Sustainable School Estate review - Wick and Thurso Associated School Groupings

19th February 2011

Sustainable School Estate review - Wick and Thurso Associated School Groupings
Head Teachers and Parent Councils in Caithness have been asked for their views on initial proposals by The Highland Council to review Primary School provision in the area. Feedback will help inform the production of the proposals for statutory consultation that will be submitted to the Council's Education Culture and Sport (ECS) Committee on Thursday 19 May for consideration by Elected Members.

Recommendations on future provision in the Wick High and Thurso High Associated School Groupings are likely to come before the ECS Committee on 15 September.

All Caithness Head Teachers and Parent Council chairs have already been briefed on a one-to one basis on the review and, as a result, initial proposals have been formulated.

A workshop involving Head Teachers, as well as finance, education and property staff, will be held in Wick on Wednesday 2 March and Thursday 3 March to discuss and agreed a list of criteria to be used to compare options; weighting to be applied to each criterion and score the options which deliver the greatest benefit for the schools when all agreed factors have been taken into account.

Hugh Fraser, Director of Education Culture and Sport, said in a letter to all Head Teachers in Caithness: "We are asking you to engage with your Parent Councils in this pre-proposal process. In doing so, we hope parents will be encouraged that the Council is doing much more than is required by law and that they will therefore feel able to become involved constructively in the process which has the aim of improving educational provision across the whole Council area."

He is asking Head Teachers and Parent Councils to highlight any of the options which they consider are not reasonable, realistic or viable and to identify any other reasonable and viable options that would merit consideration; what community factors/impacts would they suggest should be taken into consideration when comparing options including use of/loss of the facility; and to comment on any impact that the options might have on pre-school pupils and those with additional support needs.

The pre-consultation proposals are:-

Dunbeath:
Ø Option 1 - No Change
Ø Option 2 - Amalgamate with Lybster

Lybster:
Ø Option 1 - No Change
Ø Option 2 - amalgamate with Dunbeath

Points to note:
Ø Consider rezoning southern boundary to Berriedale so that pupils south of Berriedale go to Helmsdale
Ø Minibus currently travels from Brora

Thrumster:
Ø Option 1 - No Change
Ø Option 2 - Amalgamate with preferred option in Wick

Points to note:
Ø Consider rezoning southern part of existing catchment to Lybster
Ø Would an option involving Watten merit consideration?

Watten
Ø Option 1 - No Change
Ø Option 2 - Close Watten and rezone to Halkirk and Wick

Points to note:
Ø Consider rezoning southern part of existing catchment to Lybster
Ø Would an option involving Thrumster merit consideration?

Four Wick Town schools: Hillhead, North, Pulteneytown, South
Ø Option 1 - No Change - all four town schools remain open
Ø Option 2a - Amalgamate Hillhead and North through refurbishment and/or extension
Ø Option 2b - Amalgamate Hillhead, North and Keiss through refurbishment and/or extension
Ø Option 3a - Amalgamate Pulteneytown and South (probably at Pulteneytown - need to relocate CEYAC?)
Ø Option 3b - Amalgamate Pulteneytown, South and Thrumster (probably at Pulteneytown - need to relocate CEYAC?)
Ø Option 4 - Amalgamate Hillhead, North, Pulteneytown and South in new school sharing facilities with High School
Ø Option 5 - Amalgamate Hillhead, North, Pulteneytown, South and Thrumster in ne school sharing facilities with High School

Points to note:
Ø Under any option, zone boundaries within Wick should be reviewed;
Ø Direct one-for-one replacement of individual schools is unlikely to be financially viable;

Ø A further option could be to combine three of the schools into a new school at the High School site, but leaves one as at present. Is this a reasonable and viable option that merits investigation?

Keiss:
Ø Option 1 - No Change
Ø Option 2 - see Wick Option 2b

Canisbay:
Ø Option 1 - No Change
Ø Option 2 - close and rezone pupils to Keiss, Castletown or Bower (according to place of residence and outcome of other decisions)

Points to note:
Ø Check whether travel distance precludes any change.
Ø Check economic development strategy and plans for John o'Groats

Bower, Castletown, Crossroads:
Ø Option 1 - No Change - all three schools remain open
Ø Option 2 - Amalgamate Castletown and Crossroads, Bower remains open
Ø Option 3 - Amalgamate Bower and Castletown, Crossroads remains open
Ø Option 4 - Amalgamate Bower and Crossroads with Castletown

Points to note:
Ø If considering Crossroads closure, should consider rezoning part of catchment area to Canisbay (according to the outcome of other decisions).
Ø If considering Bower closure, should consider rezoning part of catchment area to Keiss and/or Watten.

Three Thurso Town schools: Miller Academy, Mount Pleasant, Pennyland

Ø Option 1 - No Change - all three town schools remain open
Ø Option 2 - Close Mount Pleasant, rezone pupils to either Miller or Pennyland;
Ø Option 3 - Amalgamate the three schools.

Points to note:
Ø Is a single school in Thurso a viable option worth considering?
Ø Could the three be combined into a single school on the Miller site? Would this create traffic problems?
Ø Are there any other sites in the town that could be considered for a new school?

Halkirk and Reay
Ø Option 1 - No Change - both schools remain open

Points to note:
Ø Are there any reasonable and viable options for Halkirk and Reay?
Ø Is there an overlap between Reay and Melvich?
Ø Reay could be split to Melvich and Pennyland
Ø Halkirk could go into Thurso schools