Temporary closures of schools and nurseries - statutory guidance update: island communities impact assessment

Step Five – Determine Significant Impact

The guidance is likely to have a significantly different effect on island communities because temporary closure decisions interact with a set of factors that are far more acute in island settings than elsewhere. These include very limited or non existent alternative schooling or ELC options, geographical isolation, and transport constraints that can make daily travel to another school impractical or dependent on ferry timetables and weather conditions. In some island areas, the nearest alternative provision may require multiple travel stages or hostel accommodation during the school week.

The guidance has therefore been designed to mitigate these island specific risks by avoiding fixed numerical thresholds for temporary closure and by enabling flexibility in both the criteria for decision‑making and the potential duration of a temporary closure period. This ensures that local authorities can respond to demographic fluctuation, maintain provision in very small communities, and reopen settings when demand returns for example, where families relocate to islands that currently have a mothballed school or nursery.

Additionally, the guidance already seeks to mitigate potential impacts on island communities by recommending local authorities consider factors such as the proximity of nearby schools and nurseries, the distances pupils would need to travel and any need for hostel accommodation, as well as wider rural development and demographic outcomes. These considerations help ensure that decisions on temporary closure reflect the specific realities of island settings.

Without flexibility on criteria for decisions on temporary closure and potential for extended temporary closure periods, these settings could face permanent closure,

The current guidance sits within the statutory guidance for the 2010 Act and therefore there are no alternative delivery mechanisms for this activity. We will continue to keep the guidance under review and liaise with stakeholders as needed. It is possible to make amendments to the 2010 Act to make temporary closures a “relevant proposal” to which the consultation requirements under that Act apply, either via primary legislation or the regulation making powers within the Act. However, there are no plans for such an approach and we will continue to keep the guidance approach under review.