 2026. Author Name Designation Contact Details Bernadette Martin-Scott Service Manager, Early Years and Child Care FBSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk 01738 475000 Annie Carr Quality Improvement Officer, Early Years and Childcare
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Approved Name Designation Date David Macluskey Strategic Lead – Education and Learning 20 January 2025
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Annex 1. Implications, Assessments, Consultation and Communication Strategic Implications Yes/None Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) None Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal None External None Communication Communications Plan Yes 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (i and ii). Corporate Plan 1.2 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Plan Objectives: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (i and ii).
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1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Vision, Values and Priorities in respect of the following key Priority area: • Best Start 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 There are no financial implications applicable at this stage. Workforce 2.2 There are no workforce implications applicable at this stage. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 There are no asset management implications in this report. The site is not appropriate for a construction development by PKC. 3. Assessments 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. *The Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) undertaken in relation to this report can be viewed by clicking here. 3.1.1 The proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as relevant and actions taken to reduce or remove the following negative impacts: • Reduction in the offer of funded ELC places in North Perth. • Loss of ELC in immediate area surrounding McCallum Court. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.2.1 The proposals have been considered under the Act; however, no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and is therefore exempt.
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Sustainability 3.3 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • In the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets. • In the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaption programmes. • In a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.3.1 This is not relevant for the purposes of this report. Legal and Governance 3.4 Legal and Governance Services have been consulted on proposals within this report. 3.5 Not applicable. Risk 3.6 No significant risks have been identified. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 The report has been written in consultation with PKC colleagues in the Early Years team, Education and Learning Senior Management Team, Human Resources, Finance and Business Support, and Property. External 4.2 External Consultation has not taken place at this stage. 5. Communication 5.1 If approved, a formal consultation process will take place. 2. Background Papers 2.1 No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (and not containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report. 3. Appendices 3.1 Appendix 1 – Options Appraisal: Future of the City of Perth Early Childhood Centre (CoPECC)