Riverside Primary School and Letham Primary School closure decision: letter to West Lothian Council
Letter from Learning Directorate, to West Lothian Council, with decisions to close and merge Riverside Primary School and Letham Primary School.
To: Elaine Cook, Depute Chief Executive Education, West Lothian Council
From: Orlando Heijmer-Mason, Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
19 August 2024
Dear Elaine Cook
Schools (consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: Riverside Primary School and Letham Primary School closure and merger
I refer to your email of 26 June 2024 notifying Scottish Ministers of West Lothian Council’s decision of 26 June 2024 to implement the proposal to close Riverside Primary School and Letham Primary School and merge these into a new 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 26 June 2024 and expired on 16 July 2024. No representations were received.
Having reviewed the documents provided by West Lothian Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that West Lothian Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.
West Lothian Council may now implement its decision to close Riverside Primary School and Letham Primary School in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper. As noted in Education Scotland’s report on the proposal, West Lothian Council should continue to listen to and work closely with children, school staff, parents and members of the local community to develop the design of the new school.
Yours sincerely,
Orlando Heijmer-Mason
Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate