Saturday 12 October 2024
 5.7°C   N Strong Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Education / Mothballing consultation ongoing for two primary schools

A public meeting has been organised by westside councillors at the Skeld Hall on Friday

Skeld Primary School. Photo © Russel Wills (cc-by-sa/2.0)

THE POSSIBLE mothballing of two primary schools in Shetland is being considered in consultation with parents and staff.

These are the Skeld and Cullivoe primaries.

Shetland Islands Council hopes to assess the situation and gather the relevant information to allow a decision to be taken before the spring holidays.

Under principles agreed by councillors last year, the trigger for considering mothballing – temporarily closing a school due to a lack of pupils – is now when a pupil roll falls below 20 per cent of the school’s capacity.

As of November last year the projected roll in Skeld for 2024/25 is six pupils at a capacity of ten per cent, excluding reserved spaces.

The council said for Cullivoe primary in Yell, this is seven pupils and 16 per cent as of November last year, also excluding reserved spaces.

Shetland Islands Council’s children’s services team are using a ‘mothballing toolkit’ created by education partnership Northern Alliance.

Meetings have already been held between Shetland Islands Council, staff and parents, although the Skeld situation is more advanced.

A public meeting is being held by Shetland West councillors Liz Peterson and Mark Robinson at the Skeld Hall at 7pm on Friday (1 March) to gather local views.

One to one meetings with all current and future parents and carers at Skeld Primary School are taking place, as well as a group session, according to an update report due to be presented to councillors next week.

Cullivoe Primary School in Yell. Photo © Google 2024

This is to consider the current situation, the education for the parents’ children, possible solutions and the options for the future.

Similar meetings have already been held with staff at Skeld.

These meetings have yet to be arranged for Cullivoe.

Councillors on the SIC’s education and families committee will also be asked on Monday to agree that currently mothballed schools in Papa Stour, Fetlar and Skerries should remain as they are, with that status reviewed every year.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

A mothballed school is unoccupied but it still needs to be maintained in case it reopens.

The cost of maintenance for the financial year 2023/24 at the Fetlar school and nursery is nearly £10,000, with Skerries costing around £8,000 and Papa Stour £1,500.

The report to councillors said the minimum annual staff costs to reopen a mothballed small school are estimated to be £120,000, increasing to £140,000 if there is early years provision.

There are currently no children of school age in Papa Stour or Fetlar. In Skerries, there are fewer than five children for whom alternative arrangements have been made.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.