Gergask Primary School closure: letter to Highland Council
Decision letter to Highland Council on 8 May 2024 regarding the closure of Gergask Primary School.
To: Kate Lackie, Assistant Chief Executive, Highland Council
From: Sam Anson, Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
Dear Kate Lackie
Schools (consultation) (scotland) act 2010: gergask primary school
I refer to your email of 15 March 2024 notifying Scottish Ministers of Highland Council’s decision of 14 March 2024 to implement the proposal to close Gergask Primary School. Ministers have considered this proposal in line with the requirements set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”).
Under section 17 of the 2010 Act, Ministers may only issue a call-in notice if it appears to them that the education authority may have failed:
(a) in a significant regard to comply with the requirements imposed on it by (or under) the Act so far as they are relevant in relation to the closure proposal, or
(b) to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision to implement the proposal.
Section 15(2) of the 2010 Act requires an education authority to provide a copy of the proposal paper and the consultation report prepared under the Act to Ministers when notifying them of a closure proposal.
Section 15(4) of the 2010 Act requires Ministers to take into account any relevant representations made to them by any person during the three-week period from the date that a closure decision is made. In relation to this closure proposal, the three week period began on 14 March 2024 and expired on 3 April 2024. No representations were received.
Having reviewed the documents provided by Highland Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that Highland Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.
Highland Council may now implement its decision to close Gergask Primary School in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper. As noted in Education Scotland’s report on the proposal, Highland Council should continue to engage with the community to discuss future options for the use of the building.
Yours sincerely
Sam Anson
Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate