A widespread consultation on the proposed closure of seven primary schools in Fife looks set to get under way next month.
Executive committee members will meet on Tuesday to approve consultation documents relating to the closure of Tanshall in Glenrothes; Wellwood and Pitcorthie in Dunfermline; Crombie in South West Fife; and Dunino, Rathillet and New Gilston in North East Fife.
They are also expected to approve papers for proposed catchment changes for Masterton Primary School in Dunfermline.
If councillors agree to the education department’s suggested timeline, parents and other statutory consultees of Wellwood,Crombie, Tanshall, Rathillet, New Gilston and Dunino primaries will receive letters informing them of the details of the consultation by September 14, ahead of the process going live on September 16.
A series of public meetings will take place throughout the consultation until it ends on November 8, after which a report will be submitted to Education Scotland before being made public by the end of December.
With regard to the proposed closure of Pitcorthie Primary and changes to the catchment of Masterton Primary, parents and consultees will receive letters informing them of the consultation by October 26, ahead of the process going live on October 28.
The consultation for these two schools will end on December 9, and, again, the report will be submitted to Education Scotland first, before being made public by February next year.
The proposal to close the schools was mooted earlier this year, when the council revealed it had 11,500 surplus places in primaries across the county, as well as 7,400 spare secondary places.
The local authority aims to have each school with at least 60% capacity and a minimum of three classes and 50 pupils.
Proposals include closing Tanshall Primary in Glenrothes and moving the children to Caskieberran and Southwood; closing Wellwood in Dunfermline and moving pupils to McLean; closing Pitcorthie and transferring children to Lynburn and Commercial.
Crombie Primary in South West Fife would also close, with pupils going to Cairneyhill.
In North East Fife, Dunino Primary would close, with children moving to Kingsbarns; on the closure of Rathillet, pupils would go to Balmerino; and New Gilston closing would mean children attending Largoward.
Councillor Bryan Poole previously said the ultimate aim of the consultation is “to have the right number of buildings to support high-quality education”.
He added: “This will mean that more money can be spent in supporting the education of all our young people, rather than on the maintenance of under-utilised school buildings that, in a few cases, are in a less than satisfactory condition.’’
The consultation process may not be as straightforward as Fife Council hopes, however, as the result of new legislation relating to the closure of rural schools.
As recently revealed by The Courier, a five-year moratorium on school closures could be imposed by the Scottish Government as it seeks to clarify the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, which could see the introduction of a formal presumption against the closure of rural schools.
Clarification of what is meant by a “presumption against closure” in the 2010 Act was one of the recommendations made in a report by an independent commission chaired by Sheriff David Sutherland.
The commission was tasked with examining how the delivery of rural education can maximise the life chances of young people in rural areas, and the link between education and rural communities.
Bryan Kirkaldy, head of education for central Fife, said: “Any new legislation introduced may alter the process that Scottish councils must follow when considering a school closure, but we will continue to work within any new guidelines in the future.”