Item 08 - Response on Statutory Consultation to move the Primary 1 (P1) Enrolment Date...
West Dunbartonshire Council · 18 September 2024
Back to Educational Services Committee — 18 September 2024 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Education Officer Educational Services Committee – 18 September 2024 Subject: Response on Statutory Consultation to move the Primary 1 (P1) enrolment date for the start of the academic year from the second week in January to the second week of the preceding November 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of the report is to inform the Educational Services Committee of the outcome from the statutory consultation exercise under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 on the proposal for the Primary 1 (P1) enrolment date for the start of the academic year to move from the second week in January to the second week in the preceding November. 2. Recommendation 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: (i) Notes the findings from the statutory consultation exercise and the content of the associated Education Scotland report; (ii) Agrees to move the Primary 1 (P1) enrolment date for the start of the academic year to move from the second week in January to the second week in the preceding November, commencing this year for enrolments due to start school in August 2025. 3. Background 3.1 At the meeting on 20 March 2024, the Educational Services Committee approved the launch of the statutory consultation document by the Chief Education Officer under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 on the proposal to move the Primary 1 (P1) enrolment date for the start of the academic year from the second week in January to the second week of the preceding November. 3.2 Committee further agreed that a report outlining the results of the consultation and making appropriate recommendations be presented to a meeting of the Educational Services Committee scheduled for 18 September 2024. 3.3 The consultation has been undertaken in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and copies of the proposal document were made available to all stakeholders as prescribed by the Act. The consultation ran from Monday 25 March 2024 until midnight on Friday 31 May 2024, which ITEM 8
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included a period of 30 days when the schools were open for pupils. 4. Consultation Process / Considerations 4.1 The statutory consultation process was undertaken with a Proposal Paper setting out the proposal on which the Council was consulting being published on the Council’s website and stakeholders invited to participate in the consultation exercise. An electronic link to the consultation page and Proposal Paper, was issued by email to the consultees listed within the document and was also published on the Council’s website and publicised via the Council’s social media channels. 4.2 As part of the Council’s consultation process we undertook the following activities: Publicised the consultation and date of public meeting through the Council’s website, through public notices in local newspapers and on social media. Advised relevant stakeholders by email of the consultation and providing an electronic link to the website. Held an online and in-person public consultation meeting in Dumbarton. Utilised the Council’s consultation web page to make documentation on the proposal, link to the online survey, background information and details on how to participate in the survey available. Set up a direct telephone line and email address to deal with queries. 4.3 A public consultation meeting was held on 20 April 2024 to allow Officers to explain the proposal and enable interested parties to ask questions regarding the proposal. A representative from Education Scotland was also in attendance at the Dumbarton meeting, as part of their role in the statutory consultation process. There were no attendees at the meeting either in person or online. 4.4 An online survey was available during the consultation period, with 31 respondents registering. Do you agree that West Dunbartonshire Council should bring the date of enrolment for primary school forward by two months from January to November?’. 93.5% (29 respondents) agreed, with 6.5% (2 respondents) disagreeing. 4.5 There were no responses by phone to the consultation. No written responses were received by post. We received an email submission from the Archdiocese of Glasgow of the Roman Catholic Church in support of our proposal (which is included as Appendix A to the Consultation Report). Education Scotland Report and Considerations 4.6 The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 requires HM Inspectors from Education Scotland to be involved in the formal consultation proposal.
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The full report from Education Scotland was published on their website and also published as Appendix B of our Consultation Report. 4.7 As part of this process HM Inspectors undertook the following activities in considering the educational aspect of the proposal: attendance at a public meeting held on 18 April 2023 in connection with the Council’s proposals; consideration of all relevant documentation provided by the Council in relation to the proposal, specifically the educational benefits statement and related consultation documents, written and oral submissions from parents and others; consideration of further representations made directly to Education Scotland on relevant educational aspects of the proposal; visits to the site of St Mary’s Primary School & ELCC (Duntocher), St. Ronan’s Primary School & ELCC, Sunflower Nursery and Andrew B. Cameron ELC, including discussion with relevant consultees and; discussion with relevant consultees, including representatives from the Archdiocese of Glasgow. Education Scotland Summary and Recommendations 4.8 Education Scotland produced a report whose purpose is to provide an independent and impartial consideration of West Dunbartonshire Council’s proposal to bring the date of school enrolment forward. 4.9 Within the report, Education Scotland concluded: “HM Inspectors agree that this proposal has clear educational benefits. The proposed changes will assist the council in obtaining earlier information to help inform decision making. This includes, class configurations, placing requests, transition support, and to identify required teaching posts at an earlier point in time. It will also enable earlier confirmation to parents of the school their child will attend. If approved, the council should continue to engage parents to provide assurance of their rights regarding flexibility in deferring their child's start date. Similarly, staff and parents would like confirmation that the arrangements and associated timeline for enrolling children with additional support needs would also be in line with the proposal.” Next Steps 4.10 Response to the consultation was positive. Comments made by stakeholders suggest that further review of the enrolment and admissions policy are required, specifically in the areas of deferred entries and enrolment and placing requests for children with additional support needs. A further request for a statutory consultation to consult on future changes will be brought to the December Education committee.
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Consultation Report 4.13 The Council is required to prepare and publish its final Consultation Report when the consultation exercise has been concluded. In preparing the report, the Council must consider the report from Education Scotland and other responses to the consultation. The consultation report must explain how the Council has reviewed the proposal, a summary of the points raised during the consultation and the Council’s response to them. It should consider if there are any other reasonable alternatives to the proposal. 4.14 The Council is required to publish the Consultation Report and Educational Services Committee cannot take a decision on whether to formally implement a proposal until 3 weeks have elapsed from the date it publishes the Consultation Report. The Consultation Report was published on the website on Friday 16 June 2023. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications within this report. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 There are no financial implications in this report. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 HM Inspectors agree that the proposal would provide benefit to parents and carers in West Dunbartonshire, and bring forward decision making around the annual staffing exercise. Failure to ensure adequate staffing of schools would mean that we are not fulfilling our statutory duty to accommodate children in our schools, and would bring reputational damage. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 This report was considered under the Council’s Equalities Impact Assessment process, with no adverse impact being identified on groups with protected characteristics. 9. Consultation 9.1 Consultation on the proposed changes was undertaken in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. 9.2 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted on the content of this report.
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10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 Undertaking a statutory consultation ensures we meet our responsibilities as defined by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. It works towards all three of the Community Planning Partnership priorities of ‘empowered’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘wellbeing’ by ensuring that the views of local citizens are sought and incorporated into our plans, and that we work to promote the wellbeing of our children, young people and families. Laura Mason Chief Education Officer Person to Contact: Andrew Brown, Senior Education Officer andrew.brown@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1 – Consultation Report Background Papers: Report and Proposal Paper submitted to Education Committee on 20.03.2024 Wards Affected: All wards
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