School rolls at seven under-pressure Angus primary schools are to be capped next session as the education authority heads towards a classroom crisis.
Just weeks after councillors agreed a plan to update the approach to determining school capacities, proposals are being brought forward to limit the number of children at primaries in Arbroath, Forfar, Carnoustie and rural south Angus.
Education committee members meeting in Forfar will be told a small number of schools are under “considerable pressure” due to high rolls.
The authority’s education chief has also sent out a strong message to parents that attending a school nursery does not guarantee automatic enrolment for their child to that primary.
Council head of schools and learning, Pauline Stephen, will inform learning committee members that of the 53 Angus primaries, seven have passed the council’s suggested 95% trigger point for a cap.
The primaries are Hayshead, St Thomas, Inverbrothock and Timmergreens in Arbroath; Langlands in Forfar; Woodlands at Carnoustie; and Mattocks.
The official’s report states: “The council’s policy is to encourage parents to enrol their children in their local school but otherwise to agree to all placing requests wherever possible.
“A small number of Angus schools are under considerable pressure for space due to high rolls. Attending a school nursery does not imply automatic enrolment at the same primary school.”
Ms Stephen adds: “Instead of the blanket approach to calculating primary school capacity currently in place in Angus, each primary school’s capacity has been assessed on its own merits, dependent upon its designs, core facilities and the effective delivery of the 21st Century curriculum.”
The committee will be presented with what are termed planning and working capacities for all Angus primaries.
“The planning capacity is the figure used to determine possible future developer contributions related to new house builds,” adds the official.
“When a school roll reaches 90% of school working capacity, an indepth analysis of the roll and roll projection will be undertaken.
“When a school reaches 95% working capacity, or when five or fewer places remain, approval will be sought from committee to cap the roll.
“The roll cap is calculated by subtracting the number of reserved places required in the school over the course of the session from the working capacity.”
For a larger two-stream school that would see 14 reserved places retained; 10 for schools of seven to 10 classes; seven for schools of five to seven classes; and five for smaller primaries of less than five classes.