Connected – Council to further engage with schools on capital plan investment
Communication and engagement activity has been taking place in each of the schools identified for substantial capital investment at the Council’s meeting in June.
At the last meeting of the Council on 24 June 2021, significant capital funding of £54m was identified for investment in five Highland schools. As the proposals at this meeting included outline estimates, Members agreed for detailed designs and costings on each of the schools to be brought back to Council in September for approval.
Housing and Property Chair, Cllr Ben Thompson said: “A great amount of work has taken place by Highland Council Officers to prepare detailed plans for each of the five schools previously identified for investment in the Council’s capital plan. These plans will set out the work that has been taking place to identify the improved buildings and learning environments for the children and young people in each of the five schools, along with the amount of money that will be invested, the timelines involved and the anticipated completion dates.”
Education Chair, Cllr John Finlayson added: “Providing the best possible school learning environment and facilities continues to be one of our key priorities. To help us to achieve this goal, we will be engaging and working closely with each of the five schools and their stakeholders. This will make sure that communities are provided the opportunity to help shape the proposals which will improve the learning environment for many children in Highland.”
Each project will have a Stakeholder Group comprising of parents, staff, local elected members, representatives of local community councils, and any other community partners that may be affected by the proposals. In addition, a strategy will also be developed for consulting with pupils to capture their feedback.
Communication and engagement activity been taking place for each of the schools is as follows:
Beauly Primary School
An initial briefing session between Members and Officers took place on 3 August 2021 at which a wide range of issues in relation to the project were explored. A further meeting between Members, Officers and parents took place on 23 August 2021, where outline initial draft plans were shared and the creation of a Stakeholder Group to oversee the project was also taken forward.
Culloden Academy
A Stakeholder Group for this project was established in February 2021 and has met regularly since then. Stakeholders have been kept updated on progress to establish the long-term strategy for the redevelopment of the Culloden Academy campus and the eventual replacement of all the existing buildings. There has also been extensive discussion regarding the additional funding required for the first phase of the extension and refurbishment programme.
Dunvegan Primary School
There have been several meetings regarding plans for the school over the last 18 months. The initial Masterplan Meetings were formalised into a Stakeholder Group at meetings earlier this year. The Stakeholder Group discussions have been very successful and included project discussions around possible designs and project updates. Two public consultation events took place at the school during the summer to share initial thoughts and engage in further community discussions.
Park Primary School
There has been ongoing engagement with the school’s stakeholders since the first fire. On the 9 August, a briefing session for Members took place at the Cromarty Firth Ward Business Meeting and another session was arranged on 24 August to discuss the interim accommodation challenges, to further examine the options relating to the future for the school and to discuss establishing a Stakeholder Group for the project.
St Clement’s Special School
Meetings to update Members have taken place this month and the school’s Parent Council were advised on 17 August 2021 that a meeting with them will be arranged as soon as is possible. It is anticipated that the Council will be in a clearer position to discuss site options, the possibility of a Statutory Consultation; and to take forward the establishment of a Stakeholder Group for this project.
Some of the proposals may require Statutory Consultation. The process is for this is laid down in law, and informal consultations will be supplementary to the Statutory Consultation process.
Detailed proposals and a communications and engagement plan for the Council’s school estate projects will be brought to the next meeting of The Highland Council on 9 September 2021.