Agenda and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be located at the following link:

http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=2782&Ver=4

The Convener welcomed members of the public to the meeting, and advised that six students were also in attendance as part of their course in Public Administration at the University of Aberdeen.  They were all studying towards a Diploma in Legal Practice.  The Convener wished them well in their course.

The Committee had before it two requests for deputation in relation to the report to be considered on this day, as follows –

• Middleton Park Parent Council
• St Peter's RC Primary Friends' Association (Parents' Council). 

The Convener proposed that the deputations be considered at the appropriate point in the meeting (ie the Middleton Park Parent Council deputation would be heard immediately prior to consideration of the Oldmachar Associated School Group (ASG), and the St Peter's RC Primary Friends' Association (Parents' Council) deputation would be heard immediately prior to consideration of the denominational (Roman Catholic) ASG).

The Committee resolved:

to concur with the Convener’s proposals.

Members: These papers have been reissued to provide clarity in the attached maps and in the text associated with some of the proposals within the report.

Officers have taken this opportunity to reissue the entire report, to ensure clarity and transparency of the report and its related recommendations.

Please note: A summary sheet has been provided which lists the changes between this version and that issued previously.

We regret the late circulation of these papers.

With reference to article 11 of the minute of its previous meeting of 31 January 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented a series of recommendations on the future provision of nursery and primary school education across Aberdeen.  The report advised that this was intended to provide clear direction and vision for educational provision for the next twenty to twenty five years by taking account of significant educational change, demographics and the recently adopted Local Development Plan.  Members noted that the report had been reissued in order to provide clarity in relation to two of the maps included in the papers, and some of the associated text.

The Convener took the opportunity to thank officers for the extensive engagement exercise they had undertaken, and continued that she felt that this had enriched the paper.  She thanked officers involved in the process for all of their work on the review over the past months.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       notes the comments contained in the submissions from stakeholders during the recent informal engagement process on the nursery/primary school estate, and technical information on various aspects of the existing nursery and primary school estate;

(b)       accepts recommendations 1 to 58 as set out in the report, which include indicative cost implications and proposed timescales for implementation;

(c)        agrees the principles for future management of nursery and primary educational provision in recommendations 59 to 64 as set out in the report; and

(d)       instructs officers to facilitate the next steps in progressing accepted recommendations, including where necessary, statutory consultation.

The Convener proposed that the report before members be considered in sections (set out in Associated School Groups (ASGs)), rather than as one set of recommendations.  Members concurred with the Convener in this regard, and so considered recommendation (a) above at this point, then continued to consider each ASG in turn, and finally considering recommendations (c) and (d) above as the final items of business.

In relation to recommendation (a) above, the Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

Aberdeen Grammar ASG

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, moved:

that the Committee accept the recommendations for Aberdeen Grammar ASG as detailed in the report, as follows –

Councillor Townson, seconded by Councillor Cameron, moved as an amendment –

that in relation to recommendations (1) – (6), that further to the information already presented and prior to any formal consultation process, the Committee instructs that a report including detailed information on current rolls and projected rolls for the next three years, capacity and occupancy rates, the out of zone admission policy, percentages of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.