Unacceptable Programme of Closures

The programme to close 22 school and 4 community centres, put forward last week by the new Lib-Dem/SNP Council, is completely unacceptable to the Labour Group.

Marilyn McLaren, the Lib-Dem Executive Member for Education, Children and Families, said in the Evening News last Friday that “the closures were for educational, not financial, reasons” and the Director of Children and Families, Gillian Tee, in the same article, said “we are not being driven by finance and savings”. I take them both at their word and agree with them that this programme should not be about finance.

It therefore makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to rush through a consultation process to close all of the 26 establishments in less than nine months, as they propose. There are many questions to be answered and much more time is required. Most importantly, the underlying case has not been made for following such a drastic course of action. It will affect thousands of children, parents and wider communities across Edinburgh. The Council has a duty and a responsibility to get this right and nine months are simply inadequate.

Labour is not opposed to making the difficult decision to close schools – previous Labour Administrations in Edinburgh have indeed undertaken school rationalisation programmes, but there has always been a distinct purpose and rationale behind our decisions, which was made very clear before any closures went ahead.

Falling school rolls and demographics are not good enough reasons for parents who have chosen a school for it location, standards and ethos.

If the overall rationale is supposedly educational, then why do the proposed secondary school closures appear to fall most heavily in the areas of highest deprivation within our city? It would mean that those who need the Local Authority’s help most, would be worst affected.

Why do some of the most popular primary schools in the city appear to be earmarked for closure? It would mean that hundreds of parents would unnecessarily be denied access to establishments that are currently successful and popular.

How do we know that the outcome will be in the best interests of all the children in Edinburgh, regardless of where they live and how vocal their parents are?

There are simply too many unanswered questions. Frankly, the Lib-Dem/SNP Administration should go back to the drawing board with these completely unacceptable plans.

- Adapted from The Edinburgh Evening News, 21/09/07