St Joseph's Primary School
Argyll and Bute Council · 24 August 2023
Back to Community Services Committee — 24 August 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 24TH AUGUST 2023 SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 – ST JOSEPH’S PRIMARY SCHOOL 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 This report provides details of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to rezone the catchment area for St Joseph’s Primary School so that it is extended to the whole of the Helensburgh and Lomond area, as detailed in the published Consultation Report (Appendix A); and in accordance with the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, as amended (the 2010 Act). 1.2 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: a. Notes the contents of the Consultation Report (Appendix A); and b. Approves the implementation of the following proposal: i. That the catchment area of St Joseph’s Primary School is rezoned so that it is extended to include the whole of the Helensburgh and Lomond area, with effect from 24th August 2023.
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2 ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 24TH AUGUST 2023 SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 – ST JOSEPH’S PRIMARY SCHOOL 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 When considering a proposal to rezone a school the Education Authority must meet the requirements of the 2010 Act. 2.2 The Council is required to prepare and publish a Proposal Paper which clearly sets out the proposal on which the Council is consulting. The Proposal Paper must include details of the proposed date for implementation, an Educational Benefits Statement, a summary of the consultation process and details of the supporting evidence or information used to formulate the proposal. 2.3 The 2010 Act also requires that at the close of the consultation process, Education Scotland must consider the educational aspects of the Council’s proposal and prepare and submit a report for consideration by the Council when preparing its final Consultation Report. 2.4 The Council is then required to review the proposal, taking into consideration the report from Education Scotland and all other responses received within the consultation period, and thereafter prepare and publish its final Consultation Report. 2.5 The Consultation Report must explain how the Council has reviewed the proposal, a summary of the points raised during the consultation period and the Council’s response to them, and details of any alleged inaccuracies or omissions. 2.6 The Council will then make a decision on whether or not to implement the proposal. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: a. Notes the contents of the Consultation Report (Appendix A); and b. Approves the implementation of the following proposal: i. That the catchment area of St Joseph’s Primary School is rezoned so that it is extended to include the whole of the Helensburgh and Lomond area, with effect from 24th August 2023.
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3 4. DETAIL 4.1 This report provides details of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to rezone the catchment area of St Joseph’s Primary School as detailed in the published Consultation Report (Appendix A); and in accordance with the requirements of the 2010 Act. 4.2 In accordance with the 2010 Act, a report was produced by Education Scotland on the educational aspects of the proposal (Appendix 4 of the Consultation Report). The Education Scotland Report supports the proposal in that it has potential educational benefits and will offer greater parental choice for children and families wishing to undertake a faith-based education. Where appropriate, associated school transport will be provided for the duration of a child’s primary education if this proposal is implemented. 4.3 Having considered the report from Education Scotland and all other responses received within the consultation period, officers carried out a further review of the proposal in light of this information and a Consultation Report was thereafter prepared and published for public scrutiny on the Council’s website from 3rd August 2023. This provided a full three week period prior to a final Committee decision on Thursday 24th August 2023, in compliance with Section 9(3) and Section 11 of the 2010 Act. 5. CONCLUSION 5.1 The Consultation Report for St Joseph’s Primary School has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the 2010 Act, as amended. 5.2 Following the outcome of the statutory consultation exercise detailed in the Consultation Report (Appendix A), having due regard to the consultation responses, and to Education Scotland’s Report, it is recommended that the decision is made to implement the proposal that the catchment area of St Joseph’s Primary School be rezoned so that it is extended to include the whole of the Helensburgh and Lomond area, with effect from 24th August 2023. 6. IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy – An authority that is formulating a proposal to change the catchment area of a school must satisfy the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended. 6.2 Financial – there are financial implications for each option. 6.3 Legal – The Consultation Report for St Joseph’s Primary School has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended. 6.4 HR – None 6.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: None at present
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4 6.5.1 Equalities – An EQSEIA was undertaken as part of the consultation exercise and is attached as Appendix 2 of the Consultation Report. 6.5.2 Socio-economic Duty - None at present 6.5.3 Islands – None at present 6.6 Climate Change - None 6.7 Risk – None at present 6.8 Customer Service – None at present Douglas Hendry Executive Director with responsibility for Education Councillor Yvonne Mcneilly Policy Lead for Education For further information please contact:- Wendy Brownlie Head of Education: Performance and Improvement Wendy.brownlie@argyll-bute.gov.uk Tina Sartain Education Manager tina.sartain05@argyll-bute.gov.uk 27th July 2023 Appendix A – Consultation Report