Councillors urged to halt mothballing of Dumfries and Galloway high schools
Councillor Dougie Campbell is raising a motion amid concern about the closure of Dalry Secondary
Dumfries and Galloway councillors are to debate a motion at their meeting on Thursday, calling for an immediate halt to the mothballing of secondary schools in the region.
It has been tabled by Dee and Glenkens Councillor Dougie Campbell, who is extremely concerned about the future of closure-threatened Dalry Secondary and other high schools which may be affected further down the line.
"Critically damaging consequences" for rural communities
Councillor Campbell fears the trend towards mothballing schools in Dumfries and Galloway could have “critically damaging consequences” for rural communities.
Worried about the impact that mothballing these schools could have on pupils, parents and wider communities where the schools are located, Councillor Campbell is calling for Dumfries and Galloway Council to put some proper policies in place around this issue.
Councillor Dougie Campbell said: “I really hope fellow councillors will support this motion and see for themselves the damaging impact mothballing could have on pupils, parents and communities where secondary schools are located.
“Not least Dalry Secondary, which is based in a remote part of the region where people already feel under siege from cuts to services.
“With school rolls falling regionwide, Dalry Secondary is the first to be threatened by closure, so we need to make sure we get this right, have a robust, transparent policy in place, and that alternative options for education provision are explored in consultation with affected communities whose future wellbeing has to be embedded in the decisions we take.”
Numerous primary schools in the region have been mothballed – temporarily closed but with no decision on the building’s future – due to falling school rolls.
Council vows to work with parents and pupils on transport issues
A Dumfries and Galloway Council spokesperson told Greatest Hits Radio News: “Given our rurality, it is not uncommon for learners to face journey times of around an hour to get to and from secondary school. This is still well below some of our comparator local authorities, where some learners face journey times of greater than one and a half hours to get to and from their school base. We will work with the parents/carers and young people to determine the most effective and efficient way for young people to reach their school base.
Our Council’s current mothballing policy only covers primary schools and we will be taking steps to address this by bringing a report to a future committee meeting.
Our Council has been open and transparent with the school and wider Dalry community over the futureproofing of the education and learning experience to children and young people in the school and catchment area. We have held multiple community meetings and carried out extensive engagement.
We have, and will continue to, put the learning needs and overall education experience of these young people at the forefront of our thoughts and plans.