Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 - Furnace Primary School
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 December 2025
Back to Community Services Committee — 11 December 2025 and its agenda
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Page 1 ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 11 DECEMBER 2025 SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 – FURNACE PRIMARY SCHOOL 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The purpose of this report is to update the Community Services Committee on the current status of Furnace Primary School and invite Members to agree to the recommendations outlined. 1.2 Furnace Primary School was mothballed by the Committee in December 2024, with agreement that a review of the school’s mothballing would be prepared for the Committee’s December 2025 meeting at which Members will decide on a continued period of mothballing, or request officers to begin the formal preliminary engagement process to consider the future options for Furnace Primary School. 1.3 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: a) Note the decision of the Committee in December 2024, and the updated position of the school as set out within this report. b) Agree that Furnace Primary School continues to be mothballed on a temporary basis and the school premises be retained on a care and maintenance basis. c) Note that since December 2024 there have been requests for school lets and should any further let requests be made, they would be considered in light of the current condition of the building and any existing lets. d) Agree that the Education Service will undertake the required preliminary engagement for Furnace Primary School, in compliance with the preliminary requirements as set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and thereafter prepare an Options Appraisal for Members’ consideration at the June 2026 meeting of the Community Services Committee.
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Page 2 ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 11 DECEMBER 2025 SCHOOLS (CONSULTATION) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 – FURNACE PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 Furnace Primary School has been subject to a shared Headship arrangement with Inveraray Primary School since August 2022. The decision on a Shared Headship was informed by strong parental support for this approach following engagement which took place in March 2022, facilitated by the Education Service. 2.2 A Principal Teacher was recruited for Furnace Primary School to support the Shared Headship model from August 2022. In June 2023, the Service was unable to recruit a temporary Principal Teacher at Furnace Primary School when the current Principal Teacher commenced Maternity Leave. Due to challenges with staffing cover at Furnace Primary School pupils attended Inveraray Primary School, as part of an agreement with parents, to ensure consistency of educational provision. Following further engagement with parents in the summer of 2023, the decision was made for the pupils at Furnace Primary School to temporarily attend Inveraray Primary School until such time that the Principal Teacher returned from Maternity Leave, and the arrangement could be reviewed. In April 2024, further engagement took place with parents. At this point, the school had three pupils enrolled from the Furnace catchment, one of whom was progressing to Lochgilphead Joint Campus at the end of that school session. One parent of the remaining pupils expressed their desire that the Education Service proceed with recruiting a 0.4PT to allow their child to return to Furnace Primary School. The other parent felt strongly that a return to Furnace Primary School was not in the best interests of their child and was clear that their child had expressed their desire to remain at Inveraray Primary School. 2.3 In June 2024, further engagement included a new family who had only just moved into the catchment area. Initially, engagement indicated that the parents had no preference. However, after taking time to review all of the information available to them, the parents of this new family indicated their preference for their four children (one of whom was about to progress to Lochgilphead High
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Page 3 School in August 2024) to attend Inveraray Primary School. Following the indication that a placing request would be made to that effect, all parents in the catchment area were again contacted. The one parent who wanted their child to return to Furnace updated the Education Service that they were now in the process of moving away from the area. The remainder of the parents (two families) believed that it was in the best interest of their children to attend Inveraray Primary School. Accordingly, there are currently no children attending Furnace Primary School. 2.4 Additionally, with effect from 31st May 2024, Minard Primary School was formally closed. As part of that decision, the catchment area of Furnace Primary School was extended to include the former Minard Primary School catchment area. To date, this has not yet had, and is currently not projected to have, any material impact on the projected School roll for Furnace Primary School. Officers will continue to monitor the projected School roll over the forthcoming months. 2.5 In December 2024, it was agreed by the Committee that Furnace Primary School be mothballed, pending a further decision in December 2025 by the Committee: either to continue the period of mothballing or to begin a preliminary engagement process to consider the future options for Furnace Primary School. 2.6 Since December 2024, there have been school lets requested by; a local parent and toddler group, Social Work (in relation to fostering and family placements) and a play therapist. Currently, only the play therapist continues to have a school let. 2.7 The statutory process for the closure of a rural school is laid out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (the 2010 Act), as amended by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. The 2010 Act as amended introduces a presumption against the closure of rural schools and a requirement to carry out additional steps, before and during the statutory consultation exercise. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee: a) Note the decision of the Committee in December 2024, and the updated position of the school as set out within this report. b) Agree that Furnace Primary School continues to be mothballed on a temporary basis and the school premises be retained on a care and maintenance basis. c) Note that since December 2024 there have been requests for school lets and should any further let requests be made, they would be considered in light of the current condition of the building and any existing lets.
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Page 4 d) Agree that the Education Service will undertake the required preliminary engagement for Furnace Primary School, in compliance with the preliminary requirements as set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and thereafter prepare an Options Appraisal for Members’ consideration at the June 2026 meeting of Community Services Committee. 4.0 DETAIL 4.1 There are presently no registered pupils at Furnace Primary School. Registration for August 2025 enrolment at the school closed at the end of January 2025, with no pupils registered. A small number of pupils registering would not in itself alter the viability of the school. All members of staff from the school were redeployed into other posts within the Authority. 4.2 It was agreed by the Committee in December 2024 that Furnace Primary be mothballed and the premises be retained on a care and maintenance basis. 4.3 The mothballing of a school is a temporary closure. It does not require a statutory consultation to be carried out as it is an informal non-statutory measure. It is appropriate where the Authority considers that a school is not presently viable, but do not wish to close it immediately in order to assess the prospects of the number of pupils in the area increasing to the extent that the school should be re-opened in the future. 4.4 The Scottish Government’s Statutory Guidance on the 2010 Act1 stresses that this flexibility to close a school for a temporary period is not used to undermine the requirements of the 2010 Act to consult on all closure proposals. Mothballing is only appropriate for a temporary period, should be subject to at least annual review and, in most cases, should last no more than three years in total. 4.5 Registration for new Primary 1 pupils enrolling in August 2026 will be open from 17th to 21st November 2025. A small number of pupils registering for Furnace Primary School by 21st November 2025, for entry in August 2026, would not in itself necessarily alter the viability of the school. However, if a sufficient level of demand for the re-opening of the school was to be demonstrated, the Education Service would keep this under review, and present further reports to the Committee on this matter as appropriate. 4.6 It is proposed that a preliminary assessment of options regarding the future of the school be undertaken by way of a preliminary engagement exercise and Options Appraisal report, in accordance with the preliminary requirements of the 2010 Act. It is proposed that the findings of the Options Appraisal will be presented to the Committee in June 2026 for Members to consider and determine next steps. 1 Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: guidance - gov.scot
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Page 5 5.0 CONCLUSION 5.1 Should Members agree, the Education Service will undertake the required preliminary engagement for Furnace Primary School, in compliance with the preliminary requirements as set out in the 2010 Act and prepare an Options Appraisal for Members’ consideration at the June 2026 meeting of the Community Services Committee. 6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy - none 6.2 Financial - The preliminary engagement work, if agreed, will accrue a small cost for the Education Service. Should it be decided the mothballing of the school is to continue, there will be costs associated with the upkeep and maintenance of the school premises. 6.3 Legal - The provisions of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 will subsequently apply if the Authority later decide to formulate a proposal under that Act in order to determine the future of Furnace Primary School. 6.4 HR- none 6.5 Customer Service – none at present 6.6 Risk – none at present 6.7 Climate Change – none 6.8 Fairer Scotland Duty – none at present 6.9 Equalities - protected characteristics – none at present 6.10 Consumer Duty – none at present 6.11 Island Communities - none 6.12 Children’s Rights and Wellbeing – UNCRC: Article 3 – Adults must do what’s best for me, Article 28 – I have the right to an education, Article 29 – I have the right to an education which develops my personality, talents and abilities. Douglas Hendry - Executive Director with responsibility for Education Councillor Kieron Green - Policy Lead for Education 7th November 2025 For further information contact: Jennifer Crocket Chief Education Officer/Head of Education – Wellbeing, Inclusion and Achievement Jennifer.Crocket@argyll-bute.gov.uk
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Page 6 Wendy Brownlie Head of Education – Performance and Improvement Wendy.Brownlie@argyll-bute.gov.uk Simone McAdam Education Manager Simone.McAdam@argyll-bute.gov.uk Graeme McMillan Transformation Programme Manager Graeme.Mcmillan2@argyll-bute.gov.uk