Call for Dumfries and Galloway Council Elected Members to vote in favour of
the Motion from Dougie Campbell and Andy McFarlane calling for an
immediate cessation of the mothballing of secondary schools and for the
development of a region-wide mothballing policy that takes account of the
socio-economic implications of such a decision.
The Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group (CAP SG)
welcomes this Motion from Dougie Campbell and Andy McFarlane which will
considered at the Dumfries and Galloway Council Meeting on 28 March and has
today sent the following paper to all Dumfries and Galloway Elected Members.
Elected Members have been urged to work on a cross-party basis and to vote in
favour of the Motion. By doing so they will demonstrate their support for the
Glenkens and district community and in return the community will work with them to
find a long-term solution to these issues.
Please vote in favour of the Motion from Dougie Campbell and
Andy McFarlane calling for an immediate cessation of the
mothballing of secondary schools and for the development of a
region-wide mothballing policy that takes account of the socio
economic implications of such a decision.
This paper is from the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering
Group (CAP SG), owners of the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan and
follows on from the email sent to you on 22 February 2024. For ease we repeat in
the undernote the policy context we think is critical for you to consider when making
this decision which is crucial to our whole community.
The wider Glenkens area has a track record of working together and has a
reputation for getting things done. It is a thriving and engaged community who have
demonstrated over the years an ability to tackle and resolve difficult issues. The
response across the area in relation to Dalry Secondary school is another clear
demonstration of this ‘can do’ attitude.
It is against this background that we urge you to read and consider the Motion
carefully and to consider the outcomes it is seeking to achieve. By supporting this
Motion, you will demonstrate the vision and ambition to find a way to have great
educational facilities supporting a rural community and seeking to reverse the trend
of rural depopulation. You have a community who is ready, willing and able to
support you so please take up the opportunity.
Please do not be side-tracked by the information in the accompanying Report from
the Director of Skills, Education and Learning which demonstrates the narrow
approach of the Education Department. If you accept the Report and vote against
the Motion, you are sanctioning the approach of the Education Department to effect
a managed decline leading inexorably to the closure of rural schools and another
‘light going out’ in rural areas.
Since the original Urgent Motion was withdrawn in February, community groups
across the Glenkens have proactively taken the initiative to think about how
education provision could be done differently in the future.
Glenkens & District Trust (GDT), who are the decision maker on the Glenkens &
District Community Fund, have decided to commission a piece of work to enable a
better understanding of how other communities grappling with effective education
provision in rural area are approaching it, to share learning and experience. This
study will provide information and tools that will support the Glenkens communities in
their goal to find a locally specific way forward that meets the needs and aspirations
of local families and our young people.
We, Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group, are proposing
the creation of a Glenkens Education Forum to develop ideas and potential solutions
for the short, medium and long term. This Forum would support and enable people
and organisations to work together to develop a ‘model for education and learning in
the Glenkens’. This would cover pre-school, primary school, high school,
wraparound clubs, post-school learning, further education and lifelong learning and
consider the pipeline of industry in the area.
The Parents Council have engaged with the Education Department and with all
Elected Members to explain the implications for current and future pupils and sought
to find solutions to give a positive way forward.
No-one in our community believes the current position should remain. The work to
date, mainly by volunteers giving up their time, demonstrates a positive attitude from
the wider community to work collectively in support of the longer term goal in our
Community Action Plan. We want and need the positive involvement of Dumfries
and Galloway Council in this work as by working together we enhance the likelihood
of being successful.
Please do not fail our community by voting against the Motion We therefore
urge you to work on a cross-party basis and to vote in favour of the Motion.
By doing so you will demonstrate your support for our community and in
return our community will work with you to find a long-term solution. Together
we can make a difference.
John Paterson
Chair
Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group.
