A statutory consultation on the relocation of St Andrew’s School to the new Inverurie Community Campus has opened this week.
The consultation, which asks pupils, parents, staff and other community representatives for their views on the school moving to a distinct space within the wider community campus setting, will run until 5pm on Friday, February 24.
A public meeting will take place as part of the consultation in the assembly hall at Inverurie Academy on Wednesday, February 1 at 7pm for any interested members of the local community.
The proposal to relocate the school comes after extensive informal engagement with staff and parents over a number of years on future plans for the school.
Formal consultation is now taking place in line with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and gives staff, parents and pupils another chance to have their say on the proposals.
Full copies of the proposal are available on request at St Andrew’s School, Inverurie Academy and all other schools in the Inverurie, Westhill and Kemnay clusters.
They can also be found at Inverurie Library, the council’s headquarters Woodhill House on Westburn Road in Aberdeen and on the council’s website http://bit.ly/ECSconsults
Chair of the Education, Learning & Leisure Committee, Cllr Alison Evison, said: “This proposal to relocate St Andrew’s School to a distinct space within the new Inverurie Community Campus has grown as a result of extensive informal engagement with staff and parents.
“The council always strives to provide the best possible educational experience for all the pupils of its schools and the consultation means we’ll be able to gather further feedback from parents on how we can do that for pupils with complex needs in the Inverurie area.
“The proposal being consulted on is widely available in council buildings, including local schools, Inverurie library as well as on the council’s website so anyone interested should take the opportunity to give us their feedback by Friday, February 24.”
Chair of the Garioch Area Committee, Cllr Fergus Hood, said: “After a huge amount of engagement with parents, staff and other members of the local community, the council now has to move to a statutory consultation so we can take a final decision later this year which will address the needs of both existing and future pupils at St Andrew’s.
“At the public meeting on Wednesday, February 1 will be an opportunity for anyone interested to ask questions and give face-to-face feedback to officers which will be noted down and included in the consultation results.”
It is expected that the results of the consultation will be discussed by the Garioch Area Committee in spring 2017 before a recommendation is made to the Education & Children’s Services Committee for a final decision to be taken in summer 2017.
Work on the new Inverurie Community campus is expected to begin in early 2018 with the facilities opening to pupils and the public in mid-2020.