Agenda and minutes

The Convener welcomed everyone to the meeting, and noted that it was one of the most important meetings for the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, given that the decisions taken would impact on the future of the school estate and its pupils.  He advised that there was a commitment to ensure that all school buildings were brought up to the same high standard as those which had recently been built under the 3Rs Project.

The Convener advised members that any request to refer the report to Council for consideration would be taken at the end of the meeting, following the decision of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.  He noted that several local Councillors were in attendance and advised that they were entitled to address the Committee, but would not be allowed to vote. 

The Convener welcomed Mr. Alistair Aitken to the meeting.  Mr. Aitken was the replacement Roman Catholic representative on the Committee, following the retirement of the previous member, Mr. Mario Vicca.  The Convener thanked Mr. Aitken for taking on the role and paid tribute to the contributions of Mr. Vicca during his time on the Committee.

Finally, the Convener advised that officers wished to give a short presentation on the proposals before Committee for consideration.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to write to Mr. Mario Vicca and thank him for his years of support to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee;  and

(ii)        to agree to hear the presentation from officers.

In accordance with Standing Order 10(1), the Convener advised that requests for deputations had been received on behalf of (1) Hazlehead Academy Parent Council;  (2) Torry Community Council;  (3) Torry Academy Parent Council;  (4) Cove and Altens Community Council;  (5) Aberdeen Grammar School Parent Council;  (6) Ashley Road Parent Council;  (7) Harlaw Academy;  and (8) Northfield Academy Parent Council. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that Torry Community Council had since withdrawn its request for a deputation, but to consider a written submission which had been received from their Secretary;  and

(ii)        to accept and hear the deputations.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The Convener declared an interest in the following article and advised that he knew Mr. Forsyth who was representing Torry Academy Parent Council.  Councillor Kevin Stewart declared a personal interest in the following items due to a family member attending Northfield Academy.  Councillor Yuill declared an interest in the following articles as family members attended Broomhill School and Harlaw Academy.  He also declared an interest as a Council appointed Governor of Robert Gordon’s College.  Councillor Jennifer Stewart declared a personal interest due to a family member attending Aberdeen Grammar School.  Councillor John West also declared an interest as two family members attended Aberdeen Grammar School.  None of the Councillors mentioned above considered it necessary to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business.

The Committee heard from Mr. Stephen Hadden, on behalf of Hazlehead Academy Parent Council.  Mr. Hadden advised that the school had made a great deal of progress over the past eighteen months, and requested that the Committee allow Hazlehead a period of stability to maintain the good progress which had been made.  He noted that the report mentioned the financial and property implications of the proposals, but stressed the need to also consider the pupils, staff and parents who would be affected.  He advised that the Head Teacher, Alison Murison, had been in post for eighteen months, and during that time had worked hard to improve the ethos in the school.  Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 and 2 results had risen and work was ongoing on the roll-out of the Curriculum for Excellence and the school’s behaviour management plan.  Mr. Hadden advised that HMIe had undertaken an inspection of the school in March, 2010 and that the results had been positive, particularly in relation to support for learning and extra curricular activities.  While the inspectors had noted that the management of pupil behaviour needed some improvement, they had felt that with support from the Education Authority there would be an improvement in this area, and no further visits would be necessary.  Mr. Hadden noted that the stakeholder event in Hazlehead had the second largest attendance of all the events and felt that this demonstrated the concern of parents at the proposals.  He felt that the proposals would risk the improvement shown by the school and would demoralise staff.  Mr. Hadden noted that the proposals needed to outline the operating costs of a new school and the source of funding for any new build.  He welcomed the proposal to close the attainment gap in Aberdeen but stated that it would require the support of parents as well as motivated staff.  Mr. Hadden finished by stressing that the proposal should not create an educationally divided city, with schools of excellence in some areas but not others.

There being no questions from the Committee, the Convener thanked Mr. Hadden for his presentation. 

The Committee then heard from Mr. Gary Forsyth, on behalf of Torry Academy Parent  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Convener advised the Committee that officers from Education, Culture and Sport would give a short presentation on the proposals in the report. 

Annette Bruton, Director of Education, Culture and Sport, introduced the presentation, and advised that the proposals had been produced in conjunction with officers in Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure.  The report set out options for individual schools which were all part of an interlinked plan.  The proposals had been designed to maximise efficiency.  Mrs. Bruton advised that officers had recognised that many children currently travelled across the city to attend school and the proposals aimed to increase the number of in-zone children attending their local schools.  Officers had taken account of the Local Development Plan and had tried to ensure that planning for the city was in line with planning for education.  The proposals aimed to provide quality schools for all children in all parts of the city. 

The Committee then heard from Derek Samson, Service Manager, and Scott Dalgarno, Senior Planner.  Mr. Samson explained the current and forecasted spare capacity in the city schools, as well as the condition and suitability of the buildings and operational and maintenance costs.  He outlined the short-term recommendations proposed in the report.  Mr. Dalgarno advised that officers had analysed the development proposed in both the City and Shire Local Development Plans, and that these had informed the longer term proposals.  The officers presented three maps, which showed the existing secondary schools, the short-term recommendations and the longer term recommendations.  Mr. Dalgarno highlighted to Committee where it was proposed that new schools would be required as a result of housing developments arising from the Local Development Plan.  Mrs. Bruton advised Committee that officers were considering innovative approaches to S5 and S6 education, and were in discussions with Aberdeen College about a potential virtual campus. 

The Convener thanked the officers for their presentation.  Members then asked several questions of the officers.

With reference to Article 11 of its minute of 27 May 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which detailed the outcome of the stakeholder engagement on the Learning Estate Strategy in relation to secondary school provision in the city.  The report also provided options for the immediate and longer term provision and management of sustainable, cost-efficient and suitable educational secondary school facilities which were fit for the 21st Century.

The report advised that the options before Committee for consideration took account of the developments allocated as part of the Local Development Plan.  The proposals were also set within the context of the five year business plan currently being developed for the Council.  The report noted that consolidating existing school provision could make savings for the Council in terms of reduced operational costs, while providing replacement facilities which were more efficient and cost-effective.  The proposals would also provide improved curricular choice and progression for pupils.  It was noted that any new or replacement school would require an element of funding by the Council through the capital prioritisation process, however, Policy 11 of the proposed Local Development Plan and supplementary guidance required developers to make a fair and reasonable contribution towards the cost of any new school required as a result of the increased pupil numbers from a new housing development. 

Following the decision of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 27 May 2010, officers had undertaken a wide stakeholder engagement exercise between 30 May and 4 October, 2010 on the future of the Secondary School Estate.  The exercise sought to capture stakeholders’ views on the content of the engagement document which had been prepared but also invited the submission of alternative suggestions for the Learning Estate.  The document had been made available on the Council website and within schools, and various engagement events had been held by officers between May and October 2010.

The report advised that nearly 1,000 written submissions had been received from Parent Councils, parents and pupils.  Most of these submissions had been received from parents and carers of pupils currently at school, and therefore the feedback was mainly in relation to the potential impact of any changes on current pupils. 

As part of the engagement exercise, officers had produced a detailed assessment of the existing secondary schools in terms of sufficiency, suitability and condition and any scope for consolidating school provision.  Furthermore, through considering the school estate alongside the Local Development Plan proposals, officers had been able to undertake a more comprehensive review of the learning estate, taking account of immediate and longer term demands. 

The report advised that there were significant numbers of spare places in Aberdeen schools.  Many of the existing schools were also unsuitable for providing facilities for 21^st century learning.  The secondary school estate currently consisted of two recently opened, state of the art schools, several granite-built schools and other more recently built schools, some of which were now significantly inferior  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.