Local councils must adhere to strict guidelines when deciding to close down a school, and refer the matter to the Scottish Parliament in some cases. Helena Hamilton from Friends of Cameron House Nursery School has submitted a petition to the Public Petitions Committee asking for these safeguards to be extended to nurseries.
The committee met on 4 December and agreed to seek responses from the Parliament, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Association of Directors of Education and the Scottish Pre-School Play Association.
Guidance on school closures says that if a school has over 80 per cent occupancy or the nearest alternative provision is over five miles away, a council must refer the closure to central government.
A council must also 'publicise its proposal, consult parents and School Boards affected, and allow them and other interested parties a minimum 28-day period to make their views known to the authority.'
Edinburgh City Council set up a cross-party forum to decide the fate of 22 schools and nurseries last month (News, 22 November). A previous attempt to begin closing them in the summer met with widespread opposition. Ms Hamilton said, 'We put in an original petition in the summer asking for Cameron House to be saved, but the Government said it would not interfere because it was a council matter.' The need for public consultation and the involvement of central government 'could be particularly helpful to the nurseries', she said.
More than 1,000 free full-time nursery places in the city are to be cut to 700 by April 2008 (News, 27 September).
'Cutting the full-time places will affect pupil numbers anyway, so they can do it by stealth,' Ms Hamilton said. 'Parents have also taken their children away because they feel Cameron House isn't secure any more.'
